If you’ve chosen to pursue a career in cloud infrastructure and development, you have some excellent options for upskilling. Key questions to ask: Are you going to cast your lot for an AWS certification career path? Or perhaps you want to enlist for a Microsoft Azure certification; maybe you want to master multi-cloud development? Hard to go wrong with any of these choices.
Here is a listing of the most respected and highest-valued cloud development certificates now available, ranked according to average salaries.
Google’s Professional Cloud Architect (PCA) certification exam is difficult, according to industry insiders and test-takers. To answer the questions asked in the Google certification exam, you need to have solid experience in working with GCP. Compared with a similar AWS test, both challenge the skills of the candidates based on scenario-based questions, but GCP’s exams also require candidates to have a developer background.
For more information about GCP and affiliated training, check out Intellipat’s GCP certification course. Here is a YouTube video on Google Cloud Training. Average salary range: $139,000 - $175,000
Achieving this Microsoft certification and owning its two daunting exams, the AZ-303 and AZ-304, is one of the most challenging feats in cloud certification. CIO.com calls it one of the most in-demand IT certifications for 2021. Average salary range: $119,000 - $152,000
The AWS Solutions Architect – Associate is the most popular AWS certification, which means it’s one of the most popular cloud certifications available. The most likely job role for people with this credential is cloud architect, and 75% of cloud architects have earned one of them; 28% have both, according to Global Knowledge. Average salary range: $113,000–$149,000
The CSA Pro is one of the most challenging and well-respected certifications in IT. It was projected to be the most pursued cloud certification in Global Knowledge’s survey. Average salary range: $129,000–$133,000.
The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam is often the first step on the cloud path for most would-be cloud-service developers. About 12% of IT pros in U.S. companies pursued this certification in 2020; the average AWS CCP certification-holder has more than five other credentials under his/her cloud belt, according to Global Knowledge. Average salary: $131,000
Cloud Academy’s certification Learning Path is specifically designed to prepare candidates for the latest exam. Hands-on experience is mentioned as a pre-requisite of the AWS exam blueprint, so CA has included more hands-on labs in its latest release to fast-track learning and help candidates succeed. Average salary range: $101,000–$130,000.
Coursera’s program and others cover the basics of Azure. Average salary: $127,000.
A candidate for this certification should have at least six months of hands-on experience administering Azure, along with a strong understanding of core Azure services, Azure workloads, security, and governance. In addition, this role should have experience using PowerShell, Azure CLI, Azure portal, and Azure Resource Manager templates. Average salary range: $80,000–$126,000
A cloud platform’s greater market share doesn’t necessarily mean higher pay for the professionals who work with it. In fact, expertise on a smaller but growing platform can be lucrative. Google Cloud Platform, for example, doesn’t have the market penetration of AWS or Azure, but its top certification yields the highest average salary for cloud professionals. That’s not to say you should ignore market share; a platform’s adoption and popularity can help you assess the health of the job market in your area.
Online communities, such as LinkedIn groups, cloud-related sub-Reddits, various discussion forums, or the ACG Discord server, also can also provide valuable insights from a wider field of professionals.
Remember, it’s not like you’re limited to the first cloud certification you choose. Getting certified within and across cloud platforms isn’t just a possibility, it may be a requirement at some point as you advance in your cloud computing career. According to Global Knowledge, about 64% of cloud professionals were cross-certified in 2020, and that number is expected to grow.
