Nov. 26, 2023, Post by Curtis
We're taking a deep dive into what the data says about which certifications are the most sought after, which ones pay the best, and which certifications complement each other well.
When getting certified, it is extremely important to focus on getting the least amount of certs that will give you the greatest return on your time spent acquiring them. there are several things to consider to make this approach effective:
Just by objectively looking at the number of times a certification shows up in a job post's desired qualification on Indeed, we can start to get an impression of what most employers are looking for.
Here are the top desired qualifications from Indeed across the US as of the date of this publication:
It's clear from the data above that the most in-demand IT certifications are:
1. Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity certifications are by far the most in-demand certifications. As our corporate networks become more complex, the task of securing them becomes more difficult. Because cyber jobs carry very high levels of responsibility, the need to know that the security employees are qualified is very important. Most Cybersecurity jobs have high certification and education requirements
2. CompTIA
CompTIA has some of the most popular and widely recognized certifications. They are generally entry to mid-level and they cover all of the categories in IT. One of the appealing aspects of CompTIA certifications is that every time you achieve a new certification, you get all of your existing certifications' expiration dates renewed.
3. Cisco
Cisco certifications are held as the gold standard for network certifications. Even though they are vendor-specific, they are generally appealing to any employer, even if they don't use Cisco infrastructure. This is mostly because even though the commands will slightly vary from one vendor to the next, most networking concepts are the same for every vendor.
4. Microsoft
Note that the Microsoft certifications on this list are no longer offered by Microsoft. I included them because they are still highly sought after by employers. I did not include any of the Azure certifications as they do not appear in enough job searches to make this list.
Like the Microsoft Certification, the AWS and Google certifications are achieved by many people, but there are very few employers that are actually adding these certifications to their list of job requirements.
It's hard to say which are the highest-paying certifications because having a CISSP, for example, doesn't mean you're the CSO (Chief Security Officer) of a company. But knowing what the highest paying fields in IT are will let you know which categories of IT certifications to pursue. The highest-paying fields in IT are:
Most people start with the CompTIA A+, and it is a very popular certification with employers. I would recommend not getting the CompTIA A+. While the subject matter for the A+ is rather easy, it is still a relatively difficult test. With wordy, and somewhat confusing questions, and it is timed. You could spend just a little more time studying for the next level certification, which would look much better on your resume. I would also recommend getting an entry-level IT position while studying for your first certification. Some entry-level IT jobs don't require any certifications or experience, like Deployment Tech or even Tier 1 Help Desk. Read my article “Get A Helpdesk Job With No Experience”.
Some great certifications for beginners are:
Networking and security are fundamental for every IT professional to know. No matter what direction you eventually decide to go in, these certifications will always serve you.
You can get an IT job with just certifications, you can even get an entry-level IT job with no certifications. Certifications are number 2 in the 3 most important ingredients to getting an IT job:
The CompTIA A+ is rather easy. The hardest part is not being tricked by the misleading questions and finishing on time. If you have good reading comprehension and generally test well, you can pass this test with little preparation. You can take free practice tests on this site!
The Google IT Support Certificate cert is very easy to get and has the word Google in it, which looks good. This certification has very little value to hiring managers and thus I would not recommend spending any time pursuing it.
The Linux Essentials Certification is not very difficult to get and can show employers that you are well-rounded. Most IT professionals will spend at least some time on Linux machines. This is also a good foundation for Cybersecurity and Systems Administration.
The Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) has certification in three different categories, Infrastructure, Database, and Development. While Microsoft certs are not showing up in many job post requirements these days, probably because they are more geared around the products Microsoft wants to sell, instead of the Microsoft products that people actually use, I think having a Microsoft certification on your resume will look good. Microsoft is a key piece of infrastructure for almost every organization.
Please be aware that easy certifications have little value and are probably not worth waiting your valuable time on. Just a few key, in-demand certifications can take you a long way!
Let's reverse-engineer this question. I think it would be easiest to start with which IT jobs are most likely to allow you to work remotely.
IT Support or Help Desk offers many remote opportunities. This is a somewhat low-paying and low-job satisfaction position that is in high demand. Hiring Managers have trouble finding good people for these positions and offering “work at home” makes this job more appealing, plus most of the work is over the phone. A CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ will make you more than qualified to be IT Support.
Data Scientists also have many work-at-home positions. There is very little need for any hands-on work in this field. Certifications for Data Science are Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) and Open Certified Data Scientist (Open CDS).
System Administrators do have many work-from-home positions though some companies still have servers on site that they may want their Sysadmins to come in to do physical work on them. Great certifications for System Admins are Linux, VMware, Microsoft Exchange, and Microsoft Active Directory.
Cybersecurity and Network administration have fewer opportunities to work at home as these jobs can require you to drop everything and be ready for anything. That being said there are still plenty of remote jobs in these fields.
the IT certification landscape reflects a high demand for cybersecurity qualifications, led by CISSP, while CompTIA and Cisco certifications maintain broad appeal. The enduring value of certifications, such as Microsoft's, is acknowledged, though the evolving nature of the field is noted, with Azure certifications not currently featured.