Technology is changing at a rate that can make anyone, even the most seasoned IT professional, dizzy. This leaves people trying to break into the industry confused about what to focus on and more seasoned people wondering if that next certification is worth it. With all this technology change, I am often asked, or see people posting on social media, whether IT certifications are worth it.
This is a polarizing topic that some people have very strong opinions on, myself included. I am going to explore certifications as a whole: the good, the bad, and my own personal experiences with certifications. So sit back, grab your favorite drink, and let’s dive into the relevance of IT certifications in 2025?
What are IT Certifications?
IT Certifications are a way for the holder of the certification to show that they understand a certain topic (or topics) that the vendor wants them to showcase. I am going to be looking at this from a network point of view, well since I am a network guy. Almost every vendor in the network hardware (and software) space has some kind of certification track. Although not an exhaustive list, here are some vendors who have certification programs:
- Cisco
- Arista
- Palo Alto
- Juniper
- Solarwinds – Yes, I was surprised to see this when looking at software vendors who offer certifications.
These certifications can focus on a number of different technologies, groups of technologies, and have different levels you can climb. For instance, Cisco has the CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE as the different levels you can obtain. These have varying requirements for each level. They also cross over different technologies, like Security and Data Center, just to name two. They also could have different numbers of tests to complete to earn that level of certification.
The certification tests are either a test that will present a bunch of different question types to you, like multiple choice, drag and drop, and true and false. There are also tests that will put you in a lab environment and have you either troubleshooting or configuring the items that the vendor wants you to do.
The Good With Certifications
As a lifelong learner, I can say the good of certifications is having something to show that you understand a technology well enough to pass a test. It shows that you understand a topic at a certain level and should be able to demonstrate it in the real world. They can open more doors for you in the industry. Having a certification is not the end-all-be-all in your job hunt, but it doesn’t hurt to have them when applying for a job. On the job front, they can open more doors for you both in your current organization and if you so choose to want to leave where you are for something else. Depending on the certification, this can also keep your skills sharp and have you learning about technology that you might not be using in your day-to-day job.
Certifications do have some good qualities to them, but like with anything, there is the other side of this debate.
The Bad with Certifications
I am going to circle back to what I said above, “having something to show that you understand a technology well enough to pass a test.” Who gets to quantify what “well enough” means? My well enough is different from your well enough. Some organizations put this stigma around certifications. They think that if you don’t have one, you can’t configure a switch. I understand the VARs who need to have a specific number of certified people to keep their status with vendors, but I think that this is undue stress and gives people taking certifications a false sense of what they are there for. Perhaps the worst thing about certifications is the fact that if you wanted to, you could find some nefarious site and download the actual test and study that. This is with anything though, unfortunately it is more prevalent in the certification world.
What does Mike Think About Certifications
I don’t want to turn this blog post into a book that could be published by Wiley. I am going to try to keep it brief. The first thing we should get out in the open is I was a certification junkie. At one point in time, I had 50 active certifications. I know, crazy right! I was collecting them like Pokémon when I thought very differently than I do today about them. Check out this picture below. I laid most of them out and had to stand on my stairs and zoomed in to take this picture. There are a few missing, but I think that gets my point across.
The following is my own experience and how I look at certifications today.
I had a bad experience in May of 2014 with a certain company’s expert level certification. You can read that here: What is the CCIE Even Worth?. Lucky, I was the catalyst to change for that specific issue I had. Unfortunetly, that is the day my certification dreams died. Now, I did go on to get a few more certifications. That doesn’t change what my feelings are on the topic. I feel that, at least for me, certifications give people a false sense of knowledge. What do I mean by that? I mean, yes they teach you the technical things that you need to be “proficient”, and believe me I use this term VERY loosely. What they don’t teach you are the skills that will make you better in your role. One can argue that it isn’t the goal of the certification, and I agree, but only a little.
Each of these vendors have target titles, or years of experience that go for these certifications. Why not instead of having someone be able to answer something they won’t be configuring 100x over, like IP Services (DNS, NTP, DHCP, SNMP, etc), you focus on some of the skills that this specific role would come across in their day to day.
Let’s wrap this bad boy up
As I sit here in my home office, its 10:34PM on May 27th, sipping on a glass of Weller Special Reserve, I don’t want my outlook on certifications to cloud anyone’s mind. In all actuality, certifications being relevant is up to the person in the seat who is thinking about going for it. In my own opinion, where I am in my career, I don’t think I will ever take another certification, but this is my journey. On the other hand, someone just starting out or someone who wants that promotion and wants that slight edge might want to take that certification.
No one can tell you what the outlook of certifications are because they are not on your journey, you are. Only you can make that decision because you know what you want to do with your career and how you want it to progress. Now, if you take a certification on frame-relay, I would try to stop you.
I would love to know your thoughts on this. You can find me over on my socials, or let me know in the comments below, what are your thoughts on IT certifications? Do you think they are worth it?