Are IT certifications still worth it in 2022?

Robb: So, Greg, what do you think about certifications? It's kind of a controversial topic. A lot of people out there are either certification haters or they pump up certifications, and they have the alphabet soup at the end of their name on LinkedIn. Thoughts?

Greg: They're very popular, we know that. I don't know that certifications are going away anytime soon, and I think they're necessary. But because of how much noise there is around certifications, I kind of get why there's some polarized viewpoints. What have you heard?

Robb: Well just it sounds like a lot of haters, like basically people who don't have certifications are like, ‘oh certifications don't mean anything man. It's about what you know’. Yeah true, but at the same time a certification sometimes goes hand in hand with you knowing something. I've never run into a doctor who got there by just work life experience. You know? They got degrees. They got certifications, board certified, now they're your surgeon. Granted, they might have got D’s through college, but you know they pass the board. I hope they are qualified.

Greg: Yeah, there's a difference between the level of certifications. I think that's part of it. I mean it depends on what you're getting validated for, and there might be a different difference between a certification for say like somebody who's in construction where that's necessary. I don't want somebody who's not qualified and not certified who doesn't have licensing, for instance. That certification binds them to a whole lot of authentication to what it is they say they do. There's some certifications that don't necessarily have the proof behind it. It's just, they're too easy to get. Anybody can get them, but it doesn't really mean that you know what you're doing.

Robb: Sure. Like a certificate of completion kind of thing? You showed up, you breathe, you had a pulse.

Greg: You got some basic knowledge. If you can pass the test, that means you went to the class.

Robb: So yeah I suppose I'm biased. We're both Scrum.org trainers, and the assessments to become certified in any of our courses actually are a little bit tough. And to become a trainer is crazy hard. So I respect those, because I know how difficult they are. But yeah. I suppose I can see the point that some people just don't value them, because they aren't valuable. But you sure as well can pass and get a certification and not know your stuff. You can also know your stuff and not have a certification. But why not have both? What's the bad thing about having both knowledge and certifications?

Greg: I’m with you on that. Doesn't hurt to get certed. I think there may be too much noise and celebration about each and individual cert, but I think over time we're going to see the maturity of certifications and their meaning improve. I've got some theories for another topic another day around that. But yeah, what we have by way of certifications in our classes, I'm a big fan of. I think they're good, they're relevant and yeah, people should pursue them if they can.

Robb: So I think we're wrapping it up here certifications aren't everything but it’s sure nice to have one. It's good to have the knowledge and the certification. And why not?

Greg: Yeah! I want another cert!