The ever-changing world of technology is difficult to keep up with, which is why over 60% of IT professionals are currently training for certification or plan to this year. The industry dynamics demand students and professionals to be ahead of, or at least at par with, the changing trends. So if you are someone who wants to be part of this continuous growth of the IT sector, staying ahead of the evolving trends and learning curve, it is helpful to always be learning and developing the latest IT skills, such as cloud computing, project management, cybersecurity, and networking.
Don’t worry, we have narrowed the overwhelming list of options down to the most important and promising IT certifications for 2019.
Microsoft Certified Azure
Microsoft Azure is the cloud for modern business. This software has different certification programs defining its scope and utility. Earlier, it was MCSE Microsoft Certified Solution Expert: Server Infrastructure. But this certificate was retired in 2017, and Microsoft came up with other certificates that are job-oriented rather than technology-oriented. As per the latest data, Microsoft Azure is one of the highest demand certifications in the market.
On average, the annual salary of a job for a certified Microsoft Azure expert is over $120,000. There are around 17,000 Microsoft Azure jobs available in the US at present.
Project Management Professional
This certification is considered a must-have for project managers as it ensures that a manager is both experienced and skilled to initiate, manage and present a project. The PMP signifies that you speak and understand the global language of project management and connects you to a community of professionals, organizations and experts worldwide. The PMP can also provide a significant advantage when it comes to salary and earning potential.
The pay scale varies as per the project focused certification. For instance, Certified Associate of Project Management: $65,000. CompTIA Project+ salary: $67,000. PRINCE2 Certified Project Manager: $96,000. There are around 12,000 jobs for certified PMP.
AWS
Be it a web developer, a database admin, a system admin, a Big Data analyst, or an AI developer, Amazon platform has made life easier for many IT professionals. Experts claim that AWS, Amazon Web Services, is the most popular and reliable cloud computing services currently available. In fact, Amazon has claimed that AWS is 10 times bigger than its 14 competitors combined.
AWS Certification helps learners build credibility and confidence by validating their cloud expertise with an industry-recognized credential and organizations identify skilled professionals to lead cloud initiatives using AWS. There are multiple certifications led by AWS that facilitate a professional to take complete advantage of the platform.
The average salary for an AWS certified professional is $113,932, with over 86,000 jobs in the AWS domain in the US presently.
ITIL
The ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a framework designed to standardize the selection, planning, delivery and maintenance of IT services within a business. The ITIL framework enables IT administrators to be a business service partner, rather than just back-end support.
ITIL is currently emerging from ITIL v3 to ITIL 4. ITIL v3. There are 5 levels in the ITIL v3 (Foundation, Practitioner, Intermediate, Expert, Master Level) while 4 levels in ITIL 4 (Foundation, Managing Professional, Strategic Leader, and Master Level). The candidates of the Foundation course are recommended to move directly to ITIL 4 Foundation in order to keep up with the required skill-set.
ITIL certification offers a series of certifications focusing on different facets of the ITIL framework. The module-based certification courses facilitate professionals and students to focus on key aspects and gain in-depth knowledge of each area of the framework.
An ITIL foundation certified professional can start a career with an average salary of $88,000+. There are currently over 19,000 ITIL jobs in the US.
CISSP “Certified Information Systems Security Professional”
Earning the CISSP proves you have what it takes to effectively design, implement and manage a best-in-class cybersecurity program. With a CISSP, you validate your expertise and become an (ISC)² member, unlocking a broad array of exclusive resources, educational tools, and peer-to-peer networking opportunities. Due to the increase in security breaches, companies are now seeking in-house, certified IT security professionals.
The average salary of CISSP certified professional is between $73,000 to $120,000 with over 20,000 CISSP jobs in the US.
Certified Ethical Hacker
It seems like the news is constantly littered with stories about companies of all sizes experiencing damages caused by hacking. A Certified Ethical Hacker is a skilled professional who understands and knows how to look for weaknesses and vulnerabilities in target systems and uses the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker, but in a lawful and legitimate manner to assess the security posture of a target system(s). The CEH credential certifies individuals in the specific network security discipline of Ethical Hacking from a vendor-neutral perspective.
The average annual salary a Certified Ethical Hacker is $71,331 with over 4,000 jobs presently in the US.
CompTIA Security+
The CompTIA Security+ emphasizes hands-on practical skills, ensuring the security professional is better prepared to problem solve a wider variety of issues. More choose Security+ for DoD 8570 compliance than any other certification. The CompTIA Security+ course focuses on the latest trends and techniques in risk management, risk mitigation, threat management and intrusion detection.
The annual average salary for this certified professional is $72,000. There are 7,000+ job offers available in the US for CompTIA certifications.
CompTIA Network+
This certification course helps you in understanding the core knowledge of network infrastructure and its protocols. Network technicians and infrastructure installers will find this certification course helpful in designing and implementing functional networks, configuring, managing, and maintaining essential network devices, identifying benefits and drawbacks of existing network configurations, troubleshooting network problems, and more.
The annual average salary for this certified professional is $63,000 with over 7,000 job offers available for CompTIA certifications.
CISCO certified Networking Professional, Routing and Switching
This particular certification helps network engineers validate the ability to plan, implement, verify and troubleshoot local and wide-area enterprise networks and work collaboratively with specialists on advanced security, voice, wireless, and video solutions. For this certification, students are required to have prior experience in networking so that they are able to understand the intricacies of larger networks.
There are different roles within networking, but routing and switching is pervasive in all. There are 7000+ CCNP job offers in the US alone with the average annual salary being $115,000.
CompTIA Linux+
Linux is highly popular amount many organizations. This certification is for the IT pro who will use Linux to manage everything from cars and smartphones to servers and supercomputers, as a vast number of enterprises use Linux in cloud, cybersecurity, mobile and web administration applications. Such a certification is in great demand among many organizations, making it an asset on most resumes.
The annual average payout for the certified professional is $70,000 with over 7,000 job offers available for CompTIA certifications.
Agile and Scrum
Agile and Scrum helps in focusing on the goals of teams. Agile methodology is a practice that helps continuous iteration of the development process. Scrum is an agile process that allows us to focus on delivering the highest business value.
There are 9,000+ Scrum Master jobs available in the US with the average salary being $98,000.
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
The CCNS certification helps a core network engineer in honing the role and skills necessary as Enterprise migrates toward controller-based architectures. This certification is in high demand due to increased value in the marketplace. The CCNA is the base certificate after which you can choose your more specialized certificate.
There are 12,000+ CCNA job offers in the US and the average annual salary is $76,000.
CompTIA A+
CompTIA A+ is the preferred qualifying credential for technical support and IT operational roles. It is about much more than PC repair. Technicians understand a wide variety of issues ranging from networking and operating systems to mobile devices and security. Plus, certificate holders are better prepared to troubleshoot and problem solve IT operational issues, operation management, security and risk management, making this a valuable asset on your IT resume.
The annual average salary for this certified professional is $59,000 with over 7,000 job offers available for CompTIA certifications.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
This certification helps in getting well versed with lean six sigma methodology. Six Sigma Green Belts are individuals that work on simple process improvement projects which includes defining a problem, measuring, and analyzing it and improving the situation while controlling the damage. A Green Belt certification is ideal for those that will be tasked with improving existing processes
There are 4,000+ jobs available for certified professionals with an average annual salary up to $93,000.
Certified Network Defender
A CND will get the fundamental understanding of the true construct of data transfer, network technologies, software technologies so that they understand how networks operate, understand what software is automating and how to analyze the subject material. This course teaches the skills to analyze the threats on a network as well as protect and secure it.
The average annual salary is $65,000.
The IT industry has a plethora of options when it comes to roles and skills that can be learned, but this list streamlines the alternatives. So if you feel that you need to enhance your resume and career path, join one of Training Concepts upcoming courses.