Top IT Certs for 2015

darkerosxx

Updated as of 01/19/15

Taken from the idea here: http://www.techexams.net/forums/off-topic/106969-best-certifications-2015-a.html#post903438

Let's come up with the top 2-5 IT certs in major job sectors.

2 minimum, 5 max.

By top, I think we can all agree the best certs are the ones that help you get the best job, so top means most reliable for real world experience and verifiable as what employers are seeking.

If we come up with this list, hopefully we can start a new post and get it stickied for 2015. Post yours, here's a good format:


Big Data (mix of admin and statistics)
1.) MapR Certified Hadoop Professional
2.) MCSE SQL - BI 2012
3.) CAP - Certified Analytics Professional
4.) Stanford Data Mining and Applications Graduate Certificate
5.) IBM Big Data Fundamentals


Cloud Administration / Infrastructure Management (not development)
1.) AWS Certified Solutions Architect (associate or professional)
2.) VCP-Cloud
3.) MS: Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure
4.) RHCA: Cloud Track
5.) Google Cloud Platform exams


DevOps
1.) AWS Certified Devops Engineer
2.) Puppet Certified Professional
3.) MS: Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions
4.) Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Platform-as-a-Service
5.) Google Qualified Cloud Platform Developer


Information Security:
1.) CISSP
2.) CISM
3.) CISA
4.) GIAC
5.) CEH


IT Governance
1.) ITIL Foundations
2.) ISACA COBIT


Networking
1.)CCIE R&S
2.)CCNP R&S
3.)CCNA R&S
4.)JNCIE
5.)JNCIA


Project Management
1.) ASQ - Six Sigma Black Belt ---- Qualitative + Quantative makes this quality, process, project certification tops
2.) PMI - PMP - Project Management Professional (Great jack of all trades project management certification)
3.) ASQ - Six Sigma Green Belt --- See above
4.) CSM - Certified Scrum Master --- Number one in app dev world
5.) Prince 2 Practitioner --- Global presence a little more real world than PMP IMO.


System Administration
1.)RHCE
2.)MCSE:SI
3.)RHCSA
4.)MCSA:Server


Storage
1.) EMC Storage Administrator
2.) Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Clustering and Storage Management
3.) SNIA SCSE/SCSA
4.) Storage+ powered by SNIA


Virtualization
1.) VCDX
2.) VCAP-DCD/DCA
3.) VCP5-DCV
4.) MCSE: Private Cloud
5.) RHCA: Cloud Track

sthomas

IMHO

System Administration
1.)RHCE
2.)RHCSA
3.)MCSE:SI
4.)MCSE:M
5.)MCSA Server 2012

Networking
1.)CCIE
2.)CCNP
3.)CCNA
4.)JNCIE
5.)JNCIA

N2IT

I filled our your template but I really don't know about the other ones.

Big Data
1.) CPA - Certified Analytics Professional
2.) Stanford has a data mining certification this has got to be in the top 5
3.) MCSE SQL - BI 2012
4.) MCSE SQL - BI 2008
5.) IBM Big Data Fundamentals (They have got to be in the top 5 as well) JMO

DevOps
1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)
5.)

IT Governance
1.) ITIL Foundations *** Anything above this never seems to be required. Hardly EVER
2.) ISACA COBIT *** COBIT in the midwest is required for some the the IT governance positions
3.)
4.)
5.)

Networking
1.) CCIE R&S
2.) CCNP
3.) CCNA
4.)
5.)

Project Management
1.) ASQ - Six Sigma Black Belt ---- Qualitative + Quantative makes this quality, process, project certification tops
2.) PMI - PMP - Project Management Professional (Great jack of all trades project management certification)
3.) ASQ - Six Sigma Green Belt --- See above
4.) CSM - Certified Scrum Master --- Number one in app dev world
5.) Prince 2 Practitioner --- Global presence a little more real world than PMP IMO.

System Administration
1.) MCSE
2.)
3.)
4.)
5.)

Storage
1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)
5.)

Virtualization
1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)
5.)

datacomboss

From where I sit, advanced security and lean six sigma will be the top priorities.

TheProfezzor

Where is the 'Information Security' section?.

Verities

Virtualization
1.) VCDX
2.) VCAP
3.) VCP5-DCV
4.) MCSE: Private Cloud
5.) CCE-V???

xagreus

This link provides a lot of good suggestions and additional links:

Best IT Certifications 2015 - In Demand Certifications

Verities

xagreus wrote: »

This link provides a lot of good suggestions and additional links:

Best IT Certifications 2015 - In Demand Certifications

If you read the 1st post of the thread, you can see it was based off that article. Dark (OP) made a good point regarding asking a community of professionals about what is in demand for the IT industry, instead of relying on 1 person's perspective.

ajs1976

TheProfezzor wrote: »

Where is the 'Information Security' section?.

I'll start it:


Information Security:
1.) CISSP
2.) CISM
3.) CISA
4.) CCNA:Sec (or CCNP)
5.) CEH

For over a year, I have been reading ads for local Senior InfoSec and InfoSec Management positions. I'm not actively looking, but just trying make sure I line up my long term goals with what is being asked for so i'm ready when the time is right.

Almost every ad asks for a CISSP with most wanting one of the following CISSP, CISM, and a third depending on the position. Compliance / audit then CISA. Technical but not specifically network related then CEH. technical and network/firewall related then the CCNA:Sec.

N2IT

ajs not a security guy but work with the security team a lot at my current job and at past positions. Everyone of them in my current company have the CISSP next to their names in their email sig blocks and business cards, or so it seems. I never see CEH or Security +, ever to be honest, but the CISSP is common, I am almost shocked when one of the security folks sends me an email and they DON'T have it next to their name.

From an outsider looking in, it's the equivolent of the CPA for an accountant. It "seems" to be the only one that really matters.

Again this is from an outsiders perspective and it's just my perception.

instant000

I don't play in all of these areas, so I'll just stick to what I see in job postings that interest me.

Networking
1.) CCIE
2.) CCNP
3.) CCDP
4.) CCDA
5.) CCNA
(Hottest part of the network seems to be the Data Center, followed by everything else. For fundamentals, though, R&S from any big vendor [Cisco/Juniper/Brocade] can't do you wrong.)

Project Management
1.) PMP
2.) CAPM

System Administration
1.) RHCE
2.) MCSE
3.) RHCSA
4.) MCSA

Storage
1.) EMC
2.) NetApp

Virtualization
1.) VCDX
2.) VCP

Security [by popular request]
1.) CISSP
2.) CISM
3.) Something GIAC
4.) Security+ (seems only DoD cares about this)

For the others I really can't comment on, I don't typically associate the ones below with certifications.

Big Data
Best Big Data Certifications for 2014 - Top 5 Big Data Certs

DevOps
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional (Beta)

IT Governance
Best IT Governance Certifications for 2015 - Top Certs - Tom's IT Pro

SephStorm

As a person in a growing SOC operation, none of our analysts have CISSP. We are much more interested in S+, CEH, and GIAC certs.

Pupil

Top 5 Security Certs IMO:

1. CISSP
2. CRISC
3. OSCP (and higher)
4. CCNA: Security (and higher)
5. CISM

N2IT

@ Seph why is your organization different than others? I just find it interesting that tech and non tech positions are heavily seeking the CISSP. Maybe its an HR thing, I'm not sure hence whey I am asking your opinion.

I'm not familiar with the CEH or GIAC certs, but Security + was one of the easier certs I passed. Does it really add value to the employees skill set or is it a regulatory thing due to a government agency etc?

Thanks

Claymoore

You need a Cloud section. The cloud certs will combine (or soon trump) several certs in the other categories. The question about cloud services is isn't "if" or even "which", it's "how many?" You will also need to determine which services you consume, which you host, and how to get there.

Microsoft recently added Azure certifications that include infrastructure components, not just development. They also have Office 365 certifications:
MCSA: Office 365
Microsoft Azure Certifications

Amazon has certifications for Architects, DevOps, and SysOps
AWS Certification

Google has infrastructure and application exams
Google Cloud Platform Training Exams

Both Red Hat and Rackspace offer Open Stack certifications
Rackspace Certified Technician for OpenStack-Icehouse
RHCSA in Red Hat OpenStack

Salesforce.com has both certifications across admin, architect, implementation, and development
Salesforce Certification

I hold Amazon and Office 365 certifications. I recommend you start with the first Office 365 exam 70-346 Managing Office 365 Identities and Requirements because it covers identity management, particularly directory synchronization and federation. Identity federation is important when working with any cloud provider, and critical when working with more than one. The new Azure AD premium makes it easy to federate with other cloud providers. Even if most of your services are hosted in AWS or OpenStack, you will likely be managing your identities with AD and federating using Azure AD Premium.

JoJoCal19

Pupil wrote: »

Top 5 Security Certs IMO:

1. CISSP
2. CRISC
3. OSCP (and higher)
4. CCNA: Security (and higher)
5. CISM

Only problem is there is about only 250~ job listings in the entire US that even have OSCP listed. So from an ROI and also getting past the HR filter standpoint, not one of the top security certs (although I and other actual security professionals hold it in very high regard).

N2IT

@ JoJo good point. While it's not the end all, it's a decent way to measure ROI. On Indeed CISSP returned ~7,400 jobs just using CISSP, CEH was around ~1,700. This was nation wide. 250 for a national search is terrible.

SephStorm

N2IT wrote: »

@ Seph why is your organization different than others? I just find it interesting that tech and non tech positions are heavily seeking the CISSP. Maybe its an HR thing, I'm not sure hence whey I am asking your opinion.

I'm not familiar with the CEH or GIAC certs, but Security + was one of the easier certs I passed. Does it really add value to the employees skill set or is it a regulatory thing due to a government agency etc?

Thanks

Government. I work in a SOC where our people need relevant certifications, the CISSP in most organizations is a matter of status/perceived competence. It is required for managerial positions, but if someone applying for an analyst or sr. analyst position came to me with a S+ and CISSP expecting to get hired, I wouldn't give the guy a look. Come in with a cert that shows in depth understanding of computer intrusions, malware, or computer attacks, and i'm interested. I don't expect a CISSP to be able to perform a forensic analysis of a PC.

Deathmage

Keep these coming guys, I'll be passing along this information on Sunday, this data will be featured in an article next week.

N2IT

Seph makes a lot of sense. Thanks for explaining, security is not my thing.

Remedymp

SephStorm wrote: »

As a person in a growing SOC operation, none of our analysts have CISSP. We are much more interested in S+, CEH, and GIAC certs.

What about the CASP?

Deathmage

Update: Tom's Hardware wants the information by Saturday morning. So if you guys could say your peace by tomorrow that would be awesome!

Deathmage

The information has been collected and sent off to Tom's Hardware IT Pro, a division of the Best Media Group and will be featured in an updated article next week, with credits to the Techexams.net forum.

Thank you all for your feedback, this article is to be read by the IT industry companies like VMware, Cisco, and Microsoft to name a few. Depending upon the feedback, they may ask for this again next year.

Again thanks everyone!!!!

Verities

Deathmage wrote: »

The information has been collected and sent off to Tom's Hardware IT Pro, a division of the Best Media Group and will be featured in an updated article next week, with credits to the Techexams.net forum.

Thank you all for your feedback, this article is to be read by the IT industry companies like VMware, Cisco, and Microsoft to name a few. Depending upon the feedback, they may ask for this again next year.

Again thanks everyone!!!!

Cross your fingers for some free vouchers...if this gets enough coverage, it may be a possibility..

darkerosxx

Credit claymoore for idea of adding a cloud group, dunno why I didn't think of that... also a messaging and identity mgmt group:

Cloud Administration / Infrastructure Management (not development)
(My grading here was done based on relevancy to the market looking for employees with these certs)
1.) AWS Certified Solutions Architect (associate or professional)
2.) VCP-Cloud
3.) MS: Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure
4.) RHCSA in RHEL OpenStack
5.) Google Cloud Platform exams

Messaging
1.) MCSE: Messaging
2.) What others?

Would messaging include identity mgmt certs as well, or add a whole new group?

darkerosxx

Taken all of the above and fit ideas in best I could. Please let me know if you agree/disagree with placement and why.

Add more thoughts to the mix. The more people that weigh in, the stronger the list becomes.

N2IT

Looks good thanks for the efforts.

darkerosxx

Added Puppet Certified Professional into the DevOps section. It's on almost every single devops job posting on dice.

amomaharaj

Project Management

1.) PMI : PMP - Project Management Professional
2.) CSM - Certified Scrum Master
3.) Prince 2 Practitioner
4.) PMI: CAPM - Entry level certifications for Project Managers.

N2IT

Couple of articles PMBOK vs Six Sigma

I'm openly biased to Six Sigma, if you can't measure you can't manage. However, I do hold the RMP and CAPM so I have read the PMBOK several times. (Actually more than I care to admit)

How Six Sigma Differs From Traditional Project Management

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/Six-sigma-vs-PMP-37987.S.206381542 (Good discussion back and forth)

With that said if you haven't been mentored by a veteran PM you won't be a very good project manager. IMO

MrAgent

OSCP should be in the list for information security IMO.