Online programming certification suggestions?

Question

Recently opted for a career change and I'm dying for some suggestions about an online certification for html5/css3/JavaScript/php....?? Other then oreilley's that will charge $2500+ per programme? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Answer 1

"Web Dev Certification" is an interesting topic.  I've heard it discussed a few times, and every time the general conclusion I've heard is that people (read: employers and clients) don't care that much.

What employers/clients care about is *results*.  What you've actually done that shows your skill.  If you've done actual work, published and maintained (or even just contributed to) projects, *that's* what they want to know about.  Not that you paid some $3K to have some letters put after your name.  They want your portfolio.

Grain of salt: I am not an employer ;) But the logic makes sense to me.

Answer 2

There is no meaningful web certification. Your portfolio and contributions are all that will ever matter.

Comments

Well... I wouldn't go so far as to say *ever*.  After all, who can tell the future? ;)

Answer 3

It is not certification per se, but Code Academy [0] has free online courses for JavaScript and beginners HTML and CSS, as well as jQuery and server side languages. It gives badges for completed courses, so there is some sort of reward system for taking each course.

Microsoft have an HTML5 exam, which you can currently take for free [1]. That covers many modern topics in HTML5 and CSS3. There are no free lessons as part of that, but they do have some online videos you can follow to get ready for the exam [2]. It is mostly targeted towards being the prerequisite for being able to develop JavaScript apps for Windows 8, but the online videos and exam are mostly web focused, rather than IE or Win 8 focused.

[0] http://www.codecademy.com/
[1] http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/html5-offer.aspx
[2] http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/tracks/developing-html5-apps-jump-start

Answer 4

Try www.edx.org :-)

Answer 5

You're better off buying one book on what you want to learn, to get the basics, then BUILD something using Stack Overflow etc. for help. It's the fastest and best way to learn.

If you're thinking about certifications to help you get a job, forget about it. Nobody cares. Seriously… The equivalent of "certifications" in this field is to create or collaborate on open source projects. I've actually been contacted a few times through Github for job offers.

Answer 6

Hi,
you can get online certification from these two best. MSDN and cisco.
Choose one which suits better for you.

Answer 7

I realise this is an old question now, but I thought I would add my answer in case it could help either the original poster or anyone who comes across this question in search.

I went through a rather major career change a few years back and had the same thought. The other answers on here are actually quite right, there is nothing as good as experience and a proven portfolio - but my commercial portfolio was thinner than thin even having been passionate about development for years before the switch.

The only web specific certification courses I could find were the 'Certified Internet Web Professional' courses. There are a number of different specialisations that you can study towards and gain certification in - all the details can be found at http://ciwcertified.com/. I went with 'Master CIW Designer' which I don't think they do anymore, it covered design, development and e-commerce which I saw as a good starting block.

That said there really is no substitute for a good portfolio, but as someone who loves learning (and revising old knowledge) I took a lot from the courses I took, and had a blast on a three week residential course with some like minded folk.

Hope this helps in some way, best of luck in the future!