Nobody Cares About Certifications
Steven Kneiser
1-minute read
What do a certification, bootcamp, & Computer Science degree have in common? They can’t guarantee you a job. Sometimes they’re counter-productive.
Your Golden Ticket™
is this window in time,
not that piece of paper
Fine, heavily-regulated industries like healthcare have standards of compliance (e.g. HIPAA). The worst part is that whenever a credential shines bright enough, it gets exploited & gamified fast. Who said coders aren’t a crafty crowd?
For example, there’s a limited opportunity to stand out for DevOps roles with the right AWS certification, but that’s only while it remains a highly in-demand yet under-served technology. That opportunity erodes each month.
Here’s another reminder: Software Engineering isn’t a formal profession. Worst of all, most certifications act as a negative signal. To a technical recruiter, leaning too heavily on your certifications can feel like over-compensation. They want problem-solvers who are comfortable dealing with unknowns. Tests & examinations are quite the opposite.
There are certainly a few exceptions:
- Information Technology (aka IT)
- Cybersecurity (also related to IT)
- Heavily-regulated industries
(e.g. Health & Medicine, Law, Government)
We don’t focus specifically on IT
because here we’re “Creators Who Code”,
not “Maintainers Who Code”
Sorry …bad joke
Where do we go from here?
You have a portfolio right??
Don’t worry, there’s no magic list of projects you need. We’re going for multiple examples of previous work that demonstrate your initiative & perserverance
Take those savings in time & money,
and put them towards prototyping
You need a Portfolio of Passion™
We’re not going for design awards
We’re going for hilarious stories
Failure is the essential ingredient here!
The best portfolio is anti-perfection
The best portfolio is charismatic
The best portfolio is a book,
that one you just
can’t.
put.
down.
More on that next week…