Do Online Certs Help?
These are compilation of notes that I've gathered researching online.
Do Online Certificates Help You Get Hired?
Online courses like Coursera and edX can help, but they’re not enough by themselves.
- Many people take online courses
- Building real projects makes a big difference
- Employers want to see what you’ve done with what you learned
A course certificate is just a sign you studied. What matters more is how you apply that knowledge.
Showing Skills Beats Listing Them
Just saying you finished courses doesn’t show how you’ll do the job.
- Making something small that works is better than having no project
- Sharing a personal project helps people see your real skills
- Even buggy apps can be valuable if you built them yourself
For example, someone who built a simple app to find gluten-free restaurants might stand out more than someone who only has certificates.
Use Courses to Build, Not Just Learn
The best way to use online learning is to build something real from it.
- Pick a project that solves a small problem you care about
- Apply what you learned step-by-step
- Keep improving your project as you learn more
Here's a very basic example of using Python to make a simple web server:
from http.server import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
server_address = ('', 8000)
httpd = HTTPServer(server_address, SimpleHTTPRequestHandler)
print("Serving on port 8000")
httpd.serve_forever()
Expected result:
When run, this starts a web server you can access at http://localhost:8000
Even small projects like this show that you’ve turned learning into action.