Jobseeking - any point in getting certified for AWS, etc?

the_amazing_raisin

Hi folks,

Wasn't sure if this was more suited to the software forum or the jobs forum. I went with software since it's a fairly specific question

Anyway, I'm currently on the job hunt and not getting the same amount of traction as a few years ago. Things have definitely changed with a lot more people seemingly applying for fewer jobs

I've been doing some AWS training since cloud development knowledge is definitely a gap in my CV. I'm debating getting certified as an AWS developer as well just so I've got something I can put on my CV

I'm wondering if it's worthwhile though, on one hand it's probably of some use to a recruiter to know that someone else has confirmed the applicant isn't a twat.

On the other hand, I was always distrustful of people putting their hacker rank scores and stuff on their CV. It's easy enough to just Google the solutions and pass all the tests so I always felt it wasn't necessarily a good reflection on their abilities

What are people's thoughts, do the certificates mean anything to ye when you're hiring?

trindade

I would say it's good to have. The market is currently very competitive. During the past years we had a lot of roles in the job market and not enough candidates. It changed now. The economy is slow and companies overhired during COVID according some recruiters.
I am trying to change my current job TOO and there is no comparation between 2019-2022 and now.

Most companies are using Cloud technologies nowadays. If you have no experience with cloud, a company would prefer a candidate with this experience. The certification clearly shows that you studied and passed on the test.

I took Azure certification last month, and during my studies I've learned a lot and I did many practical tests. The certification shows that I do have the basic knowledge related to the topic AND dedication to study and pass. So it's definately useful, but not mandatory to get a job.

the_amazing_raisin

Cheers, I managed to get work with a crowd that uses GCP so I've kind of pivoted to that from learning AWS

I agree the market is different, there's no interest from companies to take on someone who has some of the desired skills and train them up in the remaining

Now they want to tick all the boxes plus extras. Looking at some of the job descriptions now is something else. They want developers with in depth experience of Python and Go, years of experience with API development, knowledge of AWS, GitLab, CI/CD pipelines plus often Apache Spark or Hadoop

That's a whole engineering teams worth of KKK knowledge. I get that companies want a good return on investment for expensive software developers, but that's the kind of knowledge you'd expect from a principal engineer, not someone mid level

I think most people in the middle of their career who have that breadth of knowledge won't have a huge amount of depth on many those topics yet

As the saying goes, jack of all trades, master of none

Anyway, back to certifications. They're probably not a substitute for experience but if you're trying to break into the space then it's a good way to demonstrate that you have some knowledge to a recruiter

trindade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122870947#Comment_122870947

I believe there are things that you can do if you want to have hands on experience in AWS, for example: Create a project in your main programming language and AWS and add to your Github or Gitlab repo. There is a free tier in AWS, and with this project you can use some services for free for one year. I would say picking some of the most popular services in AWS is the way to go, something like S3, EC2, RDS, Lambda… You can link it in your CV.

I feel that it is ridiculous to ask "AWS" in the CV, because these Cloud platforms have so many services that no one can learn all of them. The companies only use a small portion of them.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122872425#Comment_122872425

Absolutely agree with the last point, you could make an entire career out of cloud DB and never touch the compute side for example

As for personal projects, perhaps I'm just too cynical but I find it very difficult to motivate myself for private projects when I've got enough on my plate between actual work and family time

I know, it's all working towards a better job (or any job) but it just feels very hollow to me

I probably just need to find a project that's the right balance of interesting and challenging without getting in over my head