Building a career in Information Technology requires a measure of thought and planning. There are numerous career paths in the field, and the professionals must be able to properly define their path before choosing a certification. In the IT field, just like in many other industries, capabilities and certificates are among the most important things that will set you apart and increase your income potential in your job roles. If you are looking to explore more challenging roles and earn a higher salary, you must be able to demonstrate your abilities to take up your desired role, and one of the ways to do this is to validate your experience with certifications. According to the Global Knowledge report, the IT professionals who are certified earn about 11.7% more than their non-certified counterparts. In this certification guide, we look at the top IT credentials you should consider in the new year. These are certifications that can land you a more rewarding IT roles.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
It has been forecasted that this credential is going to be in high demand in the new year. The AWS Certified Solutions Architect certificate validates the professional’s knowledge and skills on the outlined framework of AWS. It is aimed at those individuals who have a hands-on experience with AWS products and familiar with architecting extensive scale applicable frameworks. The candidates with these skills are the core target for AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate. The relevant exam is administered at various PSI centers across the United States, and the examinees are allowed a total of 80 minutes to complete the test. The professionals who have this certification can earn on an average $121,292 per annum.
Project Management Professional – PMP
The PMP certification is one of the top credentials you should look out for in 2019. It is a leading certificate in the field of project management. Although earning the certification takes rigorous work and high level of preparation, but it is worth every investment you put into it. This credential is developed and administered by the PMI (Project Management Institute). It is well-recognized and respected globally. The credential validates your skills in terms of managing and overseeing projects and tasks related to project team management. There are specific prerequisites that the potential candidates must meet in order to attempt the certification exam. Currently, the professional with the PMP certification can earn $114,473 on an average per annum, and there is a potential to earn more than this, which depends on your level of experience.
Certified Scrum Master – CSM
Certified Scrum Master is one of the top project management credentials that are available in the industry. Scrum is a system that has a lot to do with the style of administration where groups or team have a clustered meeting every morning to go through the progress of active projects and alter the components of the project plan and team on a regular basis as required with the intention of ensuring that team members are functioning as productively and profitably as possible under the prevailing condition. The professionals with the Certified Scrum Master certificate can earn $106,938 averagely on a yearly basis, and there is a potential to get even more depending on a lot of factors.
Six Sigma Green Belt
The professionals pursuing the Six Sigma Green Belt certification are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to apply insights and concepts in the Six Sigma business philosophy. Those who are planning to earn the credential must be ready to go through the recommended training course and sit for the exam in order to earn the certificate. The individuals who succeed in the certification test are usually saddled with the responsibility of leading their organizations in the IT shift ventures. There are numerous associations that provide an array of learning and studying for the exam. At the successful completion of the certification test, the candidates can be employed as a Six Sigma Green Belt with a salary potential of $104,099 per year.
Salesforce Certifications
The Salesforce certification is becoming more popular these days, and it is anticipated that the popularity and demand will soar in the year 2019. Therefore, it is a wise decision to put this on your to-do list. The hiring managers are seriously looking for the candidates who have the capacity to deliver in the role of Salesforce personnel. Earning the certificate is a sure way to demonstrate your capacity in this area. There have been forecast that there would be about 4.2 million job openings in the field of cloud computing by the year 2020, and only those professionals who have what it takes can take advantage of these job openings. In addition to this, the execution and changes to CRM framework have attracted the attention of many Fortune 500 organizations, and they are becoming more interested in engaging professionals who have skills in the area of Salesforce.
Business Analysis Certifications
The Business Analysis credential is offered by IIBA, also known as the International Institute of Business Analysis. This certification is designed for those professionals who have attained a minimum of 7,500 working hours in the area of business analytics profile in the last ten years. The individuals who meet this prerequisite will be required to go through an exam process, which is the last stage of their qualification for the certificate. In addition to the number of hours working on business analytics profiling, the candidates must also have five years’ experience working as a Business Analyst. The name of the certification test to be written is Certified Business Analyst Professional (CBAP), and passing this exam qualifies you for earning the credential.
Website Designing Certifications
You might want to take a moment to reflect on the plethora of websites that are currently hosted on the Internet today and the fact that many more are being added on a daily basis. This has opened the doors for the professionals with the skills and knowledge of website designing. Generally, the remuneration for web-designers who work for organizations is between $40,000 and $70,000 depending on the organization where they work. However, you can choose to be an entrepreneur and determine how much you earn per the website you design. The skills required for building sites include CSS, HTML, and JavaScript, and having the knowledge will put you in an advantageous position to pursue a more rewarding career in the year 2019.
SQL Server Certifications
It has been estimated that the Microsoft certifications regarding SQL Server add about an extra 10% to the remuneration of professionals with the credential. What this means is that with this certificate, you can get about 10% more than the average salary of specialists in your field. Going by this estimate, those individual who takes up the role of a database administrator with the credential will earn about $99,000 per annum. There is also a fact that the professionals working as database administrators enjoy regular pay rise, which means that within a two-year period, you can increase your income without issue. Database career is one of the few job roles that is worth maintaining for a couple of years before moving further. This is because of the potentials in terms of remunerations that are inherent in the field. For instance, a professional with ten years of experience who work in a senior position and has the Microsoft certification can earn $200,000 per annum.
Hadoop Certifications
This credential is becoming famous and is gaining acceptance all over the world. The professionals who work in utilities, media, retail, vitality, pharmaceutical, and various other industries are seriously seeking to have access to the most recent information insights. This is what the Big Data certification and training has to offer. The Hadoop credential demonstrates the ability to understand how to access, interpret, and use Big Data for optimal performance in the job role.
DevOps Certifications
Based on a recent report, the DevOps certified professionals are some of the most liberally remunerated experts in the field of Information Technology. The demand for this group of specialists has continued to increase significantly, and this transcends regions or nations. It is a global demand, and the professionals with this credential are estimated to earn an average of $138,378 per annum. The demand is expected to increase in 2019 and so is the earning potential.
Conclusion
There are a lot of opportunities in the field of IT, and only the proactive professionals can take advantage of them. The year 2019 is here, and it is time to validate your professional skills. The certifications enumerated above are some of the credentials to consider in this new year.
