I'm having a hard time finding work. Does having an official certification (like MySQL from Oracle or AWS from Amazon) make any difference? I have experience in these areas, but it was 5 years ago, and no one will give me the time of day. Any old clue will do.
Ask HN: Software Dev Certifications: Do They Make a Difference?
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Re: Ask HN: Software Dev Certifications: Do They Make a Difference?
#2Purpose of a certificate is to have a Knowledgeable Expert agree that you have a given skill. Like a University degree, but focused on a specific topic.
Certificates are most useful when 1) your resume does not clearly show extensive skill, 2)the person reading the resume does not know the material.
Unfortunately a lot of resumes get filtered out on keyword matches. I was once filtered out by HR for not explicitly saying '.Net Development', verses what I had 10 years of 'C# development'. Only found out because my friend at the company hunted down HR to ask why I was not being interviewed. Neither HR nor the hiring manager understood that C# was .Net.
If the job you are looking at is a shop with a lot of people with the same skill then you do not need it as they can tell from the interview.
If it is a company with few people, or they provide your skills as a service, then yes you do need the certs.
Is this clear? Seems like I have been rambling here a bit.
Re: Ask HN: Software Dev Certifications: Do They Make a Difference?
#3I have passed a few certs, may be useful if you want to put a foot in the door without network or land some govt/corporate contract requiring it.
But in my experience professional networking brings the best results - no questions about certs or silly coding quizees.
Best people I know haven't done any certs. Most people I know who did certification had not much prior experience in a subject and rarely had ocassion later on to gain one.
Re: Ask HN: Software Dev Certifications: Do They Make a Difference?
#4From what I can tell, AWS certs are pretty good to have. I haven't had any other certs really be useful in my career.
Re: Ask HN: Software Dev Certifications: Do They Make a Difference?
#5Thanks for the comments. I'm looking at the certs mainly to get my foot in the door.