Free/Reduced Certifications - Free/Reduced Training 2014 Edition

j23evan

Hi Guys, I apologize for the delay in creating a new thread. Major projects with different clients at work, buying my first house, first baby on the way, putting my wife through graduate school and trying to finish my last term at WGU (Which won't happen... Looks like graduation will be December 2014). But enough of my complaining! I have gone through the previous thread and added all items that were not previously listed, and still available. Fixed links/Expiration Dates/Removed Expired items. Expect to see many new additions/modifications in the next 30 days that I am able to edit!

Free Certifications 2014 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/des...king-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)
• QualysGuard Certified Specialists - https://community.qualys.com/community/training - Pretty amazing website that offers free online and in person security training classes with a free certification exam after. The training sessions tend to last 8 hours and word on the street is the exams are no cakewalk. (Thanks CyberGuyPR)
• ADTRAN Sales and Associate Level Certifications - http://www.adtran.com/web/page/portal/Adtran/wp_certifications_landing - ADTRAN provides free self paced training as well as free exams for their Sales and Associate level Certifications. (Thanks santaowns)
• Bing Ads Accredited Professional - About Accreditation - Microsoft is offering free training and accreditation, as an added bonus it is a Microsoft Partner competency requirement.
• Certiport Beta Exams - http://www.certiport.com/Portal/desk...plication.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)
• 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.
• 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)
• ZyXEL ZCNP - ZyXEL Education Center - ZyXEL offers free training and free certifications for their networking solutions. (Thanks craig8
• Brocade Certified Ethernet Fabric Professional - BCEFP Exam Preparation - Brocade Community Promo Code: CEF250EthFabric – Brocade has a promotion for a free Ethernet Fabric Certification with the above promo code. They also provide free training, pdf’s, and study guides. (Thanks muneebkalathil)

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 accreditations 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 Barons) 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.
• M.I.T. XSeries Certification in Computer Science - https://www.edx.org/xseries - Massachusetts Institute of Technology is offering an inexpensive 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)
• OSHA 10-Hour General Industry Certification - $25 -http://campus.careersafeonline.com/p...chString= - Yes I know it's not an IT Certification. 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. They also have a Cyber Safety Awareness program.

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.
• Microsoft Exam Pack Discount - http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/certification-exam-packs.aspx - Microsoft is offering a 15% off discount for purchasing all 3 exams towards an MCSA, MCSD, and MCSE. Now through May 31st, 2014 you will also receive a free second shot with the discount.
• Microsoft Virtualization Certification - Microsoft Virtual Academy - Microsoft is offering a 50% discount 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 Expires June 30^th, 2014.(Thanks SweenMachine)
• 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/j...rack_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/Sea...ts.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.
• Microsoft Partner Network/Prometric 40% Discount - https://www.prometric.com/en-us/clients/Microsoft/Promotions/MPN2013-landing-page/index.html - Prometric is running a special where Microsoft Partners can purchase 5 Exam vouchers for 35% off, or 20 vouchers for 40% off. With a free second shot. Offer Valid through May 31st, 2014 and exams must be taken by December 31st, 2014.

For Students:

• CA Technology 60% off - http://www.ca.com/us/education/accre...ation-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- VMware - NEE - 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 millennium "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.
• University of the people - http://www.uopeople.org/ - Is a non-profit, US accredited, tuition free online university that targets itself to everyone in the world. It offers both 2 and 4 year degrees in Business Administration and Computer Science. The caveat is while they do not charge tuition, you must pay $100 for each final exam. Wikipedia has some interesting info on them http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UoPeople (thanks cknapp7

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/Membershi...s/default.aspx - ASIS International is another specialized higher end security education and certification firm. Membership benefits include discounts on exams and education materials.
• Microsoft Partner Network - https://mspartner.microsoft.com/en/us/Pages/index.aspx - For seasoned IT professionals, or those who do side consulting/run a SOHO, one great perk is joining the Microsoft Partner Network. It is free to sign up for, even if you are already associated as a Microsoft Professional to your Primary Employer you can create one for your side business. After taking a short assessment you can purchase an Action Pack subscription for $475 which entitles you to internal use licenses to run your business. Office, Windows, Windows Server, Exchange, RDS CALS, SharePoint and System Center are all included.

Third Party Transferable Certifications

• CIW Security Specialist & Professional - http://www.ciwcertified.com/_resourc...ity_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 Piñata - 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 - Grandfather Program for Cloud Experts - 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 June 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/p...h2VAQAKBjLlw!! - Alcatel-Lucent accepts current Cisco & Juniper certification holders to satisfy their entry level Network Routing Specialist I and II exams.
• HP Fast Track Program - Fast track program | HP ExpertOne - HP Officers fast track certifications and recognition of Cisco, NetApp, and EMC credentials in lieu of their courses/exams. (Also includes ATA with Certiport)

Doyen

Thank you very much for updating the reduced or free certifications/training thread +rep I will definitely share this knowledge with my LinkedIn page!

JustFred

Sweet, thanks for posting

[Deleted User]

Awesome!!! +100 rep!

SixtyCycle

This is an amazing resource. Thank you.

flyerxl

What an amazing resource! Thank you!

RINTI1012

please can anybody post the link where i can buy a certification pack from microsoft

Antonio72

This is awesome! Thank you for taking the time to put all this together, it's much appreciated.

sasnimrod

Great list! Thanks

j23evan

RINTI1012 wrote: »

please can anybody post the link where i can buy a certification pack from microsoft

Hi RINT1012, this was also asked about on the old thread. I have added the information to the list, but the URL to select and purchase an exam pack, with the 15% off discount and free retake is Get your Microsoft Certification exam package

j23evan

Also just added https://www.prometric.com/en-us/clients/Microsoft/Promotions/MPN2013-landing-page/index.html 35% off 5 Voucher pack for Microsoft Partners, and 40% off 20 with free second shot. I will also add information on individuals becoming private microsoft partners, as the benefits far outweigh the cost.

JasminLandry

Awesome post. Thanks a lot!

J.Tot

Anyone know of a cheap method to get a dreamspark account WITHOUT being a student? That seems to be the prerequisite everywhere I go.

SweenMachine

This post is so great. I already have gone and gotten my Bing ad accreditation haha

I went to my boss at work and told them I believe it was a requirement for their competency status. They had no idea, since they just recently added it, so now I look like a hero, because they did need it.

I think I am going to literally just go one down the line and study for the free exams. Free knowledge is awesome. I have no real idea where I want to go next with my career, so this is a good way to just keep moving and acquiring knowledge. Thank you everyone for your help making this thread. And extreme thanks to J23Evan.

-scott

SweenMachine

• 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)

This doesn't look to be free, and it looks like it started on February 19th..

-scott

santaowns

Adtran has two certifications that you take online from your home or wherever. ADTRAN Sales Professional (ASP) and ADTRAN Technical Solutions Associate (ATSA) Both are completely free requires you to follow some courseware then take the certification "quiz". I took the Technical Solutions Associate for internetworking and it was all basic networking with the exception of knowledge of their devices and AOS, which is similar to Cisco ios. Certifications

zxbane

I haven't gotten around to using any resources from this thread yet personally but I just wanted to say it is really awesome to see this here in TE, it really is an amazing resource.

stryder144

SweenMachine wrote: »

• 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)

This doesn't look to be free, and it looks like it started on February 19th..

-scott

The XSeries certificates are now fee-based, though you can still audit the courses for free. Still quite inexpensive for verified course completions ($50-$100 each).

SweenMachine

stryder144 wrote: »

The XSeries certificates are now fee-based, though you can still audit the courses for free. Still quite inexpensive for verified course completions ($50-$100 each).

Right, which is awesome. But still not free, and it's listed in the free section... haha

Aside from that, it started on February 19th, I wasn't able to sign up.. unless I am missing something

-scott

j23evan

Fixed. I keep meaning to do the edX stuff, but my timing is always horrible. Thanks for the heads up, and thanks for the ADTRAN certs santaowns. I cant believe I missed that one. =D

j23evan

Added UofPeople at cknapp78's suggestion. Pretty interesting. I like the fact that they offer 2 year degrees as well. Has anyone attended?

Raystafarian

Just wanted to add my appreciation for your effort with this (and the previous year's thread). Thanks!

rht

Microsoft is NOT giving away a free voucher for 74-409 only 50% discount?

SweenMachine

rht wrote: »

Microsoft is NOT giving away a free voucher for 74-409 only 50% discount?

looks like that just changed this week...

it was a good run, it has been avail for free for many months now..

-scott

j23evan

SweenMachine wrote: »

looks like that just changed this week...

it was a good run, it has been avail for free for many months now..

-scott

Updated. Thanks for the heads up. Kinda sad that it is no longer free. Though yeah, I guess it has been offered for the last 6 months.

tprice5

j23evan wrote: »

Though yeah, I guess it has been offered for the last 6 months.

I wonder when/if it's ever going to transition from a beta exam to a full production exam. Judging by the length it's been out it kind of looks like it's going to remain a 74 series exam.

Nyblizzard

SweenMachine wrote: »

looks like that just changed this week...

it was a good run, it has been avail for free for many months now..

-scott

Thank God I got my exam scheduled not a week ago

Deathmage

wait.... there is a online class possibility for the VCP-DCV? - I thought you could only do the class in-person?

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.

virtutech

I am new here but wanted to take this opportunity to say thanks to the OP and everyone else who have contributed to this thread so far. I look to continue to grow with this community and take advantage of the above certifications. Some of them have already caught my eye and I was lucky enough to take advantage of the free 74-409 Exam voucher from Microsoft. I wish you all the best in your endeavors!

j23evan

Deathmage wrote: »

wait.... there is a online class possibility for the VCP-DCV? - I thought you could only do the class in-person?

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.

There are quite a few schools that offer the DCV course online, though I think Stanly's is the least expensive. I have personally taken the class and loved it. I failed the VCP exam the first time as I had under-estimated it, but it is a tremendous value.

Deathmage

j23evan wrote: »

There are quite a few schools that offer the DCV course online, though I think Stanly's is the least expensive. I have personally taken the class and loved it. I failed the VCP exam the first time as I had under-estimated it, but it is a tremendous value.

thanks for the feedback. I registered for the class. - it helps me out tremendously since taking 5 days off has always been my concern.

How long is the class by-the-way? - did you use an book study or did you just take the clas and take the exam? - I know this is a question outside of the scope of the OP so sorry.