I would just like to get some advice regarding my Responsive Web Design Developer Certification, which I obtained last month. This was after spending a few months during lockdown and the pandemic on free code camp to learn about coding and try and learn a unique skill. I am just a little confused though, because I seem to have self validated the certification to obtain it, I will honestly say that my projects were completed to the minimum requirements and that’s it, so I was a little surprised to learn that the only thing required for this certification was to pass the automatic grading system on all of the projects. Therefore, I just want to check that I can use this certification as part of my CV, for example, to prove what I have been doing since the pandemic hit and this gap in my employment history? I just think that if I could, this may help my job prospects because it proves that I use my initiative and have been doing something useful before I started job hunting again. I hope this makes sense and I look forward to receiving any advice anyone may have.
As the curriculum is not accredited by any education institution, it is most accurate to think of the certifications as milestone indicators.
Your kilometrage may vary, but I cannot imagine many companies taking the time to go through the fCC curriculum to get an idea of what you may or may not know, and then judging the amount of time you have between employment based on the length of time they think it took you to complete the curriculum.
I do not know of a single company (I have applied to) in my area (Scotland) who know anything about freeCodeCamp. I doubt they think much about the curriculum, as they have never asked after it; they mostly care about the personal projects. I still included the certificates in my CV, but only by linking to them on my portfolio.
At the end of the day, freeCodeCamp does not aim to certify developers - freeCodeCamp aims to guide people in a friendly way on a path to learn tech-related subjects. So, the tests are easy to fool into giving you all the certificates, but you would be shooting yourself in the foot (as we like to say) doing this.
Lastly, freeCodeCamp does provide education, and is, for all intents and purposes, an educational institution. Thus, academic honesty plays a huge role in the community.
I do not mean to discourage you from including the certificates on your CV - by all means, go for it. All I am trying to say is the certificates are in no way the be all, and end all of both the platform, and a developer’s journey.
Thank you very much for your advice you offered here, that was really helpful and exactly the sort of thing I was wanting to know. I just wanted you to know that I will be using what you have said to mention free code camp at the appropriate times in my application processes, and I will be able to do so without being inaccurate, so thank you very much!
Thank you very much as well on behalf of everyone using this forum for the advice you are giving to others.