Technical Certifications - Are They Worth It?

Hey all,

Does anyone here have any technical certifications that gave them the edge or that they deem worthy of pursuing? I realize this will depend heavily on the type of job and sector that one wishes to pursue, but I’m more curious if there’s any certs that make someone stand out and taught them a good amount of skills in the process.

I already have Security+ (though it’s expiring soon) because it was required for my job. But I have access to pretty much any cert training material through my work, would just need to pay the test fees myself. Was thinking about going for Linux+ since it also gets you LPIC-1 and SUSE CLA by passing the Linux+ tests. Cisco’s CCNA Routing and Switching cert interests me as well.

If I have some downtime and the capacity to study for and take these certs, are they even worth it? Interested in hearing other thoughts and opinions on the subject.

Does a Google certificate for “The Online Marketing Fundamentals” count? No? Okay ;c

I’m forever interested in certs. I plan on doing some of the online courses when I have a full time living situation

I am working on the Juniper certification track and have found the information to be worth it. Even though most everything can be worked through on Google, there is definitely value in having the credentials. Will be working on my Juniper Networks Professional Level certification this next month. There is definitely an edge to be gained when you can say you know the platform vs saying you can google your way to success.

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I’d say certificates might be worth it, especially if you need to show specific knowledge about a topic.

Degrees are great, but they usually don’t prove that you know anything relevant to X - that’s where certificates come in to supplement your portfolio.

Yes, it does, At the very least it shows that you’re willing to put in the time & effort needed to learn something.

That being said, make sure it’s relevant to your field, otherwise, it’s worthless.

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Yeah, I definitely agree there. I think I need to evaluate what the desired skills are in my career path as that’ll help me identify certs that would help me in the long run and not just be a nice to have.

Absolutely. I’m still finishing up my Master’s now and am switching jobs in a couple months, so it’ll probably be quite awhile before I’m looking for a new job. So I’m thinking it’ll probably be best to hold off on going for anything right now (especially to avoid having to pay renewal fees for something I don’t quite need yet).

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As an (expired) CCNP, yes, if you’re going in to networking a CCNP/CCIE is golden. Other certs (A+/N+) tend to be ones that everyone can get. It will give you a step up over other non-certified individuals, but you have to correlate the amount of time and effort required versus the number of people in the market with the same cert. I went through the Cisco Networking Academy which is a 3-4 year full time school, and Cisco is great at helping NetAcad grads get good offers and they do a lot of CE that is free for students and graduates.

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Personally I don’t take an interest in certifications, I’m more interested in how you and my questions. That said, to get to my questions, certifications go a long way.

Recruiters for large companies tend to look for things they can understand without knowing the subject matter themselves, and certifications tend to be on the top of that list. So definitely get them. The value of getting your foot in the door is not one I’d underestimate.

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That’s an important point that I wasn’t really considering so thanks for that. At the stage I’m currently in, I think if I can find any good for life certs that don’t need CEUs or renewal fees, then I’ll go for them. Anything else I’ll just hold off on til I think I’m a year or two out from job hunting time.

Agreed that certs will help get you in the door and with a higher salary. Some employers will even pay for your training and exams and give you a bonus when you achieve a new cert.

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he.net IPV6 Sage Certification.

https://ipv6.he.net/certification/

Reason: You get a nerdy free t-shirt. Worth it.

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