Hi everyone!
I’m looking at the list of certifications Free Code Camp offer and I’m not sure if I need to do all of them to get a job or if I need just one or two.
I’d like to get a job as soon as possible and I think I can do one certification each month if I work hard.
I’m more or less new to coding, so, for instance, I don’t know which certificates I can combine and which ones are irrelevant to combine (I think the first three ones combine well, but I don’t know about the other three at the end of the list).
What do you guys think? What’s your experience with this?
Thank you for your help, and if you don’t understand my English just tell me and I’ll try to clarify.
It’s not as simple as get FCC certifications -> get job
It’s not the certifications themselves really, it’s doing the projects and learning and developing your abilities.
In the end landing the job is about proving to an employer that you can either do the kind of work they require or are able to quickly learn to do what they require.
Whether that comes from showing them projects you’ve made here or other personal projects you’ve worked on, it ultimately doesn’t matter as long as you can prove your worth in whatever way.
Hi gebulmer,
thank you for your reply.
I get that the skills are more important than the certifications, thank you for pointing that out.
The thing is I don’t have neither right now. So how will I know when I’m ready to apply for a job?
Not to sound very unhelpful or anything, but there’s no way to know
It takes time and effort to become good at something, and time and effort to make something you’re proud of, so at least a nonzero amount of time I guess
Having said that, people aren’t very good judges of themselves, either thinking they’re better than they are and applying for things too soon when they should have spent more time studying, or thinking they’re worse than they are and never putting themselves out there
Differs for each person, by a lot. Anyone that claims you can get a job in X days is either lying or selling you something, or both
1- Search online for a job that you want and read the description of what they require in terms of skills and experience.
2- If you don’t have enough of those skills / experience (say 80%) then start by working on getting some of the skills and some of the experience. (Using formal and informal learning methods, volunteering and other methods). If you have 80% or more of what they want, apply to the job and learn from the interview or rejections that you get so you can identify areas you can improve on.
Repeat the above from step 1.
Thank you both for your replies.
gebulmer:
I agree we as humans can’t see ourselves objectively, in part, I think, that’s why we try to measure ourselves by external tools, like certifications and such.
hbar1st
I’ll try searching for jobs, sounds like a nice experiment, I never thought of that one. =P
Certifications don’t get you jobs. It’s not like a degree - hirers know that there are good certificates and there are bad ones. Most won’t put too much weight on your certificates. Go ahead and list them, but they won’t get you the job. At most, they might get them to take a closer look.
Think of the certificates as milestones on your journey. Enjoy getting them and collecting them.
But the things that will get you hired (assuming you don’t have a degree) are an excellent portfolio and good experience. Add to that a good interview, connections, people skills, and luck. And it also depends on where you live.
Don’t worry about the pieces of paper. Worry about acquiring the knowledge they represent and keep learning and coding. If you do that long enough, in the right way, the job will eventually come. But for that vast majority, that is not a short or easy path.
