Information Technology is a dynamic and fast-changing field. The IT certifications make you valuable in the highly competitive IT industry. It also provides a comprehensive way to learn IT knowledge. The following IT certifications are picked up by most of job recruiting and IT training websites:

List of Certifications

• 1. Cyber Security Certifications
  • Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
  • Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
  • Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
  • Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
  • Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)
• 2. Cloud Computing Certifications
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (CSAA)
  • AWS Certified Developer – Associate (CDA)
  • Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure
  • Citrix Certified Professional – Virtualization (CCP-V)
• 3. Project Management Certifications
  • Project Management Professional (PMP)
  • Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
• 4. Big Data Certifications
  • Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert: Data Management and Analytics
  • Oracle Business Intelligence
  • SAS Certified Data Scientist
• 5. Networking Certifications
  • Cisco Certified Networking Professional Routing and Switching (CCNP)
  • Citrix Certified Associate – Networking (CCAN)

1. Cyber Security Certifications

CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional

Offered by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)². The CISSP is an elite way to demonstrate your knowledge, advance your career, and join a community of like-minded cybersecurity leaders. It was the first certification in the field of information security to the strict conditions of ISO/IEC Standard 17024.

PREREQUISITES

REQUIRED EXAMS

Take the Exam

Candidates are given a maximum of three hours to complete the 100-150 question English CISSP CAT exam, or six hours to complete the 250 questions non-English CISSP linear exam.

Complete the Endorsement Process

Once you successfully pass the exam, you will have nine months from the date of the exam to complete this process.

Cost of Exam

CISSP is $699; each CISSP concentration is $599

RECERTIFICATION

CISM – Certified Information Security Manager

Offered by  ISACA, the management-focused CISM certification promotes international security practices and recognizes the individual who manages, designs, oversees, and assesses an enterprise’s information security.

PREREQUISITES

Five (5) or more years of experience in information security management. Waivers are available for a maximum of
two (2) years.

REQUIRED EXAMS

Take the Exam

CISM Exam is 4 hours exam with 150 questions on the following domains:

Domain 1—Information Security Governance (24%)
Domain 2—Information Risk Management (30%)
Domain 3—Information Security Program Development and Management (27%)
Domain 4—Information Security Incident Management (19%)

Cost of Exam

Member US $575, Nonmember: US $760

RECERTIFICATION

The CISM continuing professional education (CPE) policy requires that you attain at least 20 CPE hours per year and 120 CPE hours every three years.

 

CEH – Certified Ethical Hacker

Offered by EC-Council, a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is a skilled professional who understands and knows how to look for weaknesses and vulnerabilities in target systems and uses the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker, but in a lawful and legitimate manner to assess the security posture of a target system(s).

REQUIRED EXAMS

Take the Exam

• Number of Questions: 125
• Test Duration: 4 Hours
• Test Format: Multiple Choice
• Test Delivery: ECC EXAM, VUE
• Exam Prefix: 312-50 (ECC EXAM), 312-50 (VUE)

Cost of Exam

The exam fee is US$950

CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor

CISA certification is another ISACA certification. The CISA designation is a globally recognized certification for IS audit,
control, and security professionals.

PREREQUISITES

Five (5) or more years of experience in IS audit, control, assurance, or security. Waivers are available for a maximum of three (3) years.

REQUIRED EXAMS

CISA is 4 hours exam with 150 questions on the following domains:

Domain 1—The Process of Auditing Information Systems (21%)
Domain 2—Governance and Management of IT (16%)
Domain 3—Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Implementation (18%)
Domain 4—Information Systems Operations, Maintenance and Service Management (20%)
Domain 5—Protection of Information Assets (25%)

Cost of Exam

Member US $575, Nonmember: US $760

 

CRISC – Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control

CRISC certification is another ISACA certification. The CRISC certification is designed for those experienced in the management of IT risk, and the design, implementation, monitoring, and maintenance of information system (IS) controls.

PREREQUISITES

Three (3) years of work experience managing IT risk by designing and implementing IS controls, including experience
across at least two (2) CRISC domains, of which one must be in Domain 1 or 2, is required for certification. There are no
substitutions or experience waivers.

REQUIRED EXAMS

CRISC is 4 hours exam with 150 questions on the following domains:

Domain 1—IT Risk Identification (27%)
Domain 2—IT Risk Assessment (28%)
Domain 3—Risk Response and Mitigation (23%)
Domain 4—Risk and Control Monitoring and Reporting (22%)

Cost of Exam

Member US $575, Nonmember: US $760

2. Cloud Computing Certifications

CSAA – AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate

REQUIRED EXAMS

 CDA – AWS Certified Developer – Associate

The AWS Certified Developer – Associate exam validates technical expertise in developing and maintaining applications on the AWS platform. It tests your knowledge of the following concepts:

• Picking the right AWS services for the application
• Leveraging AWS SDKs to interact with AWS services from your application
• Writing code that optimizes the performance of AWS services used by your application
• Code-level application security (IAM roles, credentials, encryption, etc.)

PREREQUISITES

No prerequisites. Eligible candidates for this exam have:

• One or more years of hands-on experience designing and maintaining an AWS-based application
• In-depth knowledge of at least one high-level programming language
• Understanding of core AWS services, uses, and basic architecture best practices
• Proficiency in designing, developing, and deploying cloud-based solutions using AWS
• Experience with developing and maintaining applications written for Amazon Simple Storage Service, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service, Amazon Simple Notification Service, Amazon Simple Workflow Service, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, and AWS CloudFormation

REQUIRED EXAMS

MCSE – Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert is a certification intended for IT professionals seeking to demonstrate their ability to build innovative solutions across multiple technologies, both on-premises and in the cloud. This certification validates that you have the skills needed to run a highly efficient and modern data center, with expertise in cloud technologies, identity management, systems management, virtualization, storage, and networking.

PREREQUISITES

Earn one of the following Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) certifications:

• MCSA: Windows Server 2016
• MCSA: Cloud Platform
• MCSA: Linux on Azure
• MCSA: Windows Server 2012

REQUIRED EXAMS

CCP-V – Citrix Certified Professional – Virtualization

CCP – V validates the skills experienced IT solution builders, such as engineers and consultants, need to manage and support complex environments based on XenApp and XenDesktop with Provisioning Services.

PREREQUISITES

Exam 1Y0-311: Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 Advanced Administration

RECERTIFICATION

CCP-V certification is valid for three years. To renew CCP-V and CCA-V,  you can either take the current version of the exam or attend a Citrix authorized class.

3. Project Management Certifications

PMP – Project Management Professional

The Project Management Professional (PMP)^® is established by the Project Management Institute (PMI)® and it is the most important industry-recognized certification for project managers. The PMP signifies that you speak and understand the global language of project management and connects you to a community of professionals, organizations and experts worldwide. Earning and maintaining this project management certification demonstrates a solid foundation of experience and competency in effectively managing projects and project teams.

PREREQUISITES

To apply PMP, you need to meet the following prerequisites:

• A secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree or the global equivalent)
• 7,500 hours leading and directing projects
• 35 hours of project management education

OR

• Four-year degree
• 4,500 hours leading and directing projects
• 35 hours of project management education

REQUIRED EXAMS

Take the Exam

The certification exam has 200 multiple-choice questions, and you have four hours to complete it.

Cost of Exam

PMI Member: US$405.00 and Non-member: US$555.00

RECERTIFICATION

To maintain your PMP, you must earn 60 professional development units (PDUs) every three years.

Please check out How I Passed PMP in 1 Month for any additional information.

CSM  – Certified ScrumMaster

A Certified ScrumMaster® helps project teams properly use Scrum, increasing the likelihood of the project’s overall success. CSMs act as “servant leaders,” helping the rest of the Scrum team work together with the agile development process that allows teams to deliver usable software periodically throughout the life of a project. CSMs also protect the team from both internal and external distractions by absorbing change and new requirements as the project proceeds.

PREREQUISITES

The Certified ScrumMaster certification is created and managed by the Scrum Alliance and requires the individual to attend the two-day (16-hour) CSM course taught by a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST).

REQUIRED EXAMS

Take the Exam

To attain a passing score, you must correctly answer 24 of the 35 questions.  You will be eligible for 16 Scrum Education Units (SEUs) upon completion of this course.

RECERTIFICATION

The CSM certification is valid for two years from the original certification date. In order to renew your certification, you will need to obtain 40 SEUs within each two-year period.

4. Big Data Certifications

MCSE – Data Management and Analytics

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert on Data Management and Analytics certification qualifies you for such jobs as a database analyst, database designer, and business intelligence analyst. It demonstrates your broad skill sets in SQL administration, building enterprise-scale data solutions, and leveraging business intelligence data – both on-premises and in cloud environments.

PREREQUISITES

Earn your MCSA in SQL Server 2012/2014, or SQL 2016 Database Administration, Database Development, BI Development, Machine Learning, BI Reporting or Data Engineering with Azure.

REQUIRED EXAMS

Oracle Business Intelligence

The Oracle Business Intelligence Foundation Suite 11 Certified Implementation Specialist Certification identifies professionals that are skilled in implementing solutions based on Oracle Business Intelligence Suite. The certification covers skills such as: installing OBIEE, building the BI Server metadata repository, building BI dashboards, constructing ad hoc queries, defining security settings and configuring and managing cache files. The exam targets the intermediate-level implementation team member.

PREREQUISITES

No prerequisites. A combination of Oracle training and hands-on experience (attained via labs and/or field experience) provides the best preparation for passing the exam.

REQUIRED EXAMS

SAS Certified Data Scientist

SAS Certified Data Scientist is designed for individuals who can manipulate and gain insights from big data with a variety of SAS and open source tools, make business recommendations with complex machine learning models, and then deploy models at scale using the flexible, robust SAS environment.

PREREQUISITES

Candidates will be accredited as a SAS Certified Data Scientist once they have passed all exams from both the SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional credential as well as SAS Certified Big Data Professional.

REQUIRED EXAMS

5. Networking Certifications

CCNP – Cisco Certified Networking Professional Routing and Switching

Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Routing and Switching certification validate the ability to plan, implement, verify and troubleshoot local and wide-area enterprise networks and work collaboratively with specialists on advanced security, voice, wireless and video solutions. The CCNP Routing and Switching certification is appropriate for those with at least one year of networking experience who are ready to advance their skills and work independently on complex network solutions. Those who achieve CCNP Routing and Switching have demonstrated the skills required in enterprise roles such as network engineer, support engineer, systems engineer or network technician. The routing and switching protocol knowledge from this certification will provide a lasting foundation as these skills are equally relevant in the physical networks of today and the virtualized network functions of tomorrow.

PREREQUISITES

Valid Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching certification or any Cisco CCIE certification can act as a prerequisite.

REQUIRED EXAMS

CCAN – Citrix Certified Associate – Networking

CCA-N is a newer certification from Citrix. It is designed for Network Gateway architects, engineers and administrators, the CCA-N certification validates the knowledge and skills needed to administer enterprise environments consisting of NetScaler Gateway for secure remote access to desktops, applications, and data.

PREREQUISITES

No

REQUIRED EXAMS

Pass exam 1Y0-230: Citrix NetScaler 12 Essentials and Unified Gateway exam. Or pass exam 1Y0-240: Citrix NetScaler 12 Essentials and Traffic Management.

RECERTIFICATION

For recertification of the CCA-N, certificants can choose one of the following options:

1. Attend the Instructor-led training of either the CNS-220: Citrix NetScaler 12. x Essentials and Traffic Management or the CNS-222 Citrix NetScaler 12.x Essentials and Unified Gateway course. By taking either of these courses, partners and customers will not be required to pass the exam.

2. Take and pass ONE of the following exams: 1Y0-230 Citrix NetScaler 12 Essentials and Unified Gateway, OR 1Y0-240 Citrix NetScaler 12 Essentials and Traffic Management

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