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Ask HN: Best certifications in 2017

22 points by nsarafa ↗ HN
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?

12 comments

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I took the AWS Cert; now preparing for Google.
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nsarafa
Which AWS certs? Associate, or professional level? How long from when you began preparing to passing the exams?
jressey
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.
telebone_man
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.

nsarafa
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.
telebone_man
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.

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unkoman
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect certs are great. Note: lasts 3 years max.
[dead] phdify
As for me , best certifications are from Microsoft, Cloudera, MongoDB, Oracle and SAS. However, because of the cachet big data certifications hold in the IT industry, it was difficult to select only five (https://phdify.com/write-my-essay). To that end, you'll see some excellent certifications summarized in the last section, only because coverage limitations prevailed.