Ask HN: Best certifications in 2017 | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Best certifications in 2017

22 pointsnsarafa9 comments

I might pursue some certifications in my free time. The certifications I'm considering are AWS Certified Solutions Architect (http://amzn.to/22V3swr), Google Cloud Architect (http://bit.ly/2nXSANz), and PMI Project Management Professional (http://bit.ly/2aj09Ln). Any other certifications worth considering?

View on HN

Can you clarify why you're pursuing them?

I find the certificates you should go for depends on whether you're looking to a) just learn or b) impress recruiters. Some certificates are mutually exclusive in that regard.

It may also be good to understand what industry you're currently in.

I'm a software engineer. Given how massive AWS is, I'd like to learn more about everything it has to offer. Plus it looks great on paper. On the other hand, I find Google Cloud CLI/UX to be much more intuitive. The product management cert just stood out as something I'd be interested in, and adds some variety. I feel it would be a shame to limit ourselves to technical certs.

If you're suggesting your certificate quest is more about learning than the certificate, then I would suggest you keep books in mind too. The reason being, certificate courses are normally aimed at teaching you enough info to pass a specific exam. Whilst books will typically be broader.

And for what it's worth, in my experience, certificates (in the context of recruitment) are more often used as a gatekeeper.. aside from a few exceptions, such as some of the Cisco certs.

I took the AWS Cert; now preparing for Google.

Which AWS certs? Associate, or professional level? How long from when you began preparing to passing the exams?

I took the Udemy prep class but haven't taken the exam. I don't work for them or anything but I found it to be a pretty good class. Like 16 hours but you can speed the videos up. I think you can finish the course in 2-3 days and be prepared to pass the exam.

PADI Open Water

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect certs are great. Note: lasts 3 years max.

OSCP is excellent.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com