I.T. = certification Software Engineering = creating and explaining projects More on reddit.com

that makes even less sense because certification tests. . . . .. for what? a third year computer science student would know that as well. but good luck. ... If you are in the SF Bay Area, you can come to PyBay, and meet other python programmers, win free books, and free online courses through ... More on reddit.com

None of them! Programming certs aren't really useful because there is no standardised, controlled testing from a trustworthy and reputable organisation. This means all certifications display different skill levels, employers would have to research each one individually, and they can be easily cheated on. It doesn't help that a certification in a programming language can't really show anything over near-beginner skill levels. Even if there was a standardised, controlled testing environment which did not provide the opportunity to cheat, the length of time required to actually prove a high level of professional competence (probably in the region of 50 hours of testing plus marking time) would likely make it prohibitively expensive to actually get certified, both in terms of paying for invigilators and examiners and in terms of taking time off work. That would result in low adoption, and therefore the certification still wouldn't be worth a whole lot. What employers look for instead is good personal projects which demonstrate your capability. This shows that you can solve a real-world problem, write good quality code, document your code well, use version control software, etc. - all of which is stuff an employer should be looking for in a candidate. More on reddit.com

A python certificate is worth next to nothing. More on reddit.com