Top-Paying IT Certifications for 2022
The new year brings new resolutions. So it is 2022 and time for making some new learning resolutions. If you are looking for skills to acquire, you’ve come to the right place. However, before we get to the list of top-paying IT certifications going into 2022, let’s start by answering the most commonly asked questions.
Why are IT certifications necessary?
Technology changes at such a rapid pace that what is in vogue today is not tomorrow. Therefore, it is always a good idea to keep a pulse on the latest and most significant trends to upskill yourself at the right time.
Whether you are looking to jumpstart your career, improve your IT skills or grow in your current organization, certifications provide an easy path to get trained and validate your skills. For someone trying to find a new job, certifications increase the credibility of their resume, signaling to the hiring manager that you are a dedicated individual and have the foresight necessary to stay ahead of industry trends. In addition, these IT certifications can help you make strides in your career by getting you access to the right networks and opportunities.
2022 has not changed a lot from 2021 when it comes to in-demand skills. The skills associated with cybersecurity and cloud certifications continue to be in high demand.
How do we choose the best IT certifications?
The best certifications for IT professionals are those that help you stand out from the crowd. They’re not just about passing a test but about demonstrating your skills and knowledge in an industry-specific way.
We have compiled a list of the top IT certifications for this article based on experience from our marketplace and analytics. We also looked at the 2022 Salary Guide From Robert Half. These certifications are the ones that will give you the edge when it comes to getting hired or promoted.
So, here is the list of Top-paying IT certifications going into 2022
We thought it would be beneficial to group the certifications based on the technology and type of role. So, below is the list of some critical in-demand IT roles and the popular certifications associated with them.
Applications Architect
Architects design the main parts of applications, including the user interface, middleware, and infrastructure. Application Architect is one of the highest paying IT roles because every company wants to improve existing applications or create new ones. Both of these jobs would most probably involve cloud computing. The cloud market features two distinct names, i.e., Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, as top entries in terms of the cloud services provider. The top Applications Architect certifications include:
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified Solutions Architect Associate. This certification allows candidates to prove their knowledge and experience at par with one or multiple years of practical experience in designing highly available, fault-tolerant, scalable, cost efficiency, highly distributed AWS systems. As per globalknowledge.com, the average salary of an AWS Certified Solutions Architect in the USA/Canada is around $153,142 per year.
Check out all AWS Certification Training here.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert – This certification requires candidates to be subject matter experts in designing cloud and hybrid solutions that run on Microsoft Azure, including compute, network, storage, monitoring, and security. As per acloudguru.com, the average salary of a Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert in the USA is around $152,142 per year.
Check out all Azure Certification Training here.
Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect – Like AWS and Azure, a GCP Professional Architect needs to understand cloud architecture and Google Cloud thoroughly. Candidates should have a good command of designing, developing, and managing robust, secure, scalable, highly available, and dynamic solutions to drive business objectives. As per ziprecruiter.com, the average salary of a Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect in the USA is around $135,980 per year.
Check out all GCP Certification Training here.
Data Engineer
Data engineers design and build databases that store applications and protect those databases from hackers. As a result, the data engineer is taking on a central role in the world of IT. As a result, data engineering is a career choice that has never been more important or in-demand for some knowledge professionals. The top Data Engineer certifications include:
Google Certified Professional Data Engineer – As per GCP, a Data Engineer should be able to design, build, operationalize, secure, and monitor data processing systems with a particular emphasis on security and compliance; scalability and efficiency; reliability and fidelity; and flexibility and portability. In addition, a Data Engineer should also be able to leverage, deploy, and continuously train pre-existing machine learning models. As per talent.com, the average salary for a Google Professional Data Engineer in the USA is around $147,000 per year.
Check out all GCP Certification Training here.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified Data Analytics Specialty– This certification validates technical skills and experience in AWS data lakes and analytics services. It also requires a candidate to know how AWS data analytics services fit in the collection, storage, processing, and visualization data life cycle. As per ziprecruiter.com, the average salary for an AWS Certified Data Analytics Specialty in the USA is around $123,807 per year.
Check out all AWS Certification Training here.
Azure Data Engineer Associate (DP-203) – A candidate for this certification needs to have subject matter expertise integrating, transforming, and consolidating data from various structured and unstructured data systems into structures that are suitable for building analytics solutions. As per linkedin.com, the average salary for an Azure Data Engineer Associate in the USA is more than $100,000 per year.
Check out all Azure Certification Training here.
Information Systems Security
Customer data and application security is the number one priority for all companies. As a result, cybersecurity engineers are some of the highest-paid positions worldwide. Unfilled cybersecurity job roles worldwide are already over 4 million. As companies large and small struggle to counter the increasing cyber threats, jobs in the cybersecurity field are growing fast. The top Information systems security certifications include:
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) – The certification designed by (ISC)² aims at teaching cybersecurity experts the industry standards. Despite its popularity, it isn’t best for beginners since passing this exam requires extensive knowledge and cybersecurity experience. As per isc2.org, the average salary for a CISSP in the USA is around $135,510 per year.
Check out our CISSP Training Bundle here.
CompTIA Security+ – This is an entry-level certification covering many cybersecurity topics, ranging from network security, access controls, system threats, and vulnerabilities to cryptography. It also focuses on the latest concepts of risk management and threat mitigation. As per ziprecruiter.com, the average salary for a CompTIA Security+ entry-level job in the USA is around $59,009 per year.
Check out our Security+ Training here.
Certified Ethical Hacker – This certification from the EC Council helps cybersecurity professionals in mastering the concepts of penetration testing, evaluating organizational network vulnerabilities and other infrastructures. As per payscale.com, the average salary for a CEH in the USA is around $95,000 per year.
Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) – This certification from ISACA aid individuals in understanding business risk and possess a technical understanding to implement the most helpful information security procedures and controls. As per ziprecruiter.com, the average salary for a CRISC in the USA is around $132,266 per year.
Check out our CRISC Training here.
Agile and Project Management
There has been an operational requirement for teams to collaborate on a dynamic scale: iterative agile techniques and project management professionals meet this need. However, the growth in technically intricate corporate projects has brought a gap in the industry that needs to be addressed by project managers skilled in the updated agile methodologies—2022, expected to see enhanced integration in project management tools, which are going niche.
The top agile and project management certifications include:
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) – This certification offers a comprehensive growth field with limited experience and specialization compared to other project management certifications. CAPM credential marks the attainment of project management skills at any career stage. As per ziprecruiter.com, the average salary for a CAPM in the USA is around $88,185 per year.
Project Management Professional (PMP) – This certification is a criterion for evaluating the skills of management professionals in directing projects. It demonstrates the competency of the practitioner in terms of experience and education. This industry-recognized credential is a designation offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), USA. As per pmi.org, the average salary for a PMP in the USA is around $112,000 per year.
Network/Cloud Engineer
Cloud engineering is associated with simplifying business problems using engineering expertise and cloud resources. The prominence of cloud engineering regarding cloud computing validates the significance of the jobs in this field. Apart from this, the tasks related to connectivity in an organization by network engineers who plan, implement, oversee, and execute computer networks. Due to a highly predictable rise in cloud computing and engineering jobs in 2022, it is safe to say that the roles mentioned above are about to grow at a tremendous pace. The top network/cloud engineer certifications include:
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) – Various IT services professionals earn this certification to prove their competency in solving specific hardware/software problems. It is widely accepted and a crucial step to walk on the career pathway of a network administrator or engineer. As per ziprecruiter.com, the average salary for a CCNA in the USA is around $84,376 per year.
Check out Cisco CCNA Training here.
Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) – This certification is more advanced and technically sound than CCNA. It is an absolute fit for anyone engaged in a networking environment willing to invest the energy and resources required to attain expertise in security troubleshooting and solutions. As per talent.com, the average salary for a CCNP in the USA is around $100,700 per year.
Check out Cisco CCNP Training here.
Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) – This certification aims at providing accreditation at the highest possible level for Cisco networking products. Significant industrial experience coupled with other lower-level Cisco certifications is needed to understand the most challenging network assignments. As per talent.com, the average salary for a CCIE in the USA is around $150,000 per year.
Check out our Cisco CCIE Training here.
DevOps Engineer
A DevOps Engineer is responsible for meeting all kinds of needs within a software life cycle. They streamline tasks and create an automated approach to the DevOps philosophy, practices, culture, and tools. Since everything is internet-oriented in today’s day and age, it becomes paramount for modern companies to stay up-to-date with their software deployment and infrastructure via an efficient DevOps methodology. A gradual change in the DevOps tools and technologies is bringing about a promising future for DevOps Engineer job roles with utmost importance attached to applying AI/ML to the DevOps pipelines. The top DevOps Engineer certifications include:
Certified Kubernetes Administrator – Kubernetes, initially designed by Google, now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and managing containerized applications. Kubernetes is at the cutting-edge of application deployment. The Kubernetes Certification is a practical hands-on exam. The average salary of CKA as per Ziprecruiter is $144,315.
Check out our Kubernetes Training here.
Microsoft Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400) – This certification requires professionals in DevOps practices and development processes. It is an expert-level certification. With the popularity of Azure, DevOps Engineer job roles are supposed to be on a spike in 2022. As per talent.com, the average salary for an AZ-400 in the USA is around $98,000 per year.
Check out our Azure Training here.
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional – This certification requires extensive experience working in an AWS DevOps environment to build on deployment skills. A highly functional cloud environment allows critical skills to sharpen and formulate the talent needed to work in an AWS environment. As per talent.com, the average salary for an AWS Certified DevOps Engineer in the USA is around $140,000 per year.
Check out our AWS Certified DevOps Training here.
CRM
Customer relationship management (CRM) is any tool, strategy, or process that helps businesses better organize and access customer data. CRM platforms connect different departments, from marketing to sales to customer service, and manage their notes, activities, and metrics into one cohesive system. Salesforce is the largest CRM provider and offers a significant number of certifications. The top CRM certifications include:
Salesforce Administrator – Being a salesforce administrator, the daily responsibilities are to look after reports and dashboards, manage data feeds, and coordinate the users, vendors, and applications, development teams. It is specially designed for the individuals aware of the Salesforce and can add more features. As per Glassdoor.com, the average annual salary range of a Salesforce Certified Administrator in the USA is around the US – $87,000/year.
Check out Salesforce Training here.
It is important to note that all these professional certifications need hands-on experience for you to be successful long term.
Does it make sense to have multiple IT certifications?
It is not uncommon for IT professionals to have more than one certification. Certifications help you gain knowledge quickly and help you validate the skills. For example – anyone trying to learn AWS can start with AWS Cloud Practitioner and then move on to gain more advanced knowledge by undertaking AWS Associate Architect certification. There are multiple levels to a certification skill in most cases, ranging from beginner to advanced and then specialty.
Take another use case where a person knows AWS and now wants to explore Azure. It makes logical sense to now do Azure certifications.
So, the short answer is “yes,” you can (and should) have multiple levels of certifications and, in some cases, maybe cross over to more than one certificate issuing authority.
Conclusion
Certifications showcase your skills and show an employer that you are a serious candidate when hiring. Regardless of your background or interests, one of these certifications can unlock many potential career opportunities. We hope this information will help you choose the right certification path.
