Obviously not all Certs have the same value. I think AWS Solutions Architect - Associate would be the most adjacent 'bridge' for me, is there any other ones that I should be seriously considering? Seems like theres a new one every week nowadays with AI (which I've dabbled with before in some prior projects but nothing deep or extensive).
Tech companies and startups associate certs with big traditional companies that aren’t really tech savvy — they’ll either ignore certs or see them as a negative signal. The idea being that certs show you’ve memorized something but not that you know how to think.
Small non-tech companies typically don’t know enough to look for such a thing.
I can say that because I had been a hiring manager in tech for seven plus years. What I am looking for is this person who can do the work that we want, and the proof that you have of working with startups is bigger than any other certificate.
i guess my question is more along the lines of "if I have these certs on my resume, is it going to pass through a lot more filters nowadays"
I have a friend who is an It architect and he also did one called TOGAF and said it was worth doing
https://www.opengroup.org/togaf
Hiring managers are more looking at what kind of impact you can provide and what kind of work you can get done. A certificate is useful when you don't have experience.
I would say that go and apply. You will learn while applying.
The only two reasons it was worth it is my company paid for it, and you can get a lounge space and some swag at reinvent. I never get to use it professionally
Likely futile though. The way to get jobs now is through network and connections. If OP doesn’t have those already, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to “catch up” in a reasonable amount of time.