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As you search the job market, chances are you’ve come across a number of job openings that require a bachelor’s degree. This added requirement for a degree has caused 64% of working-age adults to drop out because they don’t have a degree, according to Harvard Business School.

1. Google Cybersecurity Certificate – Jump-start your cybersecurity career.

2. Natural Language Processing in TensorFlow – Building NLP Systems

3. Python for Everyone – Develop programs to collect, clean, analyze, and visualize data

4. Google IT Support Professional Certification

5. AWS Cloud Solutions Architect – Professional Certificate

Organizations and employers obviously have a preference when it comes to bachelor’s degrees, as an educated workforce tends to be more productive, as stated by the Economic Policy Institute. Narrowing down the pool of applicants by adding a bachelor’s degree requirement is also an easy route for many companies.

However, things are different. With the growth of data-driven solutions and new opportunities brought about by AI, companies are not looking for employees who are willing to retrain and upskilling is key. Instead of being able to find overqualified employees they once wanted, they are not looking for employees who are willing to retrain and upskilling is key.

Like everyone else, I’ve found myself passing up these opportunities due to my lack of a degree. When I decided to pursue a career in Data Science, I didn’t have the time or finances to commit to a 3-year degree. My time was valuable because I needed to make money, so I opted for a Data Science bootcamp. This bootcamp would take me 9 months and I would only have to pay back a % if I made more than a certain amount.

Understanding your career goals

If I could go back and choose between certification and a degree, I would say neither is the wrong path. However, you have to look further into the future. Is this a short-term career goal or do you want to continue to build on your long-term goal?

Harvard Business School summed it up this way in a recent report: “Jobs don’t require four-year degrees, employers do.” Yet many employers have chosen to drop bachelor’s degree requirements to meet current marketplace needs.

You can earn a professional certificate to achieve your short-term goal of getting your foot in the industry and starting at the bottom. But if you ultimately want to grow in your career and move into other roles, what do you need to do to get there? Understanding what you want now versus what you want later is key to helping you make the right choice.

How do you find out? Research.

Once you have an idea of ​​your short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals, you might want to dive in and do some research. For example, you might want to start as a junior data scientist and eventually move up to lead data scientist. But your goals might not end there, you might want to take it a step further and state that your end goal is to become a Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

The best thing you can do is research and view job postings for these job titles, from entry level to senior level. Dig into the education requirements and years of experience, and find other people on platforms like LinkedIn to see their educational path.

Professional certification or a diploma?

After you have thoroughly researched your career path and how you want to get there, you need to ask yourself whether you want to arrive at the first destination right away or whether you are willing to wait a few years before you get there.

Professional certificates don’t take long to earn and cost much less compared to degrees. They focus on developing technical skills rather than soft skills that help you advance in a work environment. Professional certificates can be a great way to experience your interest in a short period of time and ensure that this is what you want to do. You can retrain without losing as much time as you would with a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

On the other hand, bachelor’s and master’s degrees take longer to complete and are expensive. However, they can be worth it. Not only will you develop technical skills, but you can also build soft skills such as critical thinking and creativity. Hard and soft skills go hand in hand if you want to be successful in the job market. Degrees are also known to increase your salary and make you less likely to be unemployed compared to workers who don’t pursue higher education. Although entry-level positions are dropping the requirement for bachelor’s degrees, you may still need one to advance in your career.

Where do I start?

You need to go back to your goals. Your goals help you understand what your next steps are. If you are starting something completely new, say from marketing to data analytics, it is best to start with short-term programs like professional certifications.

Most people change careers a few times in their adult lives – that’s normal. The last thing you want to do is commit to a career based solely on the fact that you sacrificed 3 or 4 years of college.

The beauty of this era is that you have options if you want to pursue both paths. The various e-learning platforms allow you to earn professional certificates and degrees at your own pace. Time is no longer a determining factor, the only decision you have to make is whether you want to pursue the short-term path or the long-term path.

Here are some different career paths you can take through both routes:

Data science

Professional Certificates:

University degrees:

Data engineering

Professional Certificates:

University degrees:

Data analyst

Professional Certificates:

University degrees:

Complete

When you look at the list of professional certificates and degrees above, you will see one major difference and similarity. Most professional certificates are tailored to a specific career, such as data science or data engineering. However, the degrees are broader and cover all types of jobs.

However, if you’re not sure exactly which route you want to take, it might be a better idea to get a degree so you can figure it out as you go.

Nisha Arya is a data scientist, freelance technical writer and editor, and community manager for KDnuggets. She is particularly interested in providing career advice or tutorials on data science and theory-based knowledge about data science. Nisha covers a wide range of topics and wants to explore the different ways in which artificial intelligence can improve the longevity of human life. Nisha is an avid learner and wants to broaden her technical knowledge and writing skills while helping others.