Web Developer Certification?

[llamaofthesea]

I am a help desk professional who is looking to make a career move over to a web development with my current employer. While I don't have a degree in Computer Sciences, I do have a 4-year degree, I've worked in the field for a while and have a modest portfolio. My question is...what is the general opinion on certification for someone without a degree in the field? Secondly, are there any recommendations on good (legitimate/challenging/respectable) certificates?

A bit more background...I'm looking at ASP and PHP specifically but am also interested in (X)HTML, CSS, and JavaScript as well. I'm not at a stage where going back to school is really an option, and I'm not convinced that attending a class at my local community college is all that different from a certificate that I could get from online testing.

While I believe that a certificate cannot truly demonstrate your capabilities, I can see the benefit of having something to show a prospective employer. Maybe it's not enough to make or break the application/interview, but possibly get me a foot in the door and show that while I didn't formally go to school for this, I have demonstrated some knowledge of this subject.

With that - Are there any recommendations for legitimate certificates in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, ASP, and PHP? Does anyone have the opinion that such a certificate is a complete waste of time and is nothing more than eye-candy for the resume? Other thoughts? I'd really appreciate your suggestions and comments. Thanks so much!

[Compguy Pete]

The link below is a good place to start...

http://www.w3schools.com/

if you only looking to work for someone else then yes a cert is a good benchmark for employers, since most will want a cert degree or exp in the field.

peter

[LeeU]

You might check the one here (http://www.joinwow.org/certification/index.html). Lots of industry professionals involved with that organization.

[drhowarddrfine]

Yeah. Certification is a mill business I wish I got into years ago. Maybe it's not too late? Gotta be big bucks selling those things. Pffft.

[Webnerd]

such a certificate is a complete waste of time and is nothing more than eye-candy for the resume


You are precisely correct!!! It is not even eye candy for a tenured development firm or a company that "knows" real value when they see it. I have no college degree and have no certifications and make over $80,000 for "what I know", not for a piece of bulls**t paper that hangs on a wall. Web development is one of the few industries that a certification and/or college degree don't really matter to most companies.

What IS important is how versatile your resume can be. You can't show a resume where you have only been at one place for a long period time. You need to show growth, so it appears that you grow with the technology around you.