Do IT certifications really help you get hired?

Discover whether Linux certifications actually help you get jobs and which ones are worth pursuing.

Certifications promise to boost your career and land you that dream job, but do they actually deliver? In this video from Learn Linux TV,  you’ll learn what hiring managers really think about IT certifications and whether they’re worth your time and money.

Jay speaks from both sides as a former director of IT operations and as a system administrator who earned nine certifications early in his career. His honest answer: Certifications can help you get a job, but sometimes they have no impact at all. It depends entirely on the hiring manager.

Some hiring managers treat certifications as requirements. Others believe certifications only prove you’re good at passing exams, not real experience. This variability means pursuing certifications solely to get hired isn’t the best strategy.

The real value comes from skill development. Studying for exams forces you to explore areas you might otherwise ignore. Buying an exam voucher creates accountability with a deadline, keeping you focused and motivated.

Jay emphasizes certifications should be part of your professional portfolio, not the entire thing. Combine them with GitHub contributions and projects to become a stronger candidate. For choosing certifications, start with vendor-neutral options like Linux Professional Institute (LPI) or CompTIA Linux+ instead of vendor-specific ones like Red Hat. Vendor-neutral certifications teach Linux concepts across multiple distributions, making your skills more adaptable.

Key takeaways

• Certifications build skills, not guarantees – The real value comes from learning during exam preparation, not from automatically getting hired or promoted based on credentials alone.
• Start vendor-neutral, then specialize – Begin with LPI or CompTIA Linux+ to learn Linux broadly before pursuing vendor-specific certifications tied to single platforms.
• Portfolio matters more than credentials – Combine certifications with GitHub contributions, projects, and articles to demonstrate both knowledge and practical skills.

Certifications have genuine value when viewed as skill-building tools rather than magic tickets to employment. Jay’s perspective shows they’re worth pursuing as one component of continuous learning.

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