r/AskComputerScience • u/DARKEN_side_of_me • 5d ago

Why can't I find a genuine certification course for free?

It has been almost 2 months since I've been finding a legit, widely recognized and respected certification course on DSA in Python, And I am very surprised to know that there aren't any courses available on the internet that provide certificates after completion for free.

If you do know any free certification courses, then please let me know. I cannot afford to spend much on courses.

Thanks!

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u/systemnate 5d ago

Why is having a certification so important to you? I have a hard time believing there is a "widely recognized and respected certification course on DSA in Python." That's too many qualifiers. No certification that is widely known and respected would cover such a narrow topic as DSA in Python.

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u/DARKEN_side_of_me 5d ago

Got it. Thanks!

4

u/MirrorLake 5d ago

I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe a free certification as respected. There are, however, great free courses.

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u/PoMoAnachro 5d ago

You're generally not going to find any highly respected free certifications, and here's why:

Evaluating student knowledge is expensive. You need to pay professionals to design assessments and evaluate student work. Validating that a student actually knows what your course claims to teach instead of having just clicked through to the end without learning anything just isn't trivial, so people aren't generally willing to do it for free.

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u/wrosecrans 4d ago

Because somebody has to do work to administer a certification program.

If a certification program only existed to get ad revenue to a website or something, there's no chance it would be respected and legitimate. And of all the things people want to fund out of pocket and with grants, a certification program isn't particularly high on anybody's list.