Why Chasing Certifications Almost Made Me Lose Focus
By Seun Sylvester | Strategy | February 21, 2026
Bandwagons, Burnout, and the Discipline of Looking Inward
There is a particular kind of anxiety that grips immigrants and ambitious professionals. It whispers:
- You are behind.
- You need to catch up.
- Everyone else is upgrading.
And before long, growth becomes noise.
The Seduction of the Six-Figure Promise
After settling into life in Canada, something subtle shifted. Every conversation seemed to orbit the same promises —
- six-figure salaries;
- tech transitions;
- cybersecurity;
- data analytics;
- Scrum;
- business analysis;
- product management etc.
Everywhere you turned, there was a bootcamp, a certification, and a guarantee:
- “Take this program and earn $100,000+.”
As immigrants who did not enter this system at 18, many of us feel like we are racing against time itself. So I did what many do. I enrolled.
- Data analysis — check.
- Scrum Master — check.
- Business analysis — check.
- Cybersecurity [they said I didn’t need to learn how to code and all] — almost!
I was constantly upgrading. Or so I thought.
When Upgrading Becomes Escaping
Certifications are valuable. Don’t get me wrong.
They open doors, validate expertise, and sharpen your professional edge. They could also help you pivot to an entirely new field or career and yes, people made the switch, took the certifications and got the dream jobs, no doubt about that.
The problem was never the certifications themselves. The problem was why I was pursuing them.
At some point, I had to ask myself an uncomfortable question:
- Was I building skill — or chasing validation?
There is a difference. Skill deepens your edge. Validation soothes insecurity. Every new certification made me feel temporarily powerful, but something else was quietly happening — my focus was fragmenting, my energy was scattering, and my direction was blurring.
“I was not building mastery in anything. I was collecting badges in everything”. Remember the old adage – a jack of all trades, master of none. In career building, that first half will cost you more than you think. Those bootcamps and certifications weren’t free.
The Intervention
Then a friend — Paul Ikoghode— said something simple but disruptive:
- “Calm down. You’re becoming a revenue stream for course creators.”
That line hit differently.
He pressed further:
- What do you actually want?
- What path are you intentionally choosing?
Until that moment, I had not asked those questions. I was reacting to the market instead of responding to my calling.
The Hidden Cost of Field-Hopping
Every time you abandon your lane to chase a trending field, you pay a strategic tax.
- You reset momentum.
- You restart credibility.
- You delay compounding.
The market does not reward the most certified person — it rewards the most focused one.
Depth creates leverage. Breadth without intention creates confusion.
This is not an argument against certifications. Pursue them — but pursue them deliberately, within a field you are intentionally building, not because someone on LinkedIn or a friend just announced a six figure offer in a space you know nothing about.
Why This Happens to So Many of Us
Many immigrants arrive in their 30s, 40s, even 50s — with families, financial obligations, and a shrinking runway to retirement. The pressure to maximize income quickly is real. And the internet amplifies that fear relentlessly.
Tech salaries are showcased. Remote work is glorified. Six-figure incomes are marketed as though they are default settings.
But here is what rarely gets discussed: high income without direction is still dependency. You are still trading time. You are still vulnerable to market cycles. The paycheck may be bigger, but the trap looks the same.
The Shift: From Bandwagon to Focus
After honest reflection, I made a deliberate decision. I decided not to enroll for the next bootcamp I was preparing for – cybersecurity.
I identified strengths, qualifications, and experience I already had, mapped where opportunities aligned with my path, and focused my job search on those employers alone. Not because it was glamorous or trending, but because it aligned with what I was intentionally building: stability, policy exposure, strategic positioning, and long-term perspective.
I submitted over 50 applications to the selected employers. Silence. Then two interviews. Then rejection. Humbling, but instructive. I realized I had been praying for interviews, not outcomes — so I adjusted both my prayer and my preparation.
The third interview came. The offer came. One week in, another department – one from the first two interviews- reached out with a higher role and pay. I declined. If I was not their first choice at the start, I did not want to build on second-choice footing.
Focus requires that kind of discipline.
What I Learned
Certifications are tools — not strategies.
The real question is never which certification should I get next, but what am I intentionally building, and does this certification serve that direction?
Market trends are not personal strategy. Income goals without identity create drift. The internet rewards movement, but lasting wealth rewards alignment.
The courage this season requires is not the courage to enroll in one more program. It is the courage to say:
- This is not my lane. I will go deeper in what I already have.
Are You in That Season? Before you enroll in the next course, sit with these questions:
- Are you certifying strategically — or anxiously?
- Are you responding to conviction — or reacting to comparison?
- Are you building depth — or collecting proof that you are trying?
The market will always sell you urgency. Discernment whispers patience.
This piece is part of an ongoing conversation about faith, focus, and strategic living. If it resonated with you, I would love to hear your story.
- Have you ever found yourself chasing certifications or jumping fields because of what everyone else seemed to be doing?
- What brought you back to focus?
Share your experience in the comments — your story might be exactly what someone else needs to read today.
If you found this valuable, share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you want more reflections like this on navigating career, purpose, and strategy with intention, subscribe below — new posts drop every week.
About Seun Sylvester Opaleye – Faith With Strategy | Faith With Strategy
14 responses to “Why Chasing Certifications Almost Made Me Lose Focus”
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Clap twice! Since I came to Canada 8 years ago, I have completed 3 diplomas and many many certifications in order to get ahead, earn 6 figures, ensure I catch up, to fit in and to ensure that I outrun that ever shrinking retirement runway.
There is always value in focus, studying what the society is demanding and will be demanding and align strategically with the new society we find ourselves.
From renewed research, renewed partnerships and renewed focus, I have found what I believe is a long term focused goal and project that will be of more value to me, my family, my partners and the society.
Thank you for this Write-up Shawn.
PMI
PMI, thank you for this! 👏🏾
Eight years, three diplomas, countless certifications — and the wisdom to pause, reassess, and realign. That is not a detour, that is the journey.
And what you landed on says everything: renewed research, renewed partnerships, renewed focus. All three dimensions — intellectual, relational, and directional. You are not starting over, you are compounding everything you have built.
A long term goal that serves your family, your partners, and society — that is the definition of strategic living.
Keep going. This community will be cheering you on. 🙏🏾
— Faith With Strategy
In Nigeria success is measured by many in terms of how many certificates one has to ones name. I came to Canada with 3 university degrees and in order to get ahead I added many other certifications. The job I do now did not require any of those but my experience. In Nigeria we relied on certificates to be better than others
Certificates are tools not strategy is aptly said. In Canada you have to rely on your demonstrable experience to set yourself apart from others. Bearing this in mind gears one’s mind to write their resume a certain way to show what one can do or have accomplished
Thank you for sharing. This is an important lesson.
Thank you for sharing this — and it deserves to be said louder. 👏🏾
You have captured a cultural shift that many immigrants navigate silently. In many African contexts, certificates are currency — they signal status, effort, and worth. That mindset is not wrong; it was the system we were raised in.
But Canada measures differently. Experience, demonstrable impact, and what you have actually built — that is what sets you apart here.
And your point about the resume is gold. It is not a certificate list — it is a story of what you have done and what you can do. That reframe alone changes everything.
Three degrees, multiple certifications, and ultimately hired on experience. That is not irony — that is clarity arriving right on time. 🙏🏾
— Faith With Strategy
You are so spot on! Certifications are merely tools, not strategies. I was in this same space, but after deep reflections, I realized that skill is the real value or leverage.
I then discovered what skills I need, I am currently on the path to acquire them.
Thanks for posting Seun! Keep them coming!
This is exactly it! 👏🏾
Certifications open doors — but skill is what keeps you in the room. The moment that distinction becomes clear, everything shifts. Your approach is spot on: identify the skills you need, then pursue them with intention.
The fact that you paused, reflected, and redirected is itself a skill many never develop.
Keep going — you are on the right path. 🙏🏾
— Faith With Strategy
People tend to lean toward a trend circulating in an environment, not to feel excluded. When the faint bubble disintegrates, only those with flare for a particular exercise withstand the noise. The rest just prostrate like cards. The hack is to seek favourable exercises that align with one’s plan and grow therein. That way, fatigue and frustration disappear, and one blossoms naturally in a chosen dimension.
This is beautifully put — and deeply accurate. 👏🏾
Trends create crowds. But crowds rarely create mastery. When the bubble bursts, what remains is not the certificate — it is the person who was genuinely built for that space.
Your line says it best: seek what aligns with your plan and grow therein. That is not just career advice — that is a life principle.
Thank you for adding this. You have extended the conversation in a meaningful way. 🙏🏾
— Faith With Strategy
Hmmmm. Migration is a tough process and while figuring out what to expect a lot of apprehension would come, solicited and unsolicited advice from well wishers, but we need to be strategic in our approach. Your write up again evokes that common experience .
As new comers we do these certifications as they call it to “top up”,but sooner we realize that are merely tools, they can sometimes open doors, signal competence and build credibility, but they are not a strategy by themselves. Been strategic would mean to ask our selves, where am l headed, what problems will I be solving and positioning ourselves differently to others to achieve our aims (it’s a competitive world).
So before we rack up those certifications, we must first set our expectations and get our strategy right
This is such a powerful way to frame it.
You’re absolutely right that migration comes with noise. Advice from everywhere. Pressure to “top up.” The subtle fear of being left behind. And in that environment, certifications feel like action.
But like you said, they are tools, not a strategy.
The real work is answering: Where am I headed?
What problems am I positioning myself to solve?
How do I differentiate in a competitive market?
Without those answers, even good credentials become expensive distractions.
I love how you emphasized expectations and clarity first. Strategy before stacking.
That mindset alone already sets someone apart.
Appreciate you adding this depth to the conversation
Amazing fact “Certifications are tools — not strategies.”.
This is deep.
That’s correct.
This is so deep and such an interesting and educational piece. Weldone
Thank you Viv, glad it resonates.