Certifications 2020 Discussion

Career Advice
1

Hey
So I’ve recently picked up wanting to really learn to code, I have fallen in love with it. I played with it a little bit when I was in high school but recently have wanted to make it a career. As we know CodeCamp is a great place to start, I’m loving to the lessons. I’m working towards those certifications, but they don’t hold strong merit except for setting a foundation for further study.

As I continue with CodeCamp I wanted to know what certifications should I work towards afterward? Though I graduated high school with my AA degree, my life is not in a position currently to head back to school, though I would love to. In the meantime, I want to gain as much credibility through reading, seminars, my own projects, and certification as I can.

Currently, I am looking at a career in three fields and would love to know what certification and other things have helped you gain traction in your career, listed below are the fields:

  • Game development
  • Front and Back-end web development
    -Software programming for similar programs such as NASA

Thanks for any information you can provide

2

@tjbanks The certificates help and you learn a lot while doing the projects. I would say the biggest thing you can do is make projects that are unique. People who are hiring don’t want to see the same project over and over on everyone’s portfolio. Another thing that I would suggest is having a good GitHub presence. Open Source and contributing go a long way as I have heard when getting hired. Happy Coding! :smile:

2 Likes
3

There isn’t a standardized certification system for development. Certain companies may offer a way to become certified in their tools (AWS for example has a certification process) and there are certifications in other IT related fields (System Administration, Network Security, etc) but there is no exam or course you can take to be a “certified” developer.

4 Likes
4

Focus more on the content and less on the certifications themselves. Its fine to aim for the certifications as a personal goal, but when it comes to coding/programming its the experience you gain building the stuff that matters.

Game Development
There are some game development courses out there that will go over the specific tools you can use to build a game. This will help you get used to the tools/techniques used in the industry and could help you get a job. However, it should be noted that getting a job in game development is very hard, and the industry is very unforgiving. Its a tough industry to work in due to tight deadlines, tight budgets, changing trends, and ever smaller profit margins. If its your dream then go for it, just don’t be surprised if its rough work that isn’t any fun like actually playing the games.

Front and Back-end web development
Full stack development is growing in demand due to the prevalence of the web. Internally you could be building full stack apps inside of any company to help them do their work. Throw in the move to more remote work, and “digital tools” are here to stay and grow.

The main thing to consider is that the web changes constantly, and there is a large pool of people who are also getting into different parts of web development. So being able to stand out and network to get your job(s) is more or less key. Regardless, the web isn’t going anywhere any time soon, so its safe bet.

Software programming for similar programs such as NASA
in meme voice
“One does not just program for NASA”

NASA, like any large organization, uses a wide range of technologies for different problems. You could be writing a software patch for the Curiosity rover in C that needs to work in sub-zero temperatures a million miles away with 0 human involvement.

Or you could help build an interactive 3D diagram of the solar system so us humans can get a better idea of our solar system in our web browser.

You can get into essentially any industry using programming, it opens up a lot of doors. Just keep with the concepts, learn the material, and keep an eye out for what kind of jobs you want to apply for a learn what is being asked for.

Good luck, keep learning and keep building!

5 Likes
5

thank you for the detailed answer, yeah I feel that certifications will help with understanding code and different ways of going about things in various coding fields. I see a lot of people talk about having unique projects which allow you to stand out from the rest. Would you have any examples to help me understand what possible employers see as a different approach to coding or thinking outside the box project(s)?