Are you looking for a leg up in your IT career? IT certifications remain a proven way to quickly obtain valuable skills and demonstrate deeper interest and know-how in a domain that will further your career.
Certifications and skills can help increase your salary, set you apart from the competition and help you land promotions in your current role. A survey from Global Knowledge found that 83% of IT professionals in the U.S. and Canada hold an IT certification and in the U.S. the average salary for a certified IT professional is on average $8,400 higher.
The 15 Most Valuable certifications of 2019
1) Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT)
Offered through the ISACA, the CGEIT certification demonstrates your knowledge of enterprise IT governance. The certification shows you are capable of applying IT governance principle and concepts in a professional environment. It’s designed for those with “significant management, assurance or advisory roles relating to the governance of IT,” including IS and IT directors, consultants, executives, managers and governance professionals, according to the ISACA. The Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT certification is currently ranked as one of the most important certifications available, according to data from Global Knowledge.
Requirements: Five or more years of experience managing, serving in an advisory or oversight role or otherwise supporting IT governance initiatives in an enterprise setting. You will need one year of experience with an IT governance framework and experience in two or more of the CGEIT domains, which involves strategic management, benefits realization, resource optimization or risk optimization.
Average wages for CGEIT certification: $121,373
2) AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
AWS remains the top cloud platform of choice, and the AWS certification is designed for those with a background in the AWS platform. It focuses on proving your ability to deploy and design scalable systems on AWS including how to keep development cost useful without sacrificing reliability, security, and quality.
Requirements: One year or more of hands-on experience designing systems on AWS, knowledge of at least one high-level programming language, an understanding of best practices around improving AWS-based applications.
The average wage for AWS certification: $121,293
3) Project Management Professional (PMP)
The PMP certification is offered through PMI, and it’s designed for excellent project management experts. PMI states that certification in PMP will let you work in virtually any industry, with any methodology, and any location. The certification covers the five main stages of a project’s life cycle, including initiating, executing, planning, controlling and monitoring and closing.
Requirements: To take the exam, those holding a four-year degree need 3 years of experience in project management, 4,500 hours of directing and leading projects, and 35 hours of project management education. With a secondary degree, you’ll need five years of experience, 7,500 hours directing and leading projects and 35 hours of project management education.
Average salary for PMP certification: $114,465
4) AWS Certified Developer - Associate
The AWS Certified Developer - Associate certification from Amazon is designed for developers who work with the core AWS services. The certification will prove your ability to develop, debug and deploy cloud-based applications with AWS. As organizations increasingly adopt cloud technology, internet of things, machine learning and other originating technologies, the AWS certification has become more important for job seekers.
Requirements: One or more years of hands-on experience designing and maintaining AWS-based applications, solid knowledge of one or more high-level programming languages and an understanding of AWS services.
Average salary for AWS Certified Developer - Associate certification: $114,443
5) CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)
The CISSP certification is offered by the ISC2 and accredited under ANSI, formally approved by the U.S. Department of Defense and adopted as a standard for the U.S. National Security Agency’s ISEEP program. It’s recognized globally as a certification designed to help IT security professionals establish best practices around advanced security.
Requirements: You will need at least 5 years of experience in information security and at least 3 years of experience as a security manager. Experience must be within ten years of the exam, or five years after passing it. You will need to keep the certification up to date with continuing professional education (CPE) credits, and you need to have at least 5 years of full-time paid experience in two or more of the topics included on the exam.
Average salary for CISSP certification: $111,465
6) Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)
The ISACA touts the CRISC certification as the only certification that prepares and enables IT professionals for the different challenges of IT and enterprise risk management and positions them to become strategic partners to the enterprise. This information security certification shows your abilities in risk management, assessment, response, mitigation, monitoring, and reporting.
Requirements: To obtain a CRISC certification, you will need 3 or more years of experience in at least two of the four topics covered in the certification. You will also need to obtain CPE credits each year to uphold the certification.
Average wage for CRISC certification: $111,059
7) Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
The ISACA also offers the CISM certification, which focuses on IT security at the management level. It’s designed to show proficiency in designing, building, and maintaining enterprise security initiatives. The CISM exam is only offered for two 16-week periods throughout the year this year it’s available starting either February 1 or June 1.
Requirements: To earn a Certified Information Security Manager certification, you need at least 5 years of information security experience, and that work experience must be within ten years of your exam date or five years after passing it. You will also need to earn CPEs to maintain the certification.
The average salary for CISM certification: $108,053
8) Certified ScrumMaster
The Scrum Alliance offers a ScrumMaster certification that is well-known and respected in the industry. Becoming a certified ScrumMaster will verify your knowledge of the Scrum framework and how to apply it in the workplace. It’s an very useful certification for project managers, technical project managers, program managers, Scrum masters, project leads and product developers. Along with your certification, you will also receive a 2-year membership with the Scrum Alliance, which will give you access to local and online networking events.
Requirements: Before you can take the certification, you will require to attend an in-person, 2 day Certified ScrumMaster course taught by a Certified Scrum Trainer.
The average salary for Certified ScrumMaster certification: $106,928
9) Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
Offered through the EC-Council, the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) designation proves you have the knowledge and skills to find vulnerabilities in computer systems and to stop hacking. An ethical hacker is someone who uses the same knowledge and skills as a malicious hacker to develop security measures to prevent latent attacks. Typically, businesses will ask you to think like a hacker to find weaknesses in computer systems and networks, and with that knowledge, it’s accessible to fix security gaps and prevent potential threats.
Requirements: You will need 2 years of experience working in information security.
The average salary for Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification: $106,385
10) Six Sigma Green Belt
Six Sigma is a management methodology applied to streamline quality management that involves multiple levels of certification. You can not skip levels when getting your Six Sigma certifications, so no matter where you are in your career, you will start with the entry-level Green Belt certification. As a Six Sigma Green Belt, you will be led by a Black Belt in your organization who will mentor you while you learn the methodology.
Requirements: 3 years of on-the-job experience in one or more areas of the Six Sigma Green Belt Body of experience and Knowledge working in a full-time, paid role.
The average salary for Six Sigma Green Belt certification: $104,089
11) Citrix Certified Professional – Virtualization (CCP-V)
The CCP-V certification proves competency in virtual desktop applications using Citrix technologies. Topics cover pre-installation, installing needed technologies, configuring technical components and testing configurations. In 2014, certification replaced the CCEE certification and focused on skills to maintain, deploy, and configure solutions based on Citrix’s XenDesktop software.
Requirements: You will need to earn your associate-level certification before you can move on to the CCP-V certification.
Average salary for CCP-V certification: $103,434
12) MCSE (Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert) – Server Infrastructure
The MCSE certification is different on this list because it’s no longer offered through Microsoft it was restored with the MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure certification. Nevertheless, it made the list of top-paying certifications as it’s still a valid certification if you made it before March 2017. The Infrastructure and Cloud Platform certification is a fit replacement to pursue.
This certification proves your abilities to run an effective data center and your knowledge in areas like cloud technology, storage, virtualization, networking, and systems and identity management.
Requirements: To obtain an MCSE certification you need to first have one out of four MCSA certifications offered through Microsoft.
Average salary for MCSE – Server Infrastructure certification: $100,757
13) CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor)
The ISACA describes the CISA certification as a worldwide recognized certification for IS audit control. It’s been around since 1978 and focuses on proving your capabilities in every stage of the auditing process, your experience to report on compliance procedures and how well you can assess vulnerabilities.
Requirements: You will need at least 5 years of experience in IS auditing, security, or control. There’s an entry-level exam that you will need to clear before moving onto the CISA exam. Like other ISACA certifications, you will require to earn CPE credits to maintain your certification.
Average salary for CISA certification: $99,648
14) CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) R&S
The CCNP certification is for IT pros who have completed their CCNA certification and moved on to the next tier of exams. Under the Cisoc CCNP certification, you can pick to be certified in a cloud, data center, collaboration, routing and switching, security, wireless or service providing.
Requirements: You will need to complete the CCNA Routing and Switching exam or any CCIE exam before moving onto the CCNP certification exam.
The average salary for CCNP Routing and Switching certification: $99,502
15) Citrix Certified Associate – Networking (CCA-N)
The CCA-N certification focuses on proving proficiency in the use of NetScaler Gateway in an enterprise environment. The exam includes topic areas surrounding the use of NetScaler Gateway to access remote desktops, applications, and data securely.
Requirements: There are no prerequisites for taking the CCA-N certification.
The average wage for CCA-N certification: $99,227
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