Degrees vs. Certifications: Finding the Best Investment for Career Advancement

While degrees are the most widely known way to get a job, there are TONS of smaller, short-term programs that equip you with the skills you need to be competitive in the job market. Some of these certifications complement a degree. You seek them after having already completed traditional programs. Other certifications can be acquired completely independently.

You want a good job. You also worry that spending fifteen years paying off a college degree doesn’t make much financial sense. Is there a sensible alternative?

In this article, we take a look at the difference between certifications and degrees, helping you choose which will make the most sense for your career advancement goals.

Certification Vs. Degree

There are many situations where certifications are used to pivot from one career to another one. You already have a degree, but you want a new job. The job you are interested in requires either:

• A trip back to college. No, you don’t start over as a freshman. Yes, freshmen might be in your classes with you. • Certification. Still college-level courses, but in the company of people who are like you. Folks who already have a degree but would like to move into a new field.

Going back to college is a good option for people who would like to leisurely pursue their new certification. You’ll start by working with a guidance counselor to figure out what classes you need to get a new degree in your chosen field. What’s needed will likely depend on what your original degree was in. If your original program was comparable to the new one, the path ahead might be relatively short. If it was very different, the path might be longer.

For most people, this route will take 3-4 years, though it could be more if they decide to really take their time.

Certification programs have advantages and disadvantages over more traditional college formats. Advantage:

• They are faster. You can move into your new career within eighteen months.

On the other hand, the disadvantage is that:

• They are faster. It takes a lot of work to learn a new career in eighteen months.

If you are looking for instant gratification, and you don’t want to wait for it either, then the certification route might be right for you.

There could also be financial advantages—certifications programs sometimes being cheaper—but costs vary so widely from program to program that there are no guarantees.

That said, it’s easy to bite off more than you can chew going this route. At that pace, education becomes almost a full-time job, something not everyone is ready for.

What jobs can you get through certification?

There are many jobs waiting on the other side of a certification. Some of the most common are:

• Nursing. • Education. • Social work.

Careers where you need both a college degree and some sort of state-regulated certification. Assuming that you already have a college degree, you should be able to qualify for an accelerated program in any of these job categories.

You can even find online programs that might make the accelerated timeline a little easier. These jobs are good fits for the certification route because they aren’t competitive. All three are in high-demand. Hospitals, schools, and social work offices want good candidates but you don’t need a degree from Harvard to prove your worth. You just need to know your stuff.

Certain other jobs MAY be attainable through certification as well. Tech-related jobs are a good example. If you can take a class on a programming language or something to that effect, it may open certain doors.

For the most part, however, you’ll do better with a degree. Certifications without a degree might get you in the door for some jobs, but they won’t allow you to advance much.

Conclusion

Both options have their strong points. Certifications are easier to get. They cost less money. If you are already working in a field related to the certification that you are interested in, your employer may pay for all of it.

But for all of these reasons, anyone else can get on with equal ease. It doesn’t differentiate you from other applicants as much as a college degree would—particularly a graduate degree.

Advanced degrees, on the other hand, can open bigger doors. If you want to get a competitive promotion or work at a prestigious business, a good advanced degree will do more for your career than a certification would.

It all depends on:

• Your goals, and • The financial feasibility of the proposition.

Does it make sense to borrow a lot of money in the hope of bigger rewards going forward? A graduate degree might be right for you.

Or would it be better to simply make sure you qualify for a highly in-demand job? Nursing, education, social work, and other jobs are all great examples. If so, you can trust that a simpler certification will help you find work.

Everyone’s career goals are different. Figure out what option makes the most sense to you.