The Top 6 Recession-Proof I.T Certifications That You Can Get Today For Less Than $450
Today you may be wondering, what are the best IT certifications that you can get today so as to set you up for a recession-proof job. You might be wondering this because you may have been affected by a recent recession resulting in job cuts in your country or concerned about your job / career security. This article points out some of the best I.T certifications that someone new to IT or someone experienced in IT can get for less than $450. We will also indicate the break down of costs i.e certification exam , classes, study materials etc and also where to get the certification e.g I.T certification centers. Continue reading to learn more or click on the button below to watch the video tutorial
REQUIREMENTS
When choosing an IT certification or even a career path to take up it is important to consider your intellectual strengths and weaknesses, the trend in the I.T industry, the opportunities that are readily available in your area or region and also the costs related to acquiring the knowledge and certifications that you wish for. Look at the things related to your IT profession that you enjoy doing the most, it could be building computer networks, or developing software solutions or even fixing computer hardware. Once you have identified your strengths, consider the trend in your area of expertise e.g if you are into networking nowadays many organization are moving to cloud computing, software defined networking (SDN/SDWAN) and even networking functions virtualization (NFV) and having an IT certification in these areas is quite valuable. Finally do a brief research on job listings either online or in print media and finally decide on a certification to take up and consider the costs.
IT certifications not only help to prove your knowledge and expertise on a particular technology or trade, but they help to give potential employers confidence that you have the requisite skills that are needed for the job. Secondly getting an IT certification tells employers that they do not have to spend months of time training you on skills and also financial costs related to having you trained and certified. In a recession employers usually prefer to hire IT professionals that are certified for the job in a bid to drive down costs and maximise on productivity. Below is a list of our 6 top picks of I.T certifications that you ca get today for less than $450.
1) The AWS Solutions Architect – Associate Certification.
1) The amazon web services platform AWS is one of the industry leading cloud computing service provider and has the majority of the cloud computing market share. Some of the largest businesses have mission critical applications, services and works hosted on AWS is these business are from various sectors such as Financial Services, Fitness, Healthcare, Retail, Real Estate, Gaming, Logistics, Aviation and also Media & Entertainment services. Everyday many business are migrating their mission critical apps and data to the cloud be cause of the many benefits that cloud offers and becoming a certified cloud professional is very valuable.
With this certification, you would be primarily validating your understand the AWS cloud services, including all core services such as Amazon EC2, S3, EBS, Cloudwatch and more. Unlike many technology vendor AWS tries to ensure that you have an understanding of not only how to do it but also when or why you should deploy a resource / service.
2) The Comptia Security Plus Exam.
2) If you happen to be an entry level IT pro and looking to shift to a cyber security career, looking to improving your current skill set, interested in going into IT security but dont know where to start or just need some foundational knowledge of cyber security then the Comptia security plus exam is just what you need. Many companies around the world have lost thousands if not millions of dollars due to IT security related incidents and a company in the middle of a recession would very much be interested in hiring and having IT professionals with a security first mindset inorder to keep their mission critical apps and data safe and secure.
The Comptia Security Plus certification is also a worldwide certification that verifies that you have the skills needed to perform core security functions and pursue an IT security career. You get to learn how to detect various types of attacks, threats and vulnerabilities in IT systems and networks,Install, configure, and deploy various types of LAN / WAN network components, install and configure identity and access softwares and management controls as well as Implement secure network architecture concepts and systems design
3) The Comptia Project Plus PK0-004 Certification
3) As an IT professional there is a very high probability that you will be tasked to work on a new project or to completean existing project and having the right skills, knowledge and tools on project management is very important. An example of such a project could be installing a new phone system, deploying a network firewall, upgrading both hardware and software for an existing system or even deploying a new local area network – having the right technical and managerial skills can ensure your success.
In the even of an economic recession, generally companies would prefer to hire or work with you because of the appreciation you have on the importance of project management and how to do it. The Comptia Project Plus certification teaches you the basics of project management and includes topics on project, phases, schedules, roles and responsibilities, and cost controls as well as topics on project tools and documentation,communication and change management.
4) The Cisco Enterprise Core Specialist Certification. (the ENCOR 350-401 exam)
4) In February 2020 cisco published and rolled out a complete refresh of new and improved IT certification exams and this came with many changes. Some of those changes were the retiring of the CCENT exam, retiring of all CCNA paths and replacing them with a single CCNA and introduction of the CISCO certified DEVNET exam. The big thing that CISCO did in the recent overhaul of IT certifications was that there is no longer pre-requisites to take the exams e.g you no longer need a cisco CCNA certification in order to take the CCNP certification.
The CISCO ENCOR exam gives you the knowledge and skills needed to configure, troubleshoot, and manage enterprise wired and wireless networks. You’ll also learn to implement security principles within an enterprise network and how to overlay network design by using solutions such as SD-Access and SD-WAN. The certification is designed for professionals such as mid level network engineers and administrators,network support technicians (NOC) and help desk technicians.
A cisco certification is more of a gold standard in the world of IT certifications because CISCO has the largest maket share in the computer networking industry and that many businesses, governemnt institutes and non profits run their core networks using CISCO equipment. This means that in the event of a recession having a CISCO certification can be considered as a critical skill and ensures a recession proof profession.
5) The Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104) Certification.
5) Just about any industry i.e Retail, Manufacturing, Real estate, Agriculture, Mining, Robotics, Health & Fitness,Gaming, Logistics and more, are moving to the cloud because many great reasons such as scalability, low cost to entry, speed and reliability. One of the best and class leading cloud platforms is the Microsoft Azure cloud computing service. Azure intergrates well with other Microsoft tools, apps and systems that are widely used all over the world and an example is managing existing Windows desktop computers with a new AZURE active directory service.
According to AZURE, 38% of IT positions will be cloud related by year 2021 and 36.9% of IT professionals claimed certification helped them perform complex tasks more confidently. This means that Certifications give you a professional edge with evidence of industry recognized role-based skills and sets you apart from being just an ordinary IT professional to being a unique and sort after IT pro.
The Microsoft Azure Administrator AZ-104 certification will teach you on how to manage subscriptions, accounts, Azure policies, and Role-Based Access Control, Deploy , manage and scale Azure virtual machines, Configure virtual networks including planning, IP addressing, Azure DNS, Network Security Groups, and Azure Firewal, and so many more topics.
6) The Cisco DevNet Associate Certification.
6) The sixth certification exam that will really set you apart as an IT professional is the Cisco DevNet associate certification exam. This is a new CISCO exam that was recently released on February of 2020 and not many people at the time of writing this article have it. The exam not only signals to employers that you have a fundamental understanding of networking and networking engineering but you have also thought about efficient ways to automate certain tasks within a network. This comes with the tremendous benefit of a decrease on time to market, improved quality of work and a reduction of errors or mistakes that can happen when typing out commands on the command line interface.
In a nutshell becoming a CISCO certified DEVNET associate tells an employer that you have thought about the future and that you are thinking of ways to improve or enhance the status quo of how to manage a network and that you can create applications , scripts or any sort of automation solution that will help to fix and maintain the network. When an employer looks at resume’s of individuals with cisco ccna and ccnp certification then they look at your resume with not only cisco ccna and ccnp certs but also the cisco devnet certification, you are more likely to get a call because in a recession businesses would be looking for ways to be more efficient especially with technology and ultimately save financial resources.
