Professional credentials and certifications are booming, but ‘many of them are crap’

There’s no shortage of certifications, badges, and credentials for enterprising workers to acquire and tout to potential employers — especially when everyone’s trying to flex AI literacy.

But which ones are actually worthwhile?

Nondegree credentials are becoming increasingly prevalent on US résumés, according to a new analysis from the Brookings Institution, with more than 1.5 million unique certificates, certifications, badges, and microcredentials to choose from. Following the passage of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, certain credential programs will even be eligible for Pell Grants, the federal aid program for low-income students, as more workers eschew traditional four-year degrees that are increasingly seen as not worth the money.

Yet the impact of nondegree credentials on workers’ pay varies widely, with some offering little to no boost. And that’s not always clear to job seekers looking to stack up new skills in ultracompetitive job searches.

“The growth of this market has been tremendous,” Marcela Escobari, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Yahoo Finance. “People are going to these tools, and yet many of them are crap — and many of them could actually be helpful.”

“We have a skilling market that’s not very accountable,” Escobari added.

Return on investment

To draw the greatest benefit from a nondegree credential, the type of program is important, as is its relevance to the worker’s field, the Brookings researchers found in their review of résumé data from Revelio Labs.

Career-relevant certifications that are recognized by the industry and require a proctored exam or third-party verification, for example, offer stronger returns to workers’ pay, even when multiple certifications are accumulated.

“Certifications look like they add value for additional ones, and that probably has to do with their rigor and industry recognition,” said Ian Seyal, a senior research analyst at the Brookings Institution. “They appear to be conferring generally valuable skills.”

Meanwhile, badges — a digital representation of a worker’s completion of an online program — may offer a more modest, one-time wage benefit, even if they’re not relevant to the worker’s industry.

As for who is receiving the credentials, college-educated and experienced workers flock to the programs more than early-career workers and people without a college degree, despite the latter two categories experiencing the biggest wage gains from upskilling.

Do you have a story about navigating the job market? Reach out to Emma Ockerman here.

In fact, workers without a bachelor’s degree can see a 6.8% wage premium for their first job-relevant nondegree credential, according to the Brookings Institution. Those workers might also be poised to benefit from the Pell Grant program opening up to nondegree credentials.

“Somebody with less experience and with a high school degree gets the most value, and yet gets credentials at the lowest rate,” Escobari said. “That’s where the Pell opportunity — if accompanied with real accountability and data on value — can turn this around.”

Read more: How to pay for college without taking out student loans

Higher pay isn’t the only upside of nondegree credentials. A report from the Burning Glass Institute noted that some credentials place workers on a better path toward mobility and stability.

A “more holistic assessment shows that roughly 1 in 3 credentials move workers ahead, either through delivering increased wages, driving upward mobility within a current career path, and/or helping workers find a new job,” the report said.

Still, “the data also confirms that 69% of credentials offer minimal value.”

“Non-degree credentials are meant to be not only mechanisms for people to learn, but mechanisms for people to signal that they have acquired capabilities that their resumes wouldn’t suggest,” Burning Glass Institute president Matt Sigelman told Yahoo Finance. “When so few of them work, that means that employers have trouble interpreting them and are less likely to honor them, and workers don’t know which ones to choose, and ultimately in many cases decide to skip the whole endeavor.”

Certificate in AI?

Wading through an avalanche of possible credentials can be daunting, particularly when competition in the job market is steep, and job seekers feel squeezed between overqualified candidates and the much-hyped AI advances that threaten to both displace new workers and create new types of jobs.

“AI-related credentials appear to be growing at least twice as fast as non-AI credentials, even though it’s a small part of the whole credential growth,” Escobari said. “Growth is especially strong among people implementing AI, not developing it.”

Indeed, LinkedIn’s Skills on the Rise list, released on Feb. 24, noted AI-based skills were among the fastest-growing. Mercer’s recent Global Talent Trends report for 2026 stressed that while the vast majority of executives expect to slash headcount amid AI advancements in the next two years, most HR managers also felt “difficulty attracting talent with vital digital skills is the top workforce challenge facing businesses in 2026.”

But that doesn’t mean everyone should race to get a generalized credential with “AI” in the title. Since there are many use cases for the technology, employers may be most interested in how workers can apply AI to their chosen field, or one that’s complementary, if the worker risks being displaced due to AI exposure.

“Exposure is not a bad thing,” Escobari said. “It’s complementarity that makes a difference in what you should be thinking about when you choose to upskill, and what to choose in terms of a resilient job out there.”

Emma Ockerman is a reporter covering the economy and labor for Yahoo Finance. You can reach her at emma.ockerman@yahooinc.com.

Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter

Click here for the latest personal finance news to help you with investing, paying off debt, buying a home, retirement, and more

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance