1 - Do trainings teach actually exclusive content?
2 - Do certifications actually boost my portfolio?
First of all don’t ask software developers. Software has few certifications of which none are widely recognized or appreciated. This is more a factor of the unstructured nature of software employment than anything else. For software developers who have never performed another line of work there is only angst and antipathy towards any form of credentials.
Generally, at least according to all commentary on HN and developers I have spoken with online, a computer science bachelors degree is super extremely important, serves as both a certification and license to operate, and nothing else matters as far as any credentials. The opinion is a bit extreme but quite common and a reflection of the distrust of credentials in the industry.
As for other more established areas of technology certifications hold higher credibility. In networking the Cisco certs are widely respected. The higher the cert the more respect it carries with the CCIE having a sort of extreme reverence.
In security the certs are generally used to qualify entry level employment and/or management.
As for actual real world value certifications can serve as a reflection of experience. If you have to intensely cram for a certification and still only barely pass you are probably not as experienced as you might think. On the other hand if you can pass with ease drawing from professional experiences you are likely well qualified to operate.
This is a much more contested topic than you're suggesting.
It probably comes from the fact that a cert is usually for a tool or something specific: for example, I want to hire someone that understands relational databases but not really someone that only knows every proprietary keyword for database X.
After having worked in multiple different career fields this line of thinking appears limited to software development. Ironically many junior software developers simultaneously express this and yet push their education as a form of formal certification.
> It probably comes from the fact that a cert is usually for a tool or something specific
Again, I have repeatedly seen software developers express this as well. Perhaps its assumptions upon things not know, such as an informal argument from ignorance.
Depends, but sually the answer is: No, they don't. Most of the knowledge was generated and released at some point. Plus, trainings teach what's safe, reliable knowledge.
Simply from that perspective, any intelligent person with enough time on their hands, and the inclination to do so can learn all relevant info by themselves.
>Do certifications actually boost my portfolio?
Yes and No.
On the one hand, good certs serve as proof that a candidate knows about a topic.
On the other hand, if a candidate has a pile of certifications, but little else, that raises a red flag for some people, because there is such a thing as "learning for the test".
I passed both on the first attempt, barely, and I would have been _pissed_ if I failed either, and that might have made me feel very differently about them, and certifications in general.
So, don't know about the particular certs you mention, but I do think certs are generally valuable, possibly very valuable.
That said, my recent interviewing experience (still ongoing!) suggests that papers -- whether from degrees or certs -- are nearly worthless. You have to be good enough to pass the human interviews, and if you're willing, the homework assignments and/or online coding tests/leetcodes/hackerranks/etc.
If you're not wired in yet, and can't easily get new jobs through your network, a cert or two that actually makes sense for what you want to work with, is probably not a negative.
However, seeing someone with a million certs and no job experience can lead people to think something along "Okay, if you're so great, then why don't you have a job already?" and dismiss you on grounds that something else must be wrong (or that you're just plain dishonest).
I’d definitely do certifications if someone else is paying the fee, like your employer. Otherwise, stop a moment and think if that money has better use elsewhere - like books, conferences etc.
Having said all that, generally speaking, most certifications in software aren’t worth it
1 - Only at the higher end of the spectrum. The farther you go, the more knowledge you will find that is not available via googling.
2 - They can in some circumstances. Some certs are basically money printers (there is a CCIE on my team and he sets his own billable rate). If you want to work in government, you need a few just to qualify. I'm consulting and clients are not vetting me personally (they outsourced that to my firm) but they seem to like knowing that I have a few in lieu of an actual technical interview. For regular private employment I think the value is limited.
I've seen a lot of guys at clients with alphabet soup outlook signatures asking some really basic questions. Evidently they worked to get those people hired but I'm not sure about the value they are getting from them otherwise.
If your goal is to broaden your knowledge, then no.
If your goal is to get a job where the person hiring you is not as qualified as you, then definitely. Most common in contract work. Certs, like a diploma, is a third party validating you know something.
Easy path, is do a job search with a particular certification. Then read the job description, and look at the companies and decide if that is something you want.
A certification can provide a key differentiator to others in interview, as well as salary negotiation. It also shows you are growing and not stale.
If you are staying at your current job, then I would explore the potential impact to your career at that company. I have seen a ton of resumes where someone obtained a masters degree or finished a tough cert, but their company did not value the paper, and thus they were job shopping. Myself included :-)
2 - Do certifications actually boost my portfolio? - If you want to work in the Enterprise space yes it does. - It helps if you are a freelancer or a boutique security shop to show that you have the skills you claim. - It helps if you are already employed in an enterprise and want to have leverage for a salary negotiation.
Which leads to the precarious situation you might find your self in a position where your manager does not approve of your certification costs if the company has a policy that managers have to approve your spendings.
THis is a common powerplay to keep salaries down and to deny promotions by certain managers in certain types of compnanies.
And yea don't get all of the certs, get the ones that matter. use Linkedin and hackernews to find out which certs are a must for the position you want to achieve
Certifications largely exist in the enterprise domain and getting a job in the enterprise means dealing with recruiters and business people.
So the individuals with the power to hire you are precisely the ones without the required knowledge to assess your skills.
Of course having certifications and not knowing what you’re talking about won’t help. Either you’ll get hired and do a shit job and get fired or a technical person will be involved in the hiring process and out you as a fake.
However, given 2 people with similar resumes where one has a few certifications… makes it easy for the recruiter to make a choice.
If you’re an in-house “individual contributor”, then that depends in part on your company. They might place a lot of value on certifications. Or not.
For you personally, I would say whether a certification matters to you depends on what you think your career path is going to be, and what value you expect to get out of a certification.
Some certifications are hard to get because they test you on a wide array of things, and if you have that certification, then that means you actually know something about the subject. But many certs don’t fall into this category.
For AWS certifications, the lower-level ones don’t have a great deal of value in my book, although I also confess that so far I only have the lowest-level AWS Cloud Certified Practitioner (AWS CCP) cert myself. But they can be a demonstration that you’re willing to put up with a certain amount of BS in order to get the cert in question, and they can be a demonstration of your willingness to go further and deeper.
The higher level AWS certifications do appear to have at least some real value, IMO. I’m on my own path to getting there, and I know how much work I expect to put into to get them.
I can’t speak for any other cloud certifications. I don’t have any, and I have no plans at this time to get any.
Disclaimer: These are my personal opinions only, and do not reflect those of my employer.
1 - No, but you may find some hidden gems of knowledge. 2 - Depends. Some of them are just used to get discounts.