Free/Reduced Certifications - Free/Reduced Training

j23evan

Hi Guys,I have lurked around these forums for years and have taken, and I feel its time I share my knowledge in one concise post to help others. These are educational tools to help you achieve your goals, and the majority of them are from other TE members. The purpose of this thread is to combine the information to one place to make it easier to find. If you have any suggestions or anything to add please share!

Free Certifications


For Everyone:

• SolarWinds Certified Professional - Network Certification | SolarWinds Certified Professional - SolarWinds - Solarwinds has changed their examination delivery method to online and is giving anyone who registers a free voucher and free training through their thwack community.
• Certiport iCritical Thinking - https://www.certiport.com/Portal/desktopdefault.aspx?page=common/pagelibrary/icritical_thinking-5free.htm - Certiport is offering 5 free exam vouchers for their iCritical Thinking Exam for your institution.
• International Scrum Foundation Certification -Scrum Association - The Scrum Association is offering free training and certification. Wow. (Thanks N2IT)
• Qualys Security Certifications - https://community.qualys.com/community/training - Pretty amazing website that offers free online and in person security training classes with a free certification exam afterwords. The training sessions tend to last 8 hours and word on the street is the exams are no cakewalk. (Thanks CyberGuyPR)
• Bing Ads Accredited Professional - About Accreditation - Microsoft is offering free training and accreditation, as an added bonus it is a Microsoft Partner competency requirement.
• OESF Android Certification - http://it.prometric-jp.com/news/news_detail.asp?news_no=1418 - The Open Embedded Software Foundation is running a campaign to spread the word about their program. If you share a link/tweet/like and email them the information they will send you a free voucher for their exam. Expires December 27th, 2013.
• Certiport Beta Exams - http://www.certiport.com/Portal/desktopdefault.aspx?page=Common/PageLibrary/beta_candidate_application.html - You can sign up to be notified when Certiport is running a beta exam, and all beta exams through them are free. (HP ATA, MTA, MOS, AutoCAD, CompTIA Strata, Adobe, Quickbooks)
• VMware VCA Certifications - Promo Code: VCA13GKN - VMware Certification - VMware is offering 50% off their 3 VCA entry level exams as well as free training. With the code you can take an additional 50% off. Discount code expires January 31st, 2014.
• M.I.T. XSeries Certification in Computer Science - https://www.edx.org/xseries - Massachusetts Institute of Technology is offering a free certificate to those who attend and pass their courses. Absolutely brilliant, they follow a traditional semester mold and would look fantastic on a resume. They have a supply chain certificate as well. (thanks Stryder144)
• Backup Academy Certified Professional - Backup Academy - VM Backup and Recovery Training class & certification course for IT professionals - Veeam has free training and certification through their Backup Academy.
• Saylor University Free Online Degree - Computer Science « Saylor.org – Free Online Courses Built by Professors - Saylor University offers several online free degrees. These aren't simple just sign up and everyone gets one, they have electives, general ed requirements, and credit aligned classes that can be transferred to traditional schools. (thanks Stryder144)
• Hurricane Electric IPv6 Certification - https://ipv6.he.net/certification/ - Hurricane Electric is offering free training and hands on modules for their free IPv6 Certification.
• Rackspace Cloud U Certification - Cloud Computing University and Certification by Rackspace - Rackspace offers free training and a free certification.
• Microsoft Virtualization Certification - Microsoft Virtual Academy - Microsoft is giving away a free voucher for anyone who signs up and attends their free online jump start training. The exam is 74-409: Virtualization with Hyper-V and System Center. They are also introducing a free MVA course for it as well and you can watch it on demand on November 27th.(Thanks tprice5)
• Six Sigma White Belt - Free Six Sigma Certification - Six Sigma White Belt - Aveta Business School offers a free online certification with the study guides to go along with it. (Thanks veritas_libertas)
• Cambridge Certified Career Certifications - Free Career Global Online Certification - Get your certificate immediately upon successful assessment -15 Free IT Online Certifications running the gamut of IT specializations.(Thanks tprice5/JayTheCracker)

For IT Professionals:

• VMware VSP & VTSP - Secure Customer Login - VMware offers fantastic training and certifications for partners with their VMware Sales Professional and VMware Technical Sales Professional Certifications.
• F5 University for Partners - https://university.f5.com/ - F5 offers several sales and technical accreditation's for partner company employees.
• Citrix Partner Central - https://www.citrix.com/partnercentral/home.html - Citrix offers free training on their products as well as the CCSP 2013 for partner company employees.

Inexpensive Certifications

• Brocade Accreditations - $20 - Accreditation Exam Information - Brocade has 11 web based Accreditation's that are only $20. They also offer Free training PDF's for each course.
• HP Specialty Certifications - $10-45 - https://www.myexpertone.com - HP has a series of web based Certifications (HP2-HP5 Prefix) of inexpensive exams.
• Apple Associate Exams - $65 - Training and Certification - Thankfully Apple is moving away from their Authorized Training Centers (aka Robber Barrons) to Pearson, and are offering their Associate level Exams online from the comfort of your home for $65 and free training PDF's/iBookstore books.
• Google Apps Education Qualification / YouTube Digital Citizen Certification - $15 - Google Apps Education Training Center - Google has 5 Exams that are $15 a piece that once all are completed earn you the Google Apps Education Qualification. The exams are web based and all training material is provided for free.
• OSHA 10-Hour General Industry Certification - $25 - http://campus.careersafeonline.com/public_catalog.k2?wbtClassID=327&searchString= - Yes I know it's not an IT Certification. (Though they are getting ready to release a "Cyber Safety" course) Proving that you have attended and passed the 10 Hour OSHA training course will give you a leg up over other applicants in certain industries.

Reduced Certifications

• Microsoft Exams through Prometric (070, 071, MTA) - Retake Microsoft Certification Exam for Free | Microsoft - Microsoft's Second Shot is back! Now through May 31st, 2014 you can obtain a voucher to have a free retake on almost all of their technical exams. Dynamics is sadly excluded. In addition you can save an extra 15% if you order a certification pack (MCSA, MCSE, MCSD) with a second shot.
• Exin Exams through Prometric - https://www.prometric.com/en-us/clients/EXIN/Pages/free-retake.aspx?button - Now through December 31st, 2013 Exin is offering a free retake of any exam taken through Prometric by signing up for a voucher.
• Teradata Exam Promotion - Promo Code: PTNR2013 - Special Promotions - Teradata Exams - Teradata is having a promotion celebrating the release of their new series 14 reducing the price of their exams from $170-195 to $114. They have also released a new training app to help you prepare.
• Check Point - Training and Certifications - Check Point is offering 50% off all examination retakes and provides free training.
• Juniper Fast Track - https://learningportal.juniper.net/juniper/user_fasttrack_home.aspx - Juniper is offering a 50% discount on 4 of their exams by taking and passing a free pre-assessment. Best of all they offer free elearning as well! (Thanks Zartanasaurus)
• Stanley Community College - VCP-DCV VMware Course - VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage - Definately the best education deal for VMware, though unfortunately you need to go on a waiting list. For $200 you get the full online VMware Academy course as well as a 70% off Exam voucher. The labs are great and the instructors are great.
• Oracle Beta Exams - Beta Info - Oracle offers beta exams for $50 instead of $150-$245. You can see what the release date is for each and when to expect a score report. As far as training goes... Oracle isnt the most benevolent of companies to starving IT professionals.
• Get Certified 4 Less - http://www.getcertified4less.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=129 - Get Certified 4 Less runs short sale specials discounting specific exam vouchers that must be taken rather soon. In addition to that they tend to sell exam vouchers $10-20 less than directly from the vendor. (Thanks Kriscamaro68 and shyguyIT)

For IT Professionals:

• Brocade CNE - Education - Promo Code: CNE250BCNEPromo - Brocade is offering a Free BCNE exam voucher for current CCNA holders with purchase of the $100 CNE 250 training.

For Students:

• CA Technology 60% off - http://www.ca.com/us/education/accreditations/certifications/certification-faq.aspx - If you are a full-time college student in good academic standing, please contact certification@ca.com and attach a JPEG image of your current student id card. They will email you a voucher which will enable you to receive a 60% discount. Limited to one voucher per 12-month period.

Free Training

• CNWP -CWNP | My Account Home - CWNP is giving away a voucher for a free lifelong practice exam engine for the certification of your choice by signing up.
• LPI - Practice Questions and Self-Study Materials | Linux Professional Institute (LPI) - LPI Provides free training material for all of their Exams.
• VMware Hands On Labs- http://labs.hol.vmware.com/ - VMware has a large collection of hands on labs that have tasks associated with them running the gamut of all of their offerings. A great resource to test new technologies, or brush up on material. Oh and it's free.
• Google Digital Analytics Fundamentals - https://analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com/preview - Google is offering free training with hands on labs for their analytics platform.
• Scrum Training - Scrum Training Series: Free Scrum Master Training - To Quote: "Free Online Scrum Master Training: The fun way to learn about Agile/Scrum, prepare for Scrum Master certification / Agile certification, and debunk popular misconceptions. (Thanks N2IT)
• Microsoft Virtual Academy - http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/ - Microsoft has a very in-depth training website covering almost all of their products and offerings.
• IT Masters CISSP Short Course - Free Short Course: CISSP Security Certification | IT Masters - IT Masters in conjunction with Charles Sturt University is offering a free short course training in CISSP. (thanks Stryder144)
• Degreed - Degreed - The Digital Lifelong Diploma - Degreed is an interesting site that is all about free online classes, aggregating them, and tracking credit for what you have done in them, tradition school, and other training sources to provide a new millenium "degree" program highlighting your knowledge and skills. Microsoft Virtual Academy classes transfer over.

For IT Professionals

• Microsoft Partner Network - https://mspartner.microsoft.com/en/us/Pages/index.asp - A fantastic training site that explores in most Microsoft products and has assessments. Most assessments can be linked to specific partner competencies, and the best part is the completed courses are tied to you. If you change companies and associate your Microsoft Professional account with them they will get all the benefits of what you have accomplished.
• EMC Powerlink - http://powerlink.emc.com/ - EMC Powerlink is for employees of Partner Organizations to learn and take assessments validating Sales and Engineering for both EMC Solutions and RSA Security.
• Meraki - Cisco Meraki Webinars - Free Meraki 802.11n cloud managed AP for attending a webinar. IT professionals only, you must register with your company email.

Reduced Training

• Western Governors University - Online University | Online Degree Programs | The University of You - As many of you are aware, WGU is one of the best deals in post-secondary education. Think of it as the public version of Phoenix University. It's Online, Accredited, Accelerated, and Inexpensive. For my broke IT professionals you can get student loans via fafsa (Yes its debt, but think of it as a down payment for a better future). The majority of their IT classes revolve around obtaining a certification, and they give you all the training you need. You can actually structure and accelerate your classes to where your term is cheaper than it would be to get the certs separately, and you earn college credit.

Associations & Membership Perks

For Everyone

• Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) - FREE - CSTA - Individual Membership - The CSTA is focused on IT Education, and unlike the title says is not just for educators, but anyone interested. From time to time Microsoft offers free MTA exam vouchers to member, and other vendors provide perks, as well as being given a full ACM Membership.
• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) - $19/$99 - Membership — Association for Computing Machinery - ACM is an incredible value for students at $19 a year, or IT professionals at $99 a year. (That is if you aren't interested in education and opt for the CSTA membership). Member perks include Free access to Safari, books24x7, and skillsoft. Email forwarding and filtering through postini with an @acm.org email, access to their digital library and tri-weekly news emails keeping you up to date. Additional perks as a Student member include Microsoft Dreamspark/Dreamspark Premium (Yay free software! And typically a free MS Voucher yearly) , and CA Academic Initiative.
• Microsoft DreamSpark/DreamSpark Premium - Free, Students only -https://www.dreamspark.com/Student/Default.aspx - Microsoft has a decent program for students that give them access to free software in the Programming/Server fields. If your school is awesome they will have access to DreamSpark Premium which gives you a plethora of keycodes and software that rivals the midrange MSDN account. WGU and Stanly CC are both Premium members. Both offer VMware software and keycodes, as well as VMware voucher and training discounts.
• Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) - $25+/$165+ - Join ISACA - IT Professional - IT Student - IT Educator - Memberships | ISACA - ISACA is for the big boys and cool kids. Those that are certified are typically more tenured higher level IT professionals. You are required to pay your local chapter dues in additional to the association dues, but $25 is fantastic for students. You get access to networking events, continuing education, COBiT access and data, and discounts on their certifications. Even the professional level at $165 pays for itself after 1 exam.
• Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) - $30/$95 - https://www.issa.org/?page=MembershipTypes - ISSA is a great resource for people looking to network or break into the InfoSec world. While not as many tangible benefits as ISACA, at $30 for students and $95 for professionals it is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of chief information security officer challenges.
• Project Management Institute (PMI) - $32/$129 - Types of PMI Memberships | Project Management Institute - PMI is still the gold standard in project management, and the benefits of membership enable you to discounts on their certifications, a free digital edition of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), discounts on training and resources, and great networking opportunities. If you are pursuing the PMP or Associate of PMP $32 for students and $129 for professionals is a great deal.
• The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) - $250 - Become a CompTIA Member - CompTIA membership is different from being CompTIA certified. Membership is primarily aimed at companies, but what IT professional isn't a consultant on the side? This year they had a $100 discount on membership for people who signed up to go to their free conference. Not if you actually went, just signed up. At $250 for an individual I am not sure it is as good of a deal, but the perks are Free CompTIA Executive Certifications and training, 80% discount on your first voucher purchase, 15% off every following voucher purchase. (80% off casp+ for $150 and 15% off every other voucher sold me)
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) - $32/$187 - IEEE - Join IEEE - The IEEE is probably the most important association in the IT industry. Student members get another DreamSpark Premium Account. All members get access to publications, standards, networking, googleapps@IEEE (An IEEE.org email, advertisement free gmail, 30GB of shared storage Google Drive/Gmail), and a tremendous amount of other benefits.
• VMware User Group (VMUG) - Free/$200 - http://www.vmug.com/l/pw/rs - VMUG is a great resource for VMware enthusiasts. Membership is free, and includes free access to local conferences, meetups with local chapters, and discounts on elearning books. For $200 you can become an Advantage member which will give you 35% off VMware Lab Connect, 20% off VMware-Delivered Classes, 20% off VMware Certifications, $100 Discount to VMworld, and 50% off VMware Fusion and Workstation Licenses. In the spring and summer to generate memberships they like to include a free VMware voucher (Which makes it a no brainer).
• Help Desk Institute (HDI) - $35/$165 - http://www.thinkhdi.com/membership.aspx - HDI membership offers discounts on their certifications and training, as well as access to white papers and networking events. At $35 for students you will immediately recoup the membership on the first exam you take.
• ASIS International - $25/$215 - https://www.asisonline.org/Membership/Pages/default.aspx - ASIS International is another specialized higher end security education and certification firm. Membership benefits include discounts on exams and education materials.

Third Party Transferable Certifications

• CIW Security Specialist & Professional - http://www.ciwcertified.com/_resources/web_security_series.pdf - CIW gives credit to MCTS, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE, MCITP, Security+ certification holders who have passed the entry level CIW Security exam the second and third level designation.
• Linux+ Certification 5-in-1 Pinata - CompTIA Partnership | Linux Professional Institute (LPI) - Originally called 3in1, then 4in1, now 5in1: If you pass Linux+ 101 and 102 from CompTIA to earn the Linux+ designation, you are eligible to receive LPIC-1, Novell CLA, Novell Suse 11 Technical Specialist, and Novell Data Center Technical Specialist.
• Cloud Certification Council - http://www.cloudcredential.org/en/certifications/grandfather-program - The CCC is a newly created vendor agnostic certification council made up by a conglomerate of several vendors to offer a higher level credential. Now until March 2014 you can submit your resume and certifications (along with a fee) to be grandfathered in to the program.
• Alcatel-Lucent - http://www3.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLd4x39TfXL8h2VAQAKBjLlw!! - Alcatel-Lucent accepts current Cisco & Juniper certification holders to satisfy their entry level Network Routing Specialist I and II exams.
• HP Fast Track Program - http://h10120.www1.hp.com/expertone/fast_track.html - HP Officers fast track certifications and recognition of Cisco, NetApp, and EMC credentials in lieu of their courses/exams. (Also includes ATA with Certiport)

N2IT

Only free or cheap certifications from here on out! FYI did you see my Google cert!?