Why a technical certification?
It’s challenging to stay on top of your career, especially in technology. Technical certifications provide an extended area of study to boost your capabilities and enhance your resume making you more marketable to prospective employers and career advancement.
The best tech certifications for entry-level jobs
Nearly 40% of employers say they’re looking for people with IT certifications for entry-level jobs. Technology advances so quickly that workers with knowledge and skills in newer areas, such as data science, cloud computing, and Big Data, are instantly in demand.
Two certificates that are great for entry-level jobs are the CompTIA A+ certification and the CompTIA Network+ certification. A+ is the most broadly recognized certification in the U.S. CompTIA Network+, meanwhile, is designed to certify knowledge of networking theory and best practices.
The most lucrative technical certifications
Security certifications
The need for security certifications is ever-growing with the increasing number of cybercrime. Certifications like CompTIA Security+, Microsoft MCSA: Security, and Cisco CCNA Cyber Ops offer the skills needed in the field.
Microsoft MCSA: Security is one of the most in-demand cybersecurity certifications in the industry. The course teaches its students the skills required to design, build, and maintain Windows Server systems. As a result, professionals with this certification often find themselves in high demand.
Cisco CCNA Cyber Ops is focused on designing, implementing, and maintaining secure networks. It provides a comprehensive understanding of both cyber law and security principles. In addition, the course is designed with knowledge in protecting IT infrastructures.
Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) is a certification provided by ISACA, a nonprofit organization that advocates information security, assurance, risk management, and governance.
Cloud Certifications
Cloud certifications are becoming increasingly in demand and critical for businesses to be productive in a quickly scalable and efficient manner.
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is the entry to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud platform. It is quickly becoming the most popular cloud platform by nature of its versatility. In addition, the AWS Cloud Practitioner is the launching point of other Amazon cloud certifications such as AWS Solutions Architect, Developer, DevOps Engineer, and SysOps Administrator. The certification provides an overall understanding of Amazon’s cloud services and allows the professional to dive into more specialized areas.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect certification is the most popular cloud certification currently available. This certification provides the ability to design large-scale distributed systems for clients using Amazon’s services. The prerequisite is the AWS Certified Solutions Associate (SAS-C01) exam.
Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect comprises an extensive array of knowledge in the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This requires understanding various Google tools and cloud solutions for enterprise customers. Although it is in slightly less demand than the AWS certifications, it is nonetheless more lucrative as it is used primarily by larger enterprise customers.
Virtualization
As computer processing has increased and cost has decreased over time, the ability for virtualization to be used will put this area in huge demand over the next few years. Being able to tailor a network or a cloud configuration using identical hardware and merely applying virtual machines lowers costs dramatically for data centers and large network providers.
VCP-DCV: VMware Certified Professional – Data Center Virtualization is a certification to test skills in building a scalable infrastructure and deploying VMware technology.
Other Certifications
It should be noted that Linux and Network certifications are still in very high demand; however, there is also a lot of competition as they have been around for a long time. Other considerations are to couple certifications together for a relative specialization such as the PMI Project Management Professional, along with a network, network security, or cloud certification to manage these types of projects.