3 free IoT certification courses for IT professionals

In recent years, there has been an explosion of connected devices, fuelling demand for talent in the Internet of Things (IoT) as businesses seek to adapt to the changes brought upon by technological advancements.

“Tech companies are definitely solidifying their IoT strategies, but what we’re seeing is they don’t have the processes and talent in-house to make these things happen,” Rich Pearson, former SVP of marketing, Upwork, was quoted saying by CIO.

Meanwhile, Martech Advisor notes that in 2017, 27 billion devices were connected using IoT; this number is expected to increase to 125 billion by 2030, which means each person will own 15 connected devices. 

In a similar vein, the field holds a wealth of untapped potential – for IT professionals who are looking to upskill themselves, a certification in the field could enhance your job prospects and earning potential (data from Glassdoor, the national average salary for an IoT role is US$102,201 in the US).

There are numerous options for doing so. 

Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Specialty

Developers who want to branch into IoT can enrol in Microsoft’s Azure IoT Developer Speciality training, a free certification course. 

Developers who are eager to enrol in the course “should have subject matter expertise developing cloud and edge components of an Azure IoT solution”, said Microsoft.

They add that candidates should also have experience implementing the Azure services that form an IoT solution, including data storage options, data analysis, data processing, and platform-as-a-service options. 

If you plan on taking the exam to certify your skill in the area, price can cost US$165, depending on the country in which the exam is proctored.

Some of the skills IT professionals can gain from this IoT certification include:

• Implement the IoT solution infrastructure
• Provision and manage devices
• Implement Edge
• Process and manage data
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize IoT solutions
• Implement security

Stanford School of Engineering 

The Stanford School of Engineering is offering its online graduate certificate programme – Introduction to Internet of Things – for free.

Stanford notes that there are no prerequisites for this short course, and that it is designed for candidates who are interested in IoT and for those who are preparing to take courses within the IoT graduate certificate programme. 

Applicants will be guided through five modules: Cool Applications, Sensors, Embedded Systems,

Networking and Circuits.

Amazon Web Services

AWS is offering its Internet of Things Foundation Series for free.

This course is ideal for business decision-makers, data engineers, device engineers, fleet managers, line of business developers, operational analysts, security architects as well as security operations engineers.

The series comprises a set of courses that offer a broad experience across IoT Core and its associated services. AWS notes that each class in the series is centered around a scenario where a fictitious customer has a business challenge. The information and activities in the class provide the knowledge and skills to overcome this challenge.

Upon completion, students will have gained foundational knowledge and skills within AWS IoT and hands-on experience with a broad range of topics, such as Telemetry, Predictive Maintenance, and IoT Automation. By completing the IoT Foundation Series, IT candidates will also be better prepared to dive deeply into more technical topics, such as IoT Security, MQTT, and the AWS IoT Rules Engine.

Without a doubt, IoT certifications are a quick way for IT professionals to dive into the field. Do your homework to help you decide which course would best suit your goals and interests.