As professionals in the fast-moving tech industry, it's fair to say we're constantly playing catch-up with emerging technologies. One popular way people stay current in this ever-evolving landscape is through tech certifications. These credentials offer a means of validating skills—and sometimes, they’re even necessary for compliance.
But how much weight should certifications really carry? And how should professionals approach them?
After chatting with a few colleagues, I realized there's no single consensus—opinions vary widely. More people than I expected seem to resent certifications, pursuing them only because their employers require it. A few Reddit threads (my source of unquestionable truth these days) seem to echo that sentiment too.
TL;DR
- Certifications validate knowledge, not mastery
- Being certified ≠ Being a subject-matter expert (SME)
- Certifications aren’t inherently bad or useless
- Like most things in life, their value depends on how you use them
My two cents
1. Certifications Validate Knowledge — Nothing More, Nothing Less
Certifications can be valuable, but they’re not a golden ticket to expertise or career success. Passing a certification exam means you've studied the material and can recall it under test conditions. That’s it.
It doesn’t mean you’ve deployed a production-grade system, debugged a critical outage, or optimized a real-world architecture.
Take me, for instance — passing the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam doesn’t mean I can stand shoulder to shoulder with career architects who’ve been doing this longer than I’ve been in tech. Certifications provide a structured way to learn, but they’re not proof of real-world mastery.
2. Being Certified ≠ Being an SME
Some professionals fall into the trap of thinking that a certification makes them a subject-matter expert. That’s risky—especially in fields like cybersecurity or cloud engineering, where hands-on experience is irreplaceable.
An SME is someone who has solved complex, unscripted problems—not someone who memorized a question dump. Certifications should supplement experience, not replace it.
We've all met that one guy who has every certification under the sun but struggles with basic tasks. It’s awkward and avoidable.
3. Practical experience always trumps theory
No certification can replicate the lessons you learn from:
- Debugging a failing CI/CD pipeline at 3:00 AM
- Troubleshooting a network bottleneck under pressure
- Fixing a code regression you accidentally introduced
- Delivering a feature under an impossible deadline
Real-world problem-solving builds instincts no exam can test.
That’s why, in interviews, candidates with “battle-tested” experience often stand out and go on to get roles. They usually provide more structured, in-depth answers because they’ve lived the problems, not just studied them.
4. Certifications are great for learning new tech and opening up
opportunities
I don't think certifications are all useless though. One of the best uses for certifications is the structured learning it provides especially when exploring unfamiliar territory. If you're a backend engineer interested in cybersecurity, studying for Security+ or CISSP can give you a solid foundation in understanding the fundamentals of security. As a developer working mostly on-prem, you may use an Azure or GCP cert to get hands-on with cloud concepts, virtualization etc. This helps with breaking into new fields or trying to stand out in a crowded job market. I feel it signals initiative and shows employers you’re committed to continuous learning.
5. It’s what you make of them that matters
At the end of the day, certifications are just tools. Some people collect them like trophies without deepening their skills. Others use them strategically—to fill knowledge gaps and propel their careers forward. I think certifications should guide learning and not replace hands-on practice. They should certainly be paired with labs, pet projects, or real-world applications.
Final Thought
Tech certifications are useful but they’re just one piece of the puzzle. Their real value lies in how you apply what you’ve learned. So study for the exam, sure but then go build, break and fix things in the real world. That’s where true expertise is forged.
What’s your take on tech certifications? Have they helped your career, or do you think they’re overrated? Leave your thoughts in the comments! 🚀
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