+1 I totally agree. Labels like certification, graduation, etc. play a role only at the very first stage of recruitment. When someone lacking skills, time and/

+1 I totally agree. Labels like certification, graduation, etc. play a role only at the very first stage of recruitment. When someone lacking skills, time and/or attention is sifting through resumes. This is not the interesting part for jobs I imagine you 'd want. Beyond that, as an interviewer I'd focus on motivation, attitude, intelligence and skills. Skills are important, but rarely does it matter where those skills were acquired. [EDIT] and while personally I'm sure I was selected once or twice based on my diplomas, I generally find (contributions to) a nice piece of software or github repo much more convincing than some CS degree. Proof of the pudding is in the eating.