Programming with only a certificate?

[bennylava]

I saw that this forum says its for things that "don't fit into other categories" so I figured that this is the best place to post this. And this is related to coding. I would like to ask you guys about jobs. Specifically, the realistic qualifications needed to land a job, programming in Python language. I'm currently roughly 50% finished with the Python course over at CodeAcademy. And over at CodeAcademy, they say that if you finish their course, which includes tests and projects, that you will then be prepared to take the official Python certification test and be able to pass it. Which is what I plan to do, to get that certification.

But once I do that, will I be able to find a job? Is that enough? Or will I need to go and pay a college $35k for a computer science degree? Surely a certificate from the Official Python organization would be enough to land me an entry level programming job, right? Or wrong? I'll be a fresh faced newb at that point, with little to no experience. But you hear things about programmers that got hired with absolutely no qualifications. They got hired, because they could program. Is this still true? Do you think I'd be able to find a job with only a Python certificate?


(I realize there's a jobs subforum but this question wouldn't fit there because I am not offering a job, or seeking a job at this time.)

[metulburr]

I would say aside from getting a degree, that the best way is to build things with python. Use a ton of 3rd party libraries and get familiar with them. Get involved in the community. A good resume is a long history on Github.

[Larz60+]

I am retired now, and when I was hiring, there weren't robots scanning resumes, but aside from that, we had a test that was administrated to all applicants, and it contained a good sampling of the analytical skills needed to be a successful programmer. I am not going to say that I didn't add weight to a persons credentials, and will go so far to say that a degree from s pool of highly rated schools didn't also carry some weight. However in the end, someone receiving a high score on the test that we administered carried more weight than a persons education.

So, if you write a good resume that can get past the robots, prepare for and do well on interview tests, show a positive attitude (very important), you've got a good chance of being hired.

Make sure you pick a job that you are truly interested in, that is most important.

[bennylava]

Can you go into what was on that test? Maybe talk about how a person who was a decent programmer, could still fail it.

[Larz60+]

The tests were purchased outside of the company, and called Wolfe-Spence test.
Each is sealed and opened by the applicant, and only the applicant see's the questions.
When done, the applicant seals the exam. We then sent the test in for grading and received a score back.

I only saw one, and that's the one that I took myself. We all agreed that if we were going to have applicants take this, we should be subject to the same scrutiny.

I cannot tell you what was in it, as I took mine back in the late 1970's. Not even sure what the standard is today, but perhaps one of the others on the forum can elaborate.

You can find some information about available testing methods here: https://www.computerlanguage.com/results...ence+tests