I work in the health insurance industry, and sometimes I get emails from people who have multiple titles or credentials listed after their names. They could be doctors or nurses or social workers or project managers. My rule is the more letters that appear after someone’s name, the more I will be skeptical of that person until I know him or her.

There is a myth that the more education, more certifications, and more credentials someone has, the more educated and successful he or she is. 

I have learned the lesson that you should get good at something worth getting good at. I will not attend a training “just to get a certification.” The choice you make about which skills you choose to improve is an important one. Which skills are going to be the most beneficial across a range of tasks and endeavors? Don’t just focus on the skills you need today or in the next couple of years. Think about trends in the workforce and culture and which skills will be beneficial over the long term. 

Knowledge is not power. Taking action on that knowledge is the next step, but make sure that what you are doing is worth it. Learn because the result will be a measurable improvement in your life, not for the sake of learning itself.