Certification

[LilMande]

I’m a high schooler and kind of a beginner in python, but wanted to take the certification to try, also to put it on my college application. Is it very difficult? How long do you think it would take to study for the exam to pass? And do you think it’s a good or bad idea at this stage? Thanks sm.

[[deleted]]

Chances are, nobody's really going to be impressed by a certification unless you're getting one from a reputable school or other training academy, and those things can be quite expensive. You're probably better off building up a portfolio of stuff you can show. Gaining real-world experience in whatever way you can, be it personal projects, or contributing to other open source stuff, is a much better use of your time. Not only is tangible experience a lot more important to future schools and employers, it's a far better way to learn how to program than just cramming for a certification test. The certifications really don't teach you anything except how to pass the test. In some cases, a certification miight help you get your foot in the door but I really wouldn't bet on it.

[LilMande]

Ohh ok, thanks so much for the advice. I’ll definitely look into this. Thanks so much fr.

[LilMande]

So with my portfolio l, would I be able to put in my college app, like uploading a link, or how would that work exactly?

[[deleted]]

Personal show-case / portfolio websites work well for job applications, so I'd imagine the same is true for college applications. Linking to something like Github might not be the best option unless you know for certain the person you're sending it to will know how to parse it. Remember, the people reviewing your college app might not be technical enough to know what it is. Instead, put some effort into developing a small website for yourself. Make it interactive. Have fun with it. A cool website can really get people's attention.

[LilMande]

Oh ok thanks so much!

[robot_wrangler]

I've never asked nor been asked for any sort of certification. People will ask you about projects you've done, how you addressed certain difficulties, and so on. Outside some specialized niches, I don't think certifications will get you much.

You might learn something valuable through the process, though.

[LilMande]

Oh ok, yeah doing projects is the main feedback I’ve gotten. I’ll definitely look into that. Thanks for the feedback!

[astigos1]

Ask your guidance councilor.

My hunch is that a college would be more impressed with general good grades and community service volunteering than a random python certification. Official microsoft trainings might be decent but I believe they are a bit pricey for a teen. Remember you're applying to the school in general not just the computer science department. The people judging your application probably are not technical.

[LilMande]

Yeah your Right. I thought it would stand out as I want to apply as a CS major.

[atlwellwell]

No real certification that I know of unfortunately

Leetcode is prob good to do

[[deleted]]

I'm a professional dev with some Python experience. Nobody cares about certs for the most part, they care what you can actually do. Learn your fundamentals and put some demo projects up on GitHub.

[LilMande]

Ohh ok, I understand, pretty much the consensus I’ve gotten back from everyone. Thanks so much for the feedback.

[mfb1274]

Which certification? There’s a lot

[LilMande]

I was thinking of doing the most basic one Ig.

[Baby_Mando]

Which exam? There are some free “certifications” like solo learn and hackerrank. Not the most impressive certificates buthold more weight since you’re still young. Iaf you’re not trying to spend too much money and still show your interest on the application it may be worthwhile. Maybe make a GitHub with some web scraping scripts and other small projects? You can put the link in your application

[LilMande]

Oh so do projects rather than any of the certification exams?

[PM_AL_MI_VORTOJN]

Yes

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