Given the increasing complexity of business models and disruptive technologies to enable and modify them, the demand for Enterprise Architects is very high. However, the supply of highly skilled and experienced Enterprise Architects is small in comparison (based on EA Principals’ anecdotal research and contacts). Therefore, if you are looking for an EA job, perhaps after years of being a Solution Architect, it is time for you to accelerate your path to be a worthy candidate (in the eyes of the hiring organization). It is time for an EA Sense of Urgency.

For example, EA Principals has been looking for months for some part-time, highly qualified EAs to support its training and consulting business. Given the difficulty of finding a candidate with the desired proof of competency to help at a world-class level, we are now looking to collaborate with ambitious and successful Solution Architects in a win-win manner: We provide EA tasks that can be done flexibly on a week-by-week basis for a minimum of 6 months. Concurrent with this, we provide selected training and exam vouchers for EA certifications after a successful 3-month probation period. There is great value then for both parties, especially given that EA Principals will provide a reference supporting the EA job that was done as an EA Principals’ Associate. Successful candidates can list their EA Principals support (minimum of 6 months) on their CVs and indicate the wide-ranging EA tasks completed, the skills used, and the associated outcomes and value delivered.

Ironically, there are probably thousands of individuals concurrently working as EAs who are not really all that knowledgeable, skilled, or capable because of a lack of standards-based EA training and experience. Because of this, current candidates can spring board into an EA job if they can check the boxes of the kind of knowledge, skills, and capabilities expected of an EA. This requires proof of formal training and EA experience in delivering valued-added artifacts.

We recommend a sense of urgency to get the latest training in EA through our EA and architecture modeling courses (yes, we believe the quality of the trainers is crucial and, just as with EAs in general, the training is too often uninspired, linear reading of PPT slides!). In essence, when EA Principals does training, the 4-5 day classes are very much like a quarter-long graduate course. Besides being condensed to about a work week, our approach is to integrate guidance for applied EA and the opportunity for inexpensive, follow-on Subject Matter Expert support for 6 months (being available for direct interaction about 6 hours/week).

For those prospective EAs/students already certified in TOGAF 9, we urge you to take the bridge course from TOGAF 9 to the latest version of TOGAF: https://eaprincipals.com/course/togaf%C2%AE-enterprise-architecture-practitioner-bridge

Sadly, most individuals and organizations fail to get any momentum in operationalizing their course-gained knowledge and skills without a coach or mentor for at least 6 months, which is why we so strongly recommend this. It is especially cost effective for organizations just starting to do formal EA, as the whole team can leverage such a service. But in the case of individuals, I discussed above a way candidates can leverage working with/for EA Principals for a minimum of 6 months for only about 2-4 hours a week, producing EA artifacts that are reviewed and then fine-tuned with direct interaction from our experts. We insist that our architects move toward demonstrated mastery of Method, Visualization, and Governance so we can give them our seal of approval, which could be very valuable and a great competitive advantage in landing your EA position of choice.

In conclusion, it is time to get onboard the EA Excellence Train and use it to accelerate your achievements and potential – when you become your Best Self in the sense of a valuable EA practitioner, you will be in high demand with exciting choices for your enduring EA career.

Authored by Dr. Steve Else, Chief Architect & Principal Instructor