Enhance your career prospects with these high-paying IT certifications

Are IT certifications worth it? The competitive job market means it’s harder than ever for job candidates to impress employers, but additional qualifications can help. 

A CompTIA study notes that 91% of employers believe IT certifications play a key role in the hiring process and are a reliable predictor of a successful employee. Numerous reports echo this, including Forbes, which notes that certification can lead to higher average salaries for roles such as IT technicians.

What’s more, additional credentials will also show employers how passionate you are about keeping your skills updated and advanced. 

If you have some free time on your hands, here are some top IT certifications that will help you stay ahead this year:

Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect 

Debuting in 2017, the Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect certification allows IT pros to certify as architects on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Completing this certification ensures learners will have the capacity to design, develop, and manage Google’s cloud architecture using GCP technologies. 

Global Knowledge notes that the average cloud computing professional in the US makes over US$160,000 a year despite being such a small percentage (4%) of their respondent base.

By earning this certification, you’ll gain the necessary knowledge of the Google technology solutions you’ll need to apply in order to address a wide variety of different cloud scenarios.

Cloud skills continue to be in high demand and mastering Google’s tools for reliable and secure solutions will be critical to any organisation looking to use the GCP platform. The best part? Google Certified Professional Cloud Architects can expect to earn a whopping average of US$175,761 per year.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect exam was designed to test expertise in designing systems on AWS. For those with hands-on experience with AWS services and are accustomed to architecting large-scale, distributed systems — this certification could be useful. 

A prerequisite to this programme is the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner. Following this, you’ll need to pass the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C01) exam to complete this certification.

AWS recommends at least a year of hands-on experience in designing systems on AWS before taking the exam, which takes 80 minutes to complete. Successful AWS Certified Solutions Architects can earn an average salary of US$149,446 per year.

Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) 

Experienced information security professionals might want to become a Certified Information Security Manager, which will bolster your access to the field’s highest-paying discipline. Upon completion, participants will be able to design and engineer security protocols and manage an organisation’s IT system. 

According to Global Knowledge, certified information security managers could earn up to US$148,622 a year.