Nobody Cares About Certifications
Steven Kneiser
2-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
NOTE: This is Part 1 of the “Nobody Cares” series
Fine, heavily-regulated industries like healthcare have standards of compliance (e.g. HIPAA), but be warned that modern knowledge work plays by very different rules. 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. Healthcare, 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…
NOTE: This is Part 1 of the “Nobody Cares” series