certifications for IT professionals

Being in the IT profession engages you with technologies. It makes it essential to keep up with the changes in the technological areas, especially those that pop up in unexpected ways. Hence, it is a pertaining question here: What will be the best way to establish and enhance your credibility so that you can face those that might come in your way?

One of the ways is definitely is getting certified! Moreover, certifications for IT professionals are the most sought after in the interview process because certification is one of the proven ways to showcase your skill. They follow some rigorous exams and prerequisites, which essentially proves your real-world experience and in-depth knowledge.

At the same time, it is evident that IT certifications boost earning potential. As per a recent survey, 23% of IT professionals experienced a 20% salary hike after getting certified in the particular stream. According to CompTIA, 72% of employers actually require IT certifications for specific positions, and 92% believe IT certifications help ensure their IT staff’s credibility.         

However, dozens of popular certifications for IT professionals are there in the market, and choosing the best one among them depend on the highest demand, and earning potential. No doubt, opportunities for advancement is a tough job.

In this blog, we will discuss about some of the top picks. However, I will not detail each certification as those details get changed from time to time. Hence, it is always good to refer to the actual portal, which will be linked here.

Core to watch for Certifications for IT professionals

First of all, your IT professional career may be within any of the following streams –

1. Technological Stream

2. Project Management stream

3. Networking

4. Digital Marketing

5. IT

Hence, depending on your stream to achieve your desired goal, you need to plan smartly for your professional path and acquire relevant credentials to outperform your peers. The most apparent advantage of getting certified as an IT professional makes your resume stand out among the hard competition. As mentioned in the introduction, relevant certification works as a quick reference to how well-versed you are in that particular technological or managerial area.

Here are the 10 best groups of certifications for IT professionals based on their core working areas.

10 best group of certifications for IT professionals

Technological Stream

#1. Cloud Solution Architect

As cloud computing becomes essential for any organization, so as the Cloud skills. However, finding qualified candidates for cloud roles sometimes becomes challenging for IT decision-makers. And the obvious result is that cloud computing professionals are high in demand. The average cloud computing professional in the US makes over $160,000. Interestingly, three out of every four cloud architects among this have earned one of the top two cloud certifications for IT professionals mentioned in the below list—and 28% have both!

According to the 2020 Global Knowledge report, the top-paying cloud certifications for the year 2020:

AWS Solutions Architect jumps up two spots from 2019 and proves once again that it’s one of the most popular and lucrative cloud certifications in IT.

#2. Cybersecurity Professional

Another hot area in IT is cybersecurity. Cybersecurity certifications for IT professionals definitely give you traction with significantly higher average salaries, which can be around 15 percent or more, according to global IT skills and salary study conducted by Global Knowledge. Furthermore, Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that there will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2021, up from 1 million openings in 2014.

As per Payscale, the average salary of a Cybersecurity analyst is $76,368

So, if you are in the cybersecurity profession, you need to involve with protecting and defending apps, devices, data, infrastructure, and people.

Now, if you like to know which cybersecurity certifications are the most valuable, then analyze your views. While some certificates pay more than others, the differences are negligible, and most unbiasedly saying they’re all valuable.

Here is a list –

#3. Machine Learning

AI is in application everywhere. Being a new technology, AI impacts every industry sector like banking, insurance, airspace, defense, and many more. As a result, the demand for ML engineers is exponentially increasing as companies want to implement and make ML a pivot feature in their products. ML professionals are much in demand and are making the list of top jobs.

As per PayScale survey Average Machine Learning Engineer Salary $111,868

As per the PayScale report – Top Skills and average salaries for Machine Learning Engineers are

  • Machine Learning – $114,012
  • Python – $111,732
  • Deep Learning –  $112,952
  • Computer Vision – $114,656
  • NLP – $116,314

Here are some of the most sought after AI/ML certifications in the industry-

1. Machine Learning A-Z: Hands-On Python & R In Data Science (Udemy best course )

2. Machine Learning by Andrew Ng (Coursera best course)

3. Deep Learning A-Z: Hands-On Artificial Neural Networks (Udemy)

4. Intro to Machine Learning by Udacity (FREE)

5. Machine Learning Specialization by Coursera

6. Introduction to Machine Learning by Datacamp

7. Understanding Machine Learning by Pluralsight

8. Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp

9. Data Visualization in Python

10. Data Science, Deep Learning, & Machine Learning with Python

#4. Big data Analytics

Business without data analysis is incomplete today. In other words, we can say, Data and big data analytics are the lifeblood of today’s industry. In this area, obtaining the right technology can be challenging, but building the right team with the right skills can be even more challenging for undertaking data initiatives. There comes a rising demand for certifications for IT professionals for big data and analytics skills.

Not to mention, if you’re looking to get an edge on a data analytics career, certification is a great option. Certifications give you vendor-specific benchmarks and prove to employers that you have the right skillset. The number of data analytics certs is expanding rapidly. Here are the most popular ones –

#5. Web development

Any organization’s website is the face for their overseas clients. That’s why web developers and designers have always been the backbone of any organization who deliver essential service for this. This is especially true for a small business where we see constant web development and designing expansion.

Interestingly, programmers or developers and designers possess different skillsets and roles, and responsibilities in the web development arena. Hence, programming, development, and designing are in high demand separately among the recruiters.

Furthermore, in the web development profession, you can establish yourself as any of the following:

  • Front End Developer
  • Full-Stack Developer
  • Software Engineer
  • Back End Developer
  • PHP Developer
  • Java Developer
  • Javascript Developer
  • Web Designer
  • Python Developer

The average salary of a web developer professional in the US is $78,393, and the top skills in this domain are – Backbone.js, Angular, Node.js, React, Java.

To gain this expertise, professionals need to be certified because certifications can verify and validate their skills. Besides, through these arcades as a professional, you can prove your worth to the employer and fetch a better fir job for you.

Almost all training organizations offer certifications in web development and design. However, here I have mentioned some of the best Web development certifications for IT professionals in this domain that can give you an extra edge in the job market and open up new opportunities.

Here is the list from my research –

1. Full-Stack Web Development with React Specialization by The Hongkong University of Science and Technology (Coursera)

2. The Web Developer Bootcamp (Udemy)

3. Web Design for Everybody: Basics of Web Development & Coding Specialization by University of Michigan (Coursera)

4. Professional Full Stack Web Developer – Nanodegree Certification (Udacity)

5. The Complete 2020 Web Development Bootcamp (Udemy)

6.  Full Stack Web Developer Courses (edX)

Project Management Stream

#6. Project Management

It is a known fact that project managers with project management degrees and a relevant certification may have an even better opportunity. As per a market study, PM jobs with a professional degree have grown at 525% in the past eight years. There are a plethora of project management certifications available in the market. Here is the list of some of the most popular project management certifications for IT professionals –

#7. Agile & Scrum

Agile has become a common practice among organizations. But the only practice is enough to survive in the software industry? Maybe benchmarking your knowledge is as vital as your hands-on experience, and that’s where certifications matter a lot. Hence, different Agile certifications are available in the market to test IT professionals’ knowledge and competency.

Networking

#8. Networking professionals

IT without a network is unimaginable. Hence, another growing area in IT is networking and IT administration, which needs qualified professionals with the necessary knowledge to keep networks up and running, reliable, and secure. Not an exception, in the world of networking, there are a plethora of specializations available that an individual can take. The following areas one can focus on –

  • traditional routing and switching
  • virtualized networking
  • network security
  • wireless communications and many more

Additionally, there are lots of vendor-specific learning there is to do. Here are 10 of the best networking certifications that are popular on the market today.

Digital Marketing

#9. Digital Marketing

Another promising area that has become an integral part of IT is digital marketing. However, digital marketing is an ever-changing field that needs talented and motivated experts who help businesses stay at the top of the competition. It deals all with the user and consumer behavior and, in recent days, has become more elaborative.

Not to mention, the digital marketing sector also needs experts who are holding digital marketing certificates that cover up to date and the latest development and trends. Furthermore, this area has different sub-categories so that you can find a good number of certifications in this area.

Hence, if you are looking for a job in a leading company in digital marketing, you must consider earning advanced digital marketing certification. Here are some of the most sought-after digital marketing certifications in the industry:

Final words:

One of the best hiring practices that almost all recruiters and hiring managers agree on is recognized and authoritative certifications. No doubt, certification makes you a more appealing candidate on paper and in person. This is even more important now with rapidly evolving technology. With new technologies and best practices coming out every day, it’s imperative to stay ahead of the competition.

On the bright side, certifications for IT professionals enhance and increase people’s skills and reward them two-fold for their efforts. If you are fresher, these certifications help you land a job. It is not possible to take all the certifications, even multiple certificates, in a stream. Hence, work best to find out which is the most beneficial for you and mastering them.

I hope the article will be helpful to you!

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