IT certifications can increase your value, your salary, and even your employment opportunities. Validated by vendors through meticulous training programs, certifications demonstrate your competence or experience in specific technologies, methodologies, and functions.
Here are some more profitable certificates, the ones that will help you earn a very competitive salary in the ever-changing world of IT.
A Note on IT salaries
Of course, of all the IT certifications, some stand out with the highest salary they command. These are rarely basic-level certificates. Salaries vary depending on a variety of factors, including:
- Your location
- Your skills and experience
- The company or organization where you work
Utilize these pay rates as an aide and as a benchmark on where you might want to be.
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
Average Salary: $89,643
If you don’t have any knowledge of the cloud the AWS certified cloud practitioner is an amazing starter. If you’ve never worked with any cloud technologies, this certification will teach you all the terminologies in the cloud and every basic knowledge you need to enhance further in cloud computing. For beginners, the best advice is to understand everything this certification teaches you but for those with broad knowledge in Networking and any cloud-related experience this certification want be any challenge for you and it will be best if you head straight for the AWS solutions architect certification. To earn this certification, you will need to take and pass the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam (CLF-C01). The exam features a combination of two question formats: multiple choice and multiple responses.
Google Certified Professional (PCA) Cloud Architect
Average Salary: $135,980
This certification prepares IT, professionals, to design and manage a secure, high-performance, robust, and scalable Google Cloud architecture. These skills help organizations meet their demands for managing a dynamic, secure, and profitable cloud infrastructure. The Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud Architect is ideal for someone with several years of cloud computing experience who wants to work toward mastering the real-world job of cloud architect.
Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
Average Salary: $129,527
CISM combines the role of IT audit with the implementation of information security as an independent function within a business. This certification is accepted as a standard worldwide for professionals responsible for computer security programs and several times in the field of IT auditing and control. If you have ambitions to engage in enterprise-level strategy and touch the business side as well as the technical side of security, this is the path for you.
There are almost endless opportunities for those who hold CISM certification and the high demand for this qualification sees that there are no jobs for such professionals.
Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)
Average Salary: $132,266
ISACA’s Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) certification is an enterprise risk management qualification that is a great option for professionals looking to build upon their existing knowledge and experience of IT risk management and identification and implementation of information system controls. The CRISC certification validates experience in identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing risks in real-world situations applying best practices.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
Average Salary: $155,005
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect — Associate certification validates that one has demonstrable knowledge in designing and deploying scalable, highly available, secure, and fault-tolerant systems/applications on AWS. It shows that one has technical expertise in using AWS compute, networking, storage, and database services. In addition, one should have an understanding of AWS global infrastructure as well as the basic architectural principles of building on the AWS cloud.
One of the most in-demand certifications today, this path aligns directly with the four domains of the certification exam: Designing resilient architectures, designing high-performing architectures, designing secure applications and architectures, and designing cost-optimized architectures.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
Average Salary: $107,683
The certification exam covers your ability to manage Azure identities and governance, implement and manage storage, deploy and manage Azure resources, configure and manage virtual networks, and monitor and backup Azure resources. It’s recommended to have at least six months of experience administering Azure and a strong understanding of core Azure services, workloads, security, and governance. You’ll also need experience with PowerShell, Azure CLI, Azure portal, and Azure resources management templates.
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Average Salary: $109,445
One of the most prestigious certification programs in the world, the PMP demonstrates that the project manager knows and implements best practices to define, plan and achieve project milestones with the most successful results.
Certified professionals must pass an exam and demonstrate relevant experience in project management. About half of all professionals pursuing certifications in project management opt for the PMP certification program.
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
Average Salary: $118,482
This path covers all eight domains of the ISC CISSP certification exam, including how to mitigate common system vulnerabilities, how to secure network architectures, and how to conduct incident management and recovery according to best practices. Obtaining the CISSP requires five years of paid work experience in at least two of the domains that the CISSP covers—so it’s not for newbies. Luckily, developing your skills with a four-year degree can cut down on the amount of time needed to spend on the certificate, allowing security professionals to develop their understanding and implement their new abilities in real life.
CCNP Routing and Switching
Average Salry: $98,400
The CCNP Routing and Switching certification is suitable for professionals responsible for planning, implementation, and managing local and wide area networks. They may be working across a range of job positions, including Network Engineers, Analysts, or Technicians.
Recently, this certification has been replaced by a new CCNA certification program. The program requires at least one year of relevant experience in the industry, training course followed by exams.
Certified ScrumMaster(CSM)
Average Salary: $118,353
The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification, available through the Scrum Alliance, is an entry-level certification aimed at providing professionals with an awareness of the methodologies and values of Scrum, including team performance, accountability, and iterative progress.
Aspiring Scrum Masters can learn a variety of real-world skills which will improve agile development and develop value from the course’s core concepts. The content is then cross-applicable to a variety of industries, including marketing, data science, and HR.
