Why I Dropped the Certification Game

Certifications are a hot thing in tech…anyone familiar with LinkedIn should have seen people having a few to hundreds of different badges swarming their profiles. At one point in my life... I was riding on that train. Before I started my degree in cybersecurity...I was looking for ways to upskill and, at the same time, earn credibility to land an entry-level security role, which was what led me to certifications. After much research, I enrolled for my first computer networking certification, the Network+ from Comptia. After passing the exam with just one month of preparation, I passed the Security+ the following month, and that was before I started my cybersecurity degree. I thought I was a genius. When I started looking for jobs, the employers who listed these certifications as a requirement did not pay attention to them; they only care about the experience you have gathered, either from building something exceptional or your work experience. Even if the certifications I did during those years were basic entry-level certs. The same rule still applies to advanced certs. Credibility can never be handed over; it is earned over time. I will not write certs off completely, for some people, that's the level-up game, certs got them the job, the pay raise, the promotion, but it is a game I chose to opt out of. It's expensive, unreliable and risky. I don't force myself to learn loads of stuff upfront to prove myself to an employer. I follow the just-in-time-based learning approach, where I only learn what I need for a specific task and allow my skills to compound naturally through real-world experience and constant iteration. If you're considering pursuing certifications, ask yourself the following questions: Is it worth it? Would you be better off creating a tailored learning path for yourself? Do you simply want to display badges on your LinkedIn profile? Are there other ways to prove your skills to an employer? Do you need to go to such lengths to demonstrate your expertise? You should find your answers easily. — Tobiloba Ogundiyan

May 6, 2025 - 16:59

Certifications are a hot thing in tech…anyone familiar with LinkedIn should have seen people having a few to hundreds
of different badges swarming their profiles. At one point in my life... I was riding on that train. Before I started my
degree in cybersecurity...I was looking for ways to upskill and, at the same time, earn credibility to land an
entry-level security role, which was what led me to certifications.

After much research, I enrolled for my first computer networking certification, the Network+ from Comptia. After passing the exam
with just one month of preparation, I passed the Security+ the following month, and that was before I started my
cybersecurity degree. I thought I was a genius.

When I started looking for jobs, the employers who listed these certifications as a requirement did not pay attention
to them; they only care about the experience you have gathered, either from building something exceptional or your work
experience.

Even if the certifications I did during those years were basic entry-level certs. The same rule still applies to
advanced certs. Credibility can never be handed over; it is earned over time. I will not write certs off completely, for
some people, that's the level-up game, certs got them the job, the pay raise, the promotion, but it is a game I chose to
opt out of. It's expensive, unreliable and risky.

I don't force myself to learn loads of stuff upfront to prove myself to an employer. I follow the just-in-time-based
learning approach, where I only learn what I need for a specific task and allow my skills to compound naturally through
real-world experience and constant iteration.

If you're considering pursuing certifications, ask yourself the following questions: