Are 12-24 week paid certs from MIT, Northwestern etc. worth it on a resume?

[long11l]

I have been seeing quite a few paid online degree/certs from prestigious schools. The sale prices seem to range from 2000-5000 dollars.

Will these help a resume, particularly when following a break from work or trying to redirect a career. I was looking to pad my resume to align with certain career paths in min.

These seem to be fitting for that, but how seriously are they taken? It seems like a different caliber of course compared to what has been offered in the past.

[readonthegoapp]

I have no knowledge, but my gut tells me that someone busting their butt to stand out is someone I might want to be associated with.

If it's a piece of paper from MIT/NW/etc. rather than U of Phoenix (not hating), I'd pay attention to it/you in a different way -- I'd say, "Oh, you're upper-class, you're one of us, therefore you're a safer hire".

Then again, I wasn't raised upper-class, so I don't know if that's actually how upper class people think when they hire, but i met someone recently who, when i said my most enjoyable job was at a startup in Palo Alto because everyone was _really smart_ and just _got it_ -- he was like YES!

It was like, he wanted to be around winners - high achievers - or at least people who were well-born - that's how I took it, anyways.

And so I suspect spending that relatively tiny bit of cash would be 'worth it' -- probably x10+ within 10 years in pure monetary ROI. And plenty of intangible benefits.

There are people who think school/uni is about learning. That's fine.

And there are folks posting to HN right now saying MBAs are worthless. Ok.

I'm actually surprised you'd be able to spend that little on a cert, but I guess there are all sorts of certs, mini-certs, programs, etc.

I suspect it would actually be pretty fun if you were actually interested in the material, or at least interested in finding out if you were interested in the material.

If you're lucky, if you can control your diet and not have too much bad luck, you'll probably live to 100. So, spend the cash. That's my take.

And make friends with the people in your classes.

[savy99]

I am a hiring manager at a small tech startup. I personally find it challenging to differentiate which online certifications are indicators of skill versus an easy checkbox for padding a resume. If the certification is from a prestigious school I do give it slightly more credence, but it would still be far less than relevant work experience, some sort of portfolio, or a bachelor's.

I know that cover letters have gone out of fashion but for me this is the exact sort of thing that a cover letter is made for - to give further explanation to one's qualifications that is difficult to glean from a resume. I still find them useful in some cases and do scan them if they are there!

[truly]

If there is no formal requirement for the certification (like if you are applying to a government job), I would lean towards not taking the certification.

Instead, concentrate on learning by doing. Most interviews for development jobs check if you really understand your programming, they don't just look at the diplomas.

[crate_barre]

if you have nothing else that’s relevant, then get it. I know they hire entry level folks with credentials like that without much scrutiny (at least they have something).

I went through a break myself awhile ago and almost did a bootcamp as a refresher, but it turned out I was able to just get back up to speed on my own rather quickly and opted out. Don’t underestimate how much experience you actually have, grab a good book.

[Spooky23]

Depends on what you do.

When I see some dude on LinkedIn who has a Certificate in whatever from MIT, I eyeroll. Sometimes it helps consultants if you went to an overseas school or some random school that doesn’t advertise prestige.

[wikibob]

No