
Certifications - CapitalistCartr
Certification: My wife is about to be a lawyer, is good at tech (used to do support at medical co.), but wants a cert  for her résumé. I know they&#x27;re crap, but lawyers don&#x27;t.  What would be a good certification for this?
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otoburb
She wants a certification for her résumé? If she's about to graduate from law
school she should be officially obtaining her JD or LLB equivalent. That's a
pretty good "certification" by itself.

Also, if she graduated from an accredited American law school, she will most
likely be taking the Multistate Bar Exam[1] soon which then grants her the
ability to practice in multiple states depending on her MBE score. This will
also be something of note she can state on her résumé that employers will
value.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_examination#Multistate_Bar...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_examination#Multistate_Bar_Examination_.28MBE.29)

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CapitalistCartr
Yes, of course all that, but so are all her classmates. None of that sets her
apart, nor does it suggest IT skills.

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johnmarcus
I would find something with regards to security and compliance, like CCISO.
This will be useful in various parts of the business/startup world.
[https://ciso.eccouncil.org/](https://ciso.eccouncil.org/)

I doubt an A+ cert would be much use as people are suggesting. (which is for
computer technicians - the people that replace hard drives, network cards,
etc).

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gumby
Great suggestion!

Any cert will need an explanation: "I have this A+ so I would know what the
forensic techs are talking about" or "This CCISO has given me insight in
understanding the liability our clients really take on -- and what is
ridiculous. And I can explain it to a judge."

A couple of comments like that and then everybody will point to her and say,
"she's the go-to expert on X!"

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stinkytaco
I'm not exactly sure why she would need one, especially considering lawyers
won't know what's what. So if this is about resume building, I guess we'd need
more information about what she's trying to accomplish.

If it's about learning something, I guess she should pursue what she's
interested in.

All that said, A+ is what I consider a good "entry level" certification. It's
not hard, but it's also not possible to bullshit your way through without
knowing something. Most CompTIA are like this. Also good are MS Professional
certs, Red Hat, VMWare, and Cisco. There are definitely others, depending on
the area, but those are a few that I see often that most would consider
legitimate (meaning you don't have to just go through motions to get them).

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modo_
I think an Amazon Developer certificate could be a good choice. One of the
lower level certifications like associate developer[1] wouldn't require much
time investment vis-à-vis studying, while still having broad name recognition.

[1] [https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-developer-
ass...](https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-developer-associate/)

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danyork
If she's just looking for something to show that she has some level of
technical skill, I'd second the suggestion others have made for CompTIA
certifications. They are a good base level cert -
[https://certification.comptia.org/](https://certification.comptia.org/)

Depending upon what type of law she is planning to go into:

\- A+ is targeted at basic devices and operating systems (think: very basic
tech support)

\- Network+ is basic networking

\- Security+ is basic security

etc.

Probably the best way to start.

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inputcoffee
You should say a little more about what her goal is. Is it to:

get a job?

"In" tech?

As a lawyer?

As a patent lawyer?

HR lawyer?

Does she want a job as a programmer?

There are lots of certifications (as you well know), so people need to know
more about the goal.

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CapitalistCartr
Good point. She'll be a lawyer, but working in tech related to non-patent IP.
Definitely _not_ HR. Her mouth and overall "direct style" preclude that. No
programming directly, but working with the subject to protect IP.

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inputcoffee
If by non-patent IP you mean: NDAs, Non-compete's, and Trademarks, then it
would depend on the particular niche.

Really, if she is working as a lawyer, I don't think a particular
certification will give her more credibility. Given what you said, a design
certificate might give her a leg up in Trademark law.

If she is going to work with code itself, I would definitely learn as much git
as I can. She can diff a few files, and get a feel for how much people borrow
and fork when it comes to code.

Those are the ideas I have but she probably knows more about it than I do,
from your description.

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maerF0x0
Not a specific cert per se, but super important info for a lawyer to
understand if she wants to do law around technology.

[http://kfrankc.me/cs88s/](http://kfrankc.me/cs88s/)

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zitterbewegung
Probably A+ from CompTIA.

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sheeshkebab
I agree, A+ will serve a lawyer well. Time and money well spent ++++

:)

