The importance of industry certifications
During trimester 2, 2024, I attended a guest lecture on Secure DevOps by by Valentine Wats, IT professional and CTO of TEMSCONS. The speaker highlighted the importance of industry qualifications in addition to a formal qualification or degree. My understanding was that university coursework establishes a solid foundation, while industry certifications (for example, an AWS platform certification) teach practical skills that employers expect from job seekers. This resonated with me since I am seeking to grow and find employment as a full stack developer in a competitive job market. Moreover, I felt that I have been neglecting sharpening my industry skills since my focus has been largely on doing well in my university studies.
Motivated by the speaker's insights, I devised a plan to start tailoring my skillset based on in-demand skills. I subscribed to the NextJS sub-reddit (the developer framework I prefer working with) so that I could see what others in my field are discussing, building or debating. Additionally, I subscribed to the TLDR newsletter that send daily summaries, highlighting important industry developments specifically for web developers. Lastly, I enrolled in a short course on JavaScript data structures and algorithms to practice the skills that employers often assess during interviews.
My efforts have significantly boosted my awareness of industry trends and best practices. Reading reddit posts and seeing the questions, thoughts and opinions of industry professionals has made me aware of trending or preferred developer tools and platforms. For example, many express their preference for the Supabase SQL services as a DB solution, or warn against high costs associated with hosting apps on Vercel. The platform has also afforded me the opportunity to engage and share my knowledge where applicable. Additionally, the Udemy course I am completing has been helpful in preparing for interviews and raised my confidence in my abilities, while the TLDR has addressed many of the uncertainties created by AI.
I have learned that there must be a balance between theoretical and practical learning to stay relevant as a developer. More specifically, I've learned to ensure I learn the practical skills that employers prefer candidates to have. Moreover, I've become aware of the benefits of engaging with your professional community as a way of learning and staying relevant in your field.
- Reflection
- Secure Dev Ops