Why would going to college for four or more years be worth anything if degrees, certifications and test taking are all worthless? After all, when you graduate college all you get is a piece of paper showing that you paid your money and took all the required testing. I agree that a piece of paper doesn’t mean you are going to be really good (skilled and talented) in a particular field, but the piece of paper does prove that you were exposed to the majority of the key areas you need knowledge in. People often view certifications and degrees from the wrong perspective. A certification or a degree is more about exposure and knowledge rather than raw skill and talent. So we already understand that a certification or a degree does not mean you automagically graduate with the necessary skill and talent you need to do well in that job field. We’ve all met some so-called degreed professionals that still suck at their job. Don’t even get me started on some of the worthless lawyers and worthless doctors I have encountered with framed certifications and degrees hanging up in their office.
A common problem of getting a job is based on the reality of getting past Human Resource departments who are just looking for pre-specified keywords, and who are also looking for paper certifications and paper degrees. I’ll use myself as an example. I have over 19 years in web design and have been using Photoshop/Illustrator/Adobe Suite, etc. for over 25 years. I have a killer online portfolio showcasing my design work and have worked for major corporations. And here’s the kicker… I don’t have a single degree in Graphic Design, Programming or even a certification in Art of any kind. Now, here’s the real world problem I face all of the time when applying for jobs (mostly 6 months to 1-year contracts) the HR department often tosses my resume into the trash because they don’t see the “Bachelor’s Degree” keyword they are looking for. That’s just the real world reality of not having a piece of paper showing a certification or a degree. The problem is that you really need both. Yes, you need a killer demo reel or a killer online portfolio to showcase your skill and talent, but you also need the piece of paper (certification or degree) that gets you past the HR buzzword police and to prove you have been exposed to important and key field areas.
So has not having that piece of paper hurt me over the years? Yes, you better believe it has. In the majority of senior-level positions I have applied for, the same stumbling block happens to me over and over again: a minimum of a “Bachelor’s Degree” required. My resume gets thrown-out all the time. So if you really think that a piece of paper (certification and degree) is worthless, then you are simply not living in the reality of the real world. Would having a killer demo reel or portfolio be useful? Hell yes. Would also having a certification in Unreal Engine be useful in the game development industry? Yes, absolutely! Is Unity doing the smart thing by providing certification pathways for its user base? Yes, absolutely! The final answer is… ideally you would want both. One to show you have been exposed to and tested in key areas of field knowledge and the other to show you truly have the skill and the talent for the job.