MOOCs & paid certificates in terms of landing a job

Career Advice
#1

Hello! I’m seeing in the forums and on multiple Medium articles that many people broke into web development and software engineering (in part, outside of code camps) by taking advantage of the free MOOCs that are out there. Among the most popular ones seem to be Harvard’s CS50x ($99 with the verified certificate) and MIT’s Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python ($75 with verified certificate). My question: would the verified certificates add any value to an aspiring programmer’s resume/portfolio, or is the course itself something that would be of higher value than the certificate? I’ve read differing opinions on this, and generally when I see that, I conclude that it doesn’t really matter which way you go. Thoughts on this? Is it worth it to pay for the verified certificate?

Thanks!

-JW

#2

Hi @jwhich82,

It’s the knowledge that actually matter. You can take that MIT MOOC and get the verified certificate but that won’t to make you an expert in Web Development. If you want a certificate I suggest you take t

#3

@amadeuao It looks like your response was cut off. I didn’t see your suggestion.

Of course, getting a certificate doesn’t make someone a web developer, but my question is whether or not the certificate will actually help when it comes to the job hunt, or if it is sufficient to simply indicate that the course was taken.

#4

Certificates from a MOOC or bootcamp don’t matter. What matters is that you can prove to an employer that you have the skills for the job by demonstrating your understanding of the course through your projects.

You could put 50 MOOCs on your resume but it won’t mean anything unless you can prove it with your projects in your resume.

#5

Ok, thanks guys! Appreciate the input.

-JW

#6

@jwhich82 my apologies. I was cut short, I didn’t finish the context I wanted to say that the certificate doesn’t really matter when it comes to looking for a job. What matters is what you can do, having a portfolio of some projects which you’ve built is much more important.

Thank you

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