Today I will try to answer the question that I am often asked by different people. Is it worth certifying in the cloud? The answer to whether it is worth having a certificate confirming our skills in the cloud, as usual, is: it depends 😉
I will add that this is my private point of view of the cloud. Everyone can have their own, depending on experience and where they are.
Why is it worth having a cloud certificate?
1) It’s easier to find a job with a cloud certificate
The certificate confirms our skills.
If we have cloud certificates, then when applying for a job, we will definitely stand out from the crowd. It is easier to find a job. Often, a person who had qualifications was not even invited to a job interview. Why? Because there were several other people who could confirm their knowledge with the relevant documents before the interview, and they were invited in the first place.
Whether we have a certificate does not guarantee that we will get a job, but we will certainly be noticed, and this is a step in the right direction. As we have already been noticed and invited to an interview, we will have to show the employer that our certificate it’s not just a piece of paper, but real skills and knowledge.
It makes no sense to have certificate without proper knowledge. The truth will come out anyway. In this way, we only waste time and money.
For a person who is applying for a job, having certificates is a big advantage.
2) Because you don’t want to lose your job
More and more companies are moving to the cloud and need specialists in this field. IT teams usually adapt and expand their competences or use outsourcing. In IT world it is essential because this world is changing very fast. Something that was standard a few years ago is becoming obsolete and vulnerable today.
3) Cloud Certificates inspire trust
Employers value employees who have certificates. A company is only as good as the people it keeps. Sif an employee has a certificate, the company can boast of it and often encourages its employees to certify.
Certificates inspire confidence and give a sense of having competence.
4) It allows you to earn better
Usually, by increasing our skills, we also increase our earnings. If we go beyond the standards and do something more, employers appreciate it. Knowledgeable people are valued employees and are usually well paid. An employee using his knowledge appropriately can bring a company enormous benefits by recommending or advising against using a specific solution.
5) It distinguishes the company
In order to sell a product or service, it is good to inspire trust. Certificates are perfect for this. Cloud certifications are recognized worldwide. Sales departments often emphasize when talking to clients that they have qualified employees. This is easy to check with certificates.
6) Certificates must be renewed
Certificates usually have an expiry date. Usually 2-3 years. If you don’t want your certificates to expire, you need to be up to date with cloud knowledge and renew them before they expire. You can renew some certificates for free, unfortunately not every cloud has a free certificate renewal option.
Why is it better to let go?
1) Certificates cost money
Certification costs money. If we want to have a certificate confirming our skills in some cloud, we have to pass exams for which you have to pay. Usually it will cost at least $ 100. If someone has a limited budget, it can be a considerable expense for him. For example, currently the cost of one Microsoft Azure Architect exam is $ 110, and you need 2 to get a certificate. It is not cheaper in AWS, here the architect exam costs $ 300. You still have to pass the exam, if you fail the first time, then you will incur additional costs.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-303
https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-solutions-architect-professional/
2) It takes time to prepare
Even if the employer pays for the exam, it still takes a large number of hours to prepare for the exam and pass it. You need a very good knowledge of the theory and the ability to apply it in practice. Even working with the cloud on a daily basis, it may not be so easy. We can expect cloud-related questions that we don’t deal with and don’t use in our daily work. After passing the exam, we confirm the knowledge of the entire cloud, not part of it.
3) You can’t be good at everything
Here we come to the next point, why learn some things we’ll never use? To pass the exam, we must have a full range of knowledge about the cloud, even the one we don’t use.
Once upon a time, the exams required mostly theory. Fortunately, this is changing more and more. More and more often, it is not enough to know the theory to pass the exam. Currently, more and more questions are related to practice, we are asked, for example, to indicate the best or the cheapest solution.
A lot of things can be done in several ways to achieve the same goal. Unfortunately, we often have to use the method that the exam imposes on us to pass, and not the one we like the most or use every day.
4) Good reputation in the industry is more important
No certificate can guarantee that the person who has it has the appropriate knowledge. Often people are hired on a recommendation. If you have a large network of contacts and you do a “good job”, then the certificates are not so necessary.
If someone is ‘self-employed’, has a small business and a lot of orders, there is really don’t have time for a certificates.
5) Certificates must be renewed
Certificates are usually not awarded forever, but have an expiry date. Usually 2-3 years. If we want to have current certificates, we have to take the exam again. (change – from March 2021 in Azure you only need to pass the online test)
Summary
The answer to the question of whether it is worth certifying yourself is not the same for all people. Everyone should decide for themselves whether it is worth having a certificate confirming skills in the cloud, because everyone is in a different situation 🙂
I have confirmed my knowledge with several certificates, if you want to learn more about the exams, I invite you to read other articles on the lepczynski.it blog. You will learn about, among other things, how I prepared for the Azure Administrator exam and what it looks like taking exams online.
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