As AI evolves, programmers must understand how to improve themselves and how to raise their values. Certifications are an effective way to acquire new skills while studying and to gain recognition in the job market. While certifications from platform like Udemy are useful for learning new skills, there are many certifications that significantly enhance professional capabilities.
In this article, I will outline the most essential certifications and explain how to prepare for them.
The Role and Importance of Certifications
There are many AI tools available to help developers with debugging, problem-solving, planning, and learning new technologies. However, these tools tend to level the playing field, bringing many developers to the same baseline. What was once considered essential to be a developer has changed, and now more than ever, proving your value is a necessity.
Heres a few reasons why choose a certification:
Competitive Advantage: Candidates with certifications have an edge when applying for jobs.
Salary Increase: Certified professionals often earn more than non-certified professionals.
Up-to-Date Knowledge: While preparing for a certification, professionals learn new skills or improve existing ones.
Skill Validation: Certifications serve as proof of acquired knowledge and mastered skills.
Best Certifications to Boost Your Tech Career
Choosing the right certification depends on your career direction and the technologies you currently work with. Professionals who use Java might choose the Java SE Associate if it is their first certification, or the Professional version for more advanced validation. Programmers who frequently work with cloud computing can pursue AWS certifications such as Solutions Architect, AI Practitioner, Developer, Practitioner, or CloudOps, as well as Google Cloud certifications like Cloud Engineer or Data Practitioner.
There are many other certifications that can be considered complementary. The HashiCorp Certified Terraform Associate is the most suitable certification for those who work with Terraform or other infrastructure management tools. The GitHub Foundations certification is essential for mastering Git, while GitHub Actions is the best choice for learning how to manage triggers and pipeline integration.
Where to Find Free Learning Resources
It is important to know what kind of certification you are about to pursue. Before investing in any advanced materials, using free resources can be a great strategy to understand the certification or to serve as a complementary study resource.
As free resources we can list:
FreeCodeCamp: It is a platform with many free courses and a wealth of videos, making it a valuable resource both for certification preparation and for general learning.
Medium: A blog-style site where people of any knowledge level can write articles.
DEV-TO: It serves the same purpose as Medium but does not require an account to read articles. Additionally, there is a large number of high-quality technical articles covering a wide range of topics.
W3Schools: W3 is not only a learning platform, despite being well-known for its tutorials and testing environment, but it also offers AWS quizzes that you should try. W3 provides a large amount of high-quality, free materials.
There are other resources where you can learn or test your knowledge. AWS SkillBuilder is an excellent tool for learning AWS-related topics. Google also provides a learning platform that can be used to prepare for certifications. For learn more about Git you can use the Github Learn platform, which offers a wealth of free content and many instructional videos. To test the knowledge you have gained before the certification exam, you can take a practice test on Examprepper.
How to Choose the Certification That Best Fits You
Choosing the right certification should be a strategic decision, not a random one. The first step is to clearly define your career goals and understand your current role or the role you want to move into.
If you work primarily with Java, certifications such as Java SE Associate or Java SE Professional make sense, depending on your experience level. For professionals dealing with cloud computing, certifications from AWS or Google Cloud are a natural fit.
Use free resources to explore the certification scope. Platforms like AWS SkillBuilder, Google Cloud Training, GitHub Learn, and other free learning resources help you understand the exam objectives, difficulty level, and relevance to your career.
Certifications should support long-term growth, not just add another badge to your CV.
Final Thoughts
Certifications remain a powerful way to stand out in an increasingly competitive and AI-driven market. They can help boost your career, develop new skills, and provide a competitive advantage.
There are many free resources available, so even if you cannot afford advanced materials or mentoring, you can easily find free courses and practice tests.
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