I have to get certifications as part of my job and because all of my coworkers and I keep failing these really hard tests, we aren’t allow to study during downtime on the clock. We were told to study on our own time.
Getting certs is part of what is required for me to get bigger raises and get promoted and all that jazz. I don’t want to use my personal time for this. None of the people who are in this predicament do.
I have a meeting in a few days to discuss goals and I need to figure out how to tell my boss that using my own time for work shit is unacceptable.
I really like this job other than this one aspect of it and I don’t want to make anyone mad, but I need to express my boundaries and all that
After repeated failures to pass a test, I do not think it is unreasonable for the business to stop paying for your attempts at a certification. Either directly via training sessions and testing fees, or indirectly via your working hours.
If the certs were not required, you have a point. If they are required to the point where OP has to have a discussion about not doing them with his boss, then the buisness needs to keep paying, drop the requirement or find new employees.
Required for promotion. OP has been demonstrating quite clearly that he isn’t ready for that.
If you only have to have a cert to be promoted, then OP can simply not do it and not be promoted. No conversation with his boss would be necessary.
It sounds more like the org need X amount of people qualified to have “gold” status with a vendor, so they pressure you to get it and make any promotion contingent on you having/gaining this cert.