Is it worth getting certified as a developer? Let’s talk about that today.
The question was again, “Is certification worth it?” So, should you go out and get certified as a developer? And will that help you get a job? Well, the short answer to that is that it depends on the certification. There’s a lot of certifications out there that are useful. A good example of something that is valuable is the Oracle Java certification. In fact, with the release of JDK version 11 there’s now a new certification that’s only just been released by Oracle.
Prior to that they had the certification for Java version 8, JDK version 8. That certification itself, backed by Oracle is extremely valuable, so if you actually pass that, go through and actually pass that certificate, or get that certificate by passing the exam, you can put that on your resume, and that is very valuable in the eyes of a prospective employer. But, other certifications if they haven’t got industry know how, in other words, if people aren’t aware of a particular certification, or it’s a relatively easy process to get the certification then I would argue that it’s probably not worth getting certified.
So, a very important question to ask before you actually pay any money for a certification program is, has it got any reach out there in the industry? So, basically does the industry view that as being something that’s valuable, and is it worth your time, and money doing that? And again, that the example of the Oracle certification that’s a good example of something that is worthwhile, and look it’s not cheap to take the exam, and it’s actually fairly difficult to pass, and there are actually multiple stages as well.
There’s two levels to becoming certified as a Java developer, two different exams you can take to get two different levels. So, check carefully the certification program, and do some searching online to see whether it’s a certification that’s actually basically widely known, and approved of within the industry. And unfortunately there’s a lot of certifications out there that are fairly useless. So, you need to be careful before you again before you spend any money. To make sure that the certification is worthwhile. So, the answer to today’s question is yes it’s worthwhile but do make sure you check that the specific certification program you’re looking to sign up for, and go through is well known, and will give you the greatest likelihood of getting that job.
I hope that helped. If you’ve got any questions feel free to leave a comment, and I’ll get back to you.
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