The TRUTH About IT Certifications...

The IT job market has been hot for some time now, and it’s only gotten hotter with the ongoing labor shortages. There’s high demand and low supply, which means that IT jobs tend to make the prospect of landing a high-paying job almost a certainly. One of the barriers to landing such a job is having the appropriate skills, and even more so, proving that one has those skills. One seemingly simple way to obtain the skills and show that one knows them is to get an education. A four-year degree is a pretty substantial commitment both financially and in time. Because of this, IT certifications have become an attractive alternative or perhaps supplement existing education. One can go online, take a course, and pass an exam in a matter of weeks usually. They walk away with a certification in hand, and now they are ready to fill a job… or so they thought.

One would think that exams are supposed to measure one’s knowledge and skills in a specific technology area. In reality, they measure that one has enough interest in a subject to study it long enough to pass the exam. In theory, the interest in learning the subject matter for the exam should enable one to perform a job in that technology area. To some extent, this is true, but don’t be deceived: it’s not the whole story. Here’s what the advertisements won’t say:

• Certifications are no guarantee that one know a subject well enough to perform the needed job functions. Because exams are somewhat limited in what they can measure, they can give one the false impression that one is actually qualified to perform a job. There are several other skills needed that certification can’t measure in many IT jobs, such as communication skills, project management, functioning as part of a team, reasoning skills, problem-solving skills, and many others.
• Certifications are no measure of real-world experience. One of the paradoxes many job seekers find themselves in when looking for a job is the experience requirement. The problem goes, one needs the experience to get a job, and one need a job to gain experience. For this reason, it’s important to start building experience in technology long before one ever embarks on a career in IT. I started my career in IT while I was still in high school, but my experience started long before getting my first paid job. While in high school, I worked on computers in the school’s labs and garnered a reputation as one of the go-to people for computer problems. This landed me a referral to a company that needed someone with my skills, and my first job was solidified after that. As a job seeker, one can build experience, even if it is not paid. One can showcase one's skills by creating or contributing to online projects like those on GitHub or creating content demonstrating one's competency in a given IT field.
• Certifications are no guarantee of a high income or even a job. The prospect of getting a high-paying IT job without experience is virtually nonexistent. As with every career path, one have to start somewhere—usually at the bottom. The great thing about IT, though, is that it does not take long. In one or two years, one can advance beyond entry-level positions into more senior-level roles.

Having said all this, this does not imply that certifications are worthless. They perform two essential functions:

• Certifications validate knowledge and interest at some level. Investing the time and energy into getting a certification shows that one is interested in the subject matter.
• Certifications help one stand out from the crowd. Recruiters and companies on LinkedIn and other job-search sites use keyword filters to look for candidates to fill roles. Many organizations, especially larger ones that rely on computer-based screening processes, use keyword searches and correlations like this to sift through applicants. One thing some organizations look for is certifications. This will help one get a resume before a set of human eyes, which is one step closer to getting a job.
• All things being equal, a certification can be a differentiator between one candidate and another. As mentioned, certifications show that one is interested in a subject matter and is willing to invest time and money into improving and validating one’s skills.

So with this in mind, it’s essential to set realistic expectations one is looking to break into the IT job market. Here are a few things that help:

• Have a realistic view of the job market. Even when an IT job market is hot, that does not mean that companies are just going to hire anyone who says they can do something. They will do their due diligence to ensure that a candidate has the right qualifications to perform a job.
• Realize that certifications are not the job seeker’s equivalent to a get-rich-quick scheme. Advertisers and online sharks sell training and guarantees-of-passing in the same manner as get-rich-quick schemes. If a candidate is taking an exam for an exam’s sake, then it’s likely that one will not learn anything in the process but pass the exam. This will become apparent as soon as one gets a job, even if one gets through the interview process.
• Work on experience first. As I said, I passed all my exams as an overflow of experience in working with the technologies that I have certifications for. The experience will help one learn things about the technologies. It will also build the experience counters that are needed for many jobs.
• Be willing to accept a job that may seem less than what one were expecting. My first IT job was part-time and barely more than minimum wage, but it was still a foot in the door. Within two years, I had over doubled my pay and was working full time. It was not an overnight success, but it was not like I had to slave away for a decade before I saw any improvement in pay.

As of right now, I have dozens of different certifications that I have acquired over the years. Now, not all of them are current, but many of them are. Most of the ones I have are for Microsoft technologies focused on Azure. My day-to-day job focuses on helping organizations get their apps and workloads optimized and running on Azure. It makes sense, then, that someone like me would have these certifications. The truth, though: I took the exams for most of these without ever studying for them. The bottom line: there’s no quick way to find a high-paying job in IT. It takes time. Certifications can help along this journey, but do not depend on or focus on certifications, thinking that it will land one a job. Adjust expectations, get the training, and work at it.