Having worked at a semiconductor company for the last several years (in software) my skills are not terribly marketable. I am taking a Coursera Specialization (Functional Programming in Scala) - a rigorous 5 part sequence which includes a Capstone project. The homeworks are very tough and Coursera grossly under-estimates the weekly time required to keep up and do the homework. I am spending my weekends on this course with little leftover free time. I will be done with the entire specialization by October or November. Will this help me get into a better company as a distributed systems software developer ? Do Hiring Managers see a completed certification as an impressive accomplishment ? Let me tell you that it's not possible to complete a Coursera Specialization Certification while working a full-time job unless you are EXTREMELY disciplined and motivated.
^^At least for me it's not possible to do both. The Coursera course is consuming all of my free time. Jeff Bezos are you a hiring manager ? Why do you say this ?
You were asking about getting the job. The truth is that nobody looks much at your resume apart from the recruiter. At least at Amazon, no hiring manager would give you credit for getting a Coursera or Udacity mini-degree. At best, you'll just get some extra points on the leadership principle "Learn and be curious". Now, OTOH, if you fuck up the coding or sys design interview questions, you'll be an automatic reject. Unfortunately, that's how the process is and the hiring decision is made on the basis of observations of your perceived interview performance. So, really focus on leetcode if you want to get the job. Other than that, these Udacity and Coursera courses are pretty awesome, you'll learn a lot, and it would be really helpful if you end up getting a job at a Scala shop, but sadly few companies will give you credit for it, and it won't help you overcome the interview hurdle in the least.
I don't think the certificates have any value at all, but the skills you learn do. If you want to specialize in one field, I think Coursera is actually a good option, but yeah it will take time and effort.
I agree with the idea is that the skills are the value. I would disagree that the certificates have no value but it is minimal for a hiring manager. It's like a slight +2% positive sign that you are proactive about learning. Still - don't do it just to list on resume. It has to be something you are going to use.
I am encouraged by NotMario's comments. Yeah certifications are bullshit but it's not possible to earn them unless you put in a lot of work. I paid for the specialization only because I know that unless money is in the game, I won't bother to keep up. You can gain much of the same knowledge by auditing the course and doing the homework - though the capstone project is reserved for paying (certificate pursuing) students. @ Yahoo I plan on applying to Scala jobs after I am done. All I've got to offer now is C, C++ and Python desktop user space app code and C firmware. At least it's all Linux - thank god for little blessings. Some people at Intel are still doing Winforms and MFC. Sad I know. 😢Learning functional programming has been a total mindfuck so far. It's unbelievably hard but I think mastering it will increase my algorithmic/leetcode skill.
Functional programming wont help with interviews. In fact many interviewers might prohibit you from using a functional programming language since they are not that comfortable with it. Others may allow it still not understand it well enough and fail you.
But learning functional programming helps you grok recursion. It makes you better at algorithms. I would still use C++ for whiteboard interviews (unless it's a scala shop in which case they'd probably want some validation of my scala skills).
Given the scarcity of Scala programmers, it might make a difference for a team that is working in Scala.
It's a very good course, I've done a previous iteration of it and loved it, it helps you reason about problems differently. You will be implementing datastructures in a functional way which is eye opening if you haven't done much functional programming. It takes time go get used to, but after that you don't want to use anything else. The cert alone unfortunately won't help you much to get a job at GFA, they are looking for leetcode parrots, but Twitter, Linkedin and probably Netflix have a lot of scala projects. Good luck with the course and don't give up!
JUST DO LEETCODE. JUST DO LEETCODE. Now did I say it only once!
I can't imagine professionally coding Scala though without intensive training, whether via self-study or through MOOC or whatevs. On the job if you've never done functional programming before - at best you will write shitty atrocious code for 6 months (which will eventually get you fired) or you will get fired in the first 2 weeks for being utterly clueless. Functional programming (scala, Haskell, Clojure, etc) is not Java - no way can the average person learn it on the job just because he knows another language like C++ well. This is why I doubt some of the leetcode pushers here. I'm sure that there are projects at Amazon which are implemented in functional languages and like someone said Twitter, LinkedIn, and many others (startups) exist as well - the course could make a big difference at such places. And by the way yes I would definitely without hesitation work for Twitter. After spending too many years at Intel I don't view Google as a skills upgrade. Yes Goog will pay much better, give you free good etc. but unless you are an AI/ML expert you may get hired @ Goog if you can parrot Leetcode to work on boring_as_fuck shit, but I would much rather work @Twitter or LinkedIn (or any number of startups) from a skills/challenge perspective, EVEN IF the stint lasts just 6 months ! So hey Twitter guys and gals on Blind, I hope to be your colleague within the year - message me !
At Twitter, new engineers have a several days of bootcamp introducing them to Scala and building/deploying services. After that, they mostly learn on the job. For sure previous knowledge helps, but it's not required 👍
nanodegree = nanosalary
No. Just focus on leetcode.
+1000