Credentials Are a Receipt, Not the Meal
A credential is proof that you paid. That’s all it is. A degree proves you paid four years and some tuition. A certification proves you paid an afternoon and an exam fee. None of it proves you can do the thing. It proves you stood in the right line.
We confuse the receipt for the meal constantly. I’ve watched companies hire the receipt and act surprised when no food arrives. I’ve done it in reverse too — collected receipts I was sure I needed, then found the work didn’t care.
The reason it matters isn’t fairness. It’s that credentials are a lagging indicator and thoughts are a leading one. By the time you’ve earned the credential, the thing it certifies is already in the past. A real thought is about what you can do next. Bet on the leading indicator.
Paul Graham noticed that the most credentialed people are often the most cautious, because they have the most to protect. The receipt becomes a thing you defend instead of a thing you spend. A credential should be ammunition. The moment it becomes armour, you’ve stopped moving.
I’m not anti-credential. I have the degree, the Codeforces rating, the resume. I’m anti-confusing them for the work. The rating got me in the room. It has never once written a line of code for me. The degree opened a door. It has never shipped a product.
So here’s the test. If every certificate, title and badge I’ve ever been issued vanished tonight, what could I still make by Friday? That number — the make-by-Friday number — is the only honest measure of what you’re worth. Everything else is receipts.
Keep them. File them. Don’t eat them.
p.s. — the rating did once impress a recruiter who then ghosted me. So even the receipt has a return policy.
One of a series of essays. I’m Prajjwal Chittori — engineer, builder, occasional philosopher. prajjwalchittori.com.