Are certifications money wasted or invested?
Tags: aws, certifications, career, tutorial
Published: 2022-11-23 03:19:56

There have been a lot of debates around whether one should "invest" in certifications or just be away from "wasting" money there. I have been in the same boat and I do have at least 5 certifications (Java language, Java architect, AWSx2, Spring), so I feel I am qualified to share my view on this topic.

For people in a hurry, YES, it is never "money wasted", it is always "the money invested". One prominent argument against certification is that most people use dumps to get certified and certificates do not exhibit real knowledge -there is truth in there, still, I would advocate getting one. Let me list the benefits of being certified

1. **Resume selection** -this itself is a big advantage, many times we all struggle to get that first call! In today's era of bots, what keywords are there on the resume matters a lot! They will simply increase the ranking for certified professionals -bots cannot differentiate whether it's from the dump or deep knowledge. Even when a resume goes to a recruiter, they tend to look at buzzwords, the way we try to judge a doctor's knowledge by the number of diplomas on board! Just human nature! The call itself is a big headstart and it can be used iteratively to build on expectations. No exception, what follows is based on our knowledge but at least we get going!

2. **One learns in the process:** Yes, if you just used dumps, you may not be able to justify the knowledge but it has given a headstart. Keep building based on interviews -understand the gap, and learn once onboarded.

3. **You are not lost in the ocean:** Have you tried looking at all the services offered by AWS, got in the feeling of where to start and how to start? We literally get lost -certification provides a stepwise framework. 

4. **Connect the dots:** This is a very important point. Certification provides a breadth, we know our options. We build on the minimal knowledge and then we can choose how deeper we want to go.

5. **Helps with side gigs:** Many organizations, especially startups cannot afford full-time employees. Having a certificate helps in landing that first gig, after that it's all up to the person if he got "dump" or "deep" knowledge. It can also help in teaching gigs, with the market becoming competitive day by day, training and certification will definitely be a big area.

I rest my case -Let's keep it concise. 

I am a certified AWS professional solution architect. I am going to start a series of blogs targeting [AWS solution architect -Associate](https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-solutions-architect-associate/?ch=sec&sec=rmg&d=1 ) and then will move on to [AWS solution architect -Professional](https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-solutions-architect-professional/?ch=sec&sec=rmg&d=1). No this is not going to be #AWeek or #30Days, we will go deep starting right from where to begin, what is the minimal knowledge needed for being called a cloud professional. Here is a bit of an outline of how we will progress:

- Publish Plan
- Publish gradual reading material
- Weekly live sessions on zoom
- Career Guidance and resume consultation 
- Practice papers

So what are you waiting for? Do connect me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/eightplabs/), this will be fun and it's all free -so even more fun!