The IT industry faces a constantly changing labor market and increased competition for qualified experts. Your talent level will determine whether you can land a high-paying position in the IT industry. You must broaden your knowledge and skills when earning more money as an IT expert.
Using skills alone is never enough, especially if you cannot go beyond employers who prefer qualified employees. Thus, you need to complete technical training programs and earn IT certifications that prove you’re capable.
Although IT certifications aren’t necessary to demonstrate your skills, they can give you access to IT professions that can earn top salaries. Today’s post will discuss the top IT certifications and what they offer to earn the highest salaries. Let’s dive in.
What is An IT Certification?
IT certifications standardize working professionals’ expertise to a specific level in the IT industry through exams and ongoing education.
You can prove your competence to potential employers with an IT certification. An IT certification can help existing employees advance their careers and knowledge. Technically-skilled workers are more likely to get higher pay or a better position at their companies.
Top IT Certifications: Why Are They Important?
Modern technologies and research have shaped today’s digital world. As a result of the recent pandemic, people made important decisions about their lives, such as their work and way of living. An extensive IT industry structure and the increasing demand for technical skills have made IT certifications a crucial component.
As the demand for IT specialists grows, job prospects become much more challenging. Many organizations are looking for experts with advanced training and expertise to grow their businesses.
The IT certification industry includes numerous companies, certification bodies, online platforms, and, occasionally, colleges. The goal is to validate professionals’ competence through education, training, and attestation.
Most importantly, top IT certifications provide credibility for addressing current issues and solutions to complex problems. You’ll get more exposure, experience, and training with the best IT certifications. The most important benefit of having certificates is that they increase your visibility in the market.
Your credentials and abilities will make prospective employers interested in you. Top IT certifications provide proof of skill regardless of what you do, simplifying the process.
Putting your IT certifications on display might be a good way to convince your boss and employers. Some IT certificates are as valuable as college degrees, or even more in some cases. Now you have a good understanding of why are top IT certifications in demand today.
Top IT Certifications: How to Get Them?
IT certifications can have different processes depending on what they are. Generally, there are multiple main activities.
Training Session
Earning an IT certification often starts with training. Most training requires reading and learning from a specified amount of source materials. Occasionally, training can involve practicing and demonstrating abilities in a real lab or a virtual lab simulation. The certifying bodies for particular credentials also offer training materials and courses.
Expertise
Candidates for some IT certifications must have work experience with a certain technology or activity.
Exam for Certification
The IT certification process concludes with this crucial phase. Professionals take the exam to prove their skills, knowledge, and comprehension. An accredited testing facility awards certificates to individuals who pass a skills test. Third parties or the certifying authority could also provide the testing facility.
Top 10 IT Certifications To Get Well-Paid Jobs
Below are the top IT certifications that will enhance your worth and propel you forward in your career in 2022.
Google Certified Professional (GCP) – Cloud Architect
Google Certified Professional (GCP) – Cloud Architect, introduced in 2017, is one of the top IT certifications in 2022. This IT certification confirms a professional’s ability to create cloud architecture that adheres to compliance and security standards.
Furthermore, this certification proves that you are proficient at implementing, providing infrastructure, enhancing procedures, etc. Businesses seek qualified individuals with this Google accreditation to fill open positions in the cloud computing industry.
In general, a certified cloud architect earns around $160,000 per year. Consequently, to obtain this IT certification, you must pass the applicable exam.
The certification requires at least three years of experience, including at least one year managing and developing Google Cloud solutions.
Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
CISM stands for Certified Information Security Manager, an IT certification offered by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). As part of this program, you will demonstrate your knowledge and skills in creating and overseeing corporate information security systems.
Achieving this credential is a great first step for security technologists who want to become security managers.
The certification is designed for IT consultants, managers, and auditors who support information security program management. Additionally, candidates should be familiar with information security governance, information risk management, incident management, and program management.
You must possess five years of proven expertise in the field of information security management to be eligible. To be eligible, you must have five years of experience in the field of information security management. IT professionals with this certification make $148,000 a year, making it one of the top IT certifications in 2022.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, is one of the top IT certifications on our list. This certification confirms you’re a cloud architect with real-world expertise in building fault-tolerant, cost-effective systems on AWS. This credential certifies that you can conceptualize and implement scalable systems on AWS.
With this certification, you will acquire the fundamental skills and abilities required to architect Amazon Web Services (AWS) IT solutions. In consequence, you will become very familiar with the AWS platform and how to utilize its features.
This Amazon certificate is for professionals who deploy applications and systems or create cloud infrastructure. It is not necessary to have deep coding experience, but candidates should have a solid understanding of the AWS Well-Architected Framework.
This certification is worth approximately $149,000 per year on average for individuals who possess it.
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Among project managers with relevant experience, the PMP certification is one of the top IT certifications in 2022. This course will provide instructional tools, practice questions, and post-learning resources related to PMI terminology.
Project managers with this certification can assure consumers and employers they’re experienced and knowledgeable.
This program gives professionals the skills and information they need to recognize, organize, carry out, and manage projects. The certification level of a specialist affects their level of responsibility in project management.
To earn this credential, you must pass one exam and have prior project management experience. This certification requires a four-year degree, 36 months of project leadership experience, and 35 hours of project management training.
The average income for qualified professionals holding this certification can earn up to $143,000.
Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
Since 1978, it has been one of the top IT certifications in the IT industry. It is a certification of a person’s cybersecurity, auditing, and risk management expertise.
With a CISA certification, you can bridge the gap between technical, legal, and compliance teams, ensuring firms maintain privacy and manage risk efficiently. This certification validates audit, risk, and cybersecurity skills related to these areas:
- Performing An Audit of Information Systems
- Implementation, Development, and Acquisition of Information Systems
- IT Governance and Management
- Information Asset Protection
- Business Resilience and Information Systems Operation
You must pass the test and meet the minimum requirements to get this certification. Like the CISM, this exam requires five years of professional audit experience. It is also common for CISA professionals to earn an annual salary of $132,000 on average.
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
With the CISSP certification, professionals prove their skills in designing, executing, and managing cybersecurity programs, and it’s like getting a master’s. It is designed for security practitioners, executives, and managers who want to demonstrate expertise in a broad range of practices and principles in cybersecurity.
CISSP specialists create policies that consider network system vulnerabilities to improve system security and reduce risk. With this certification, you can earn an average salary of $141,000 per year, making it one of the top IT certifications. The process of obtaining it, however, requires that you meet certain requirements.
To qualify, you need to pass the exam and have five years of paid work experience in two or more of the eight domains. The domains are:
- Security and Risk Management
- Security Architecture and Engineering
- Asset Security
- Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Communication and Network Security
- Security Operations
- Security Assessment and Testing
- Software Development Security
However, if you lack the necessary experience, you may still earn the certification by passing the exam while pursuing the full certification.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
It is one of the best IT certifications for beginners who want to begin their career in the IT industry.
The IT certification provides information on fundamental cloud concepts and services, security, privacy, and compliance. This course is for people responsible for acquiring, selling, and promoting Microsoft Azure cloud-based services without any technical background.
This certification is for people new to Azure or who want to start working with cloud-based solutions and services. This certification is the first step to obtaining Microsoft’s role-based certifications. With this certification, you can earn an average salary of $126,000 annually.
VMware Certified Professional 6 – Data Center Virtualization
The certification validates candidates’ ability to build scalable virtual infrastructure with VMware vSphere 6. With this certification, you’ll demonstrate competence in deploying virtualization technologies, consolidating them, and managing them.
Depending on your level of expertise with VMware virtualization technology, you may be required to pass between two and four examinations. Professionals with VMware Certified Professional can earn an average annual salary of $130,000. More than 100,000 IT professionals worldwide hold the VCP6-DCV certification, making it one of the top IT certifications.
Citrix Certified Associate – Networking (CCA-N)
Citrix Certified Associate-Networking is one of the best It certifications for beginners in 2022. This certification wrapped the principles of NetScaler implementation.
The certification provides applicants with the ability to troubleshoot NetScaler-related issues. As you progress along the certification path, you can specialize in traffic management or NetScaler Unified Gateway.
You’ll undoubtedly be a sought-after expert since NetScaler is a critical infrastructure component in Citrix deployments. An individual who holds this Citrix certification earns an average of $125,200 yearly.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
Azure Cloud administrators are the target audience for this Microsoft certificate. Those experts oversee cloud services’ network, security, and storage aspects. They work with stakeholders, developers, and others to identify solutions to the complex problems that prevent Azure solutions from being dependable, secure, and scalable.
Candidates for this certification must have extensive experience creating cloud-based hybrid solutions with Microsoft Azure. Additionally, they must thoroughly understand infrastructure applications, services, and environments. In 2022, an Azure Administrator Associate with this certification can earn $125900 annually, making it one of the top IT certifications.
What is the Most Popular IT Certification?
You will have some options available for you when it comes to the most popular IT certifications in 2022. The following are some of the most popular IT certifications:
- Google Cloud Professional- Cloud Architect
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect-Associate
- Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
- PMI – Project Management Professional
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
Why Should I Get an IT Certification?
You can learn about the industry through IT certifications, expand your skill set, impress employers, and land a profitable job.
What are the Highest-Paying IT Certifications?
If you’re going to start your career in the IT industry and want a well-paying job, you need an IT certification. In the article, we have provided you with a list of the biggest IT certifications that will help you land the best-paying jobs. Such as Google Cloud Professional- Cloud Architect, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, etc.
Conclusion
That’s all from our today’s round-up about the top IT certifications. With nearly any qualification, you can enhance your resume and marketability with these IT certifications. Your IT certifications can boost your earning potential and help you to advance into leadership positions.
We hope this article has given you some insights into the top certifications that will benefit your future career development.