Introduction
Every developer’s journey starts pretty much in the same way. You study to get a degree in computer science or related fields and start your career with a job or score some freelance projects. But it doesn’t always have to end the same way. While you might need a degree to enter the occupation, adding a handful of programming certifications can become tangible proof of your enhanced skills. It would not be an overstatement that the modern tech-enabled world is run by software, and this will be the case in the foreseeable future. Your knowledge of various computer programs, in addition to your educational qualifications, can help you become a crucial part of that tech-enabled world. Let’s dive into the top programming certifications that can open doors to new opportunities by enhancing your credibility.
What Are Programming Certifications?
You may acquire many new skills on the job, but a professional certificate that verifies those skills is always welcome. Programming certifications verify your skills and expertise in your field and prove your qualifications for programming positions. As a developer, when you pursue a certification, it:
- Builds your proficiency and competency level
- Validates your skills and expertise in the field
- Helps you stay current with technology
- Improves your credibility in the industry
- Open doors to new opportunities
- Increases your earning potential
How to Get a Programming Certification?
Choose a Certification: Review what you know and where you need to enhance your skills. Then, select a certification that aligns with your programming language or technology of interest.
Enroll and Prepare: Sign up for the chosen online/offline course. Study relevant materials and practice with hands-on exercises to build the required skills.
Take Practice Tests: Most certification programs have practice assignments and tests after each module to test your practical skills. It is important that you don’t skip these, as the assignments identify areas for improvement other than evaluating your skills.
Clear the Main Exam: All programming certifications have a main test/assignment/exam at the end of the course. Ensure that you sign up for it and take the exam at the authorized testing center so that you qualify for the official certification.
Get your Certification: Once you have passed the main exam, the certification provider usually awards a certificate validating your skills. Ensure that you collect a valid certificate, whether online or offline.
Update Resume and Profiles: After you collect your certificate, remember to add it to your resume and professional online profiles. This will help you showcase your expertise to potential employers or clients.
Top Programming Certifications to Take in 2024
- AWS Certified Developer-Associate
- CIW Web Development Professional
- Google Certified Professional Cloud Developer
- Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer
- CLP – C Certified Professional Programmer Certification
- CompTIA Security+ Certification
- Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification
- Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)
- Microsoft Azure Developer Associate
- Certified Associate in Python Programming (PCAP)
- MongoDB Certified Developer Associate Exam
- R Programming Certification
- Oracle MySQL Database Administration Training and Certification (CMDBA)
- CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer
- Certified Scrum Developer (CSD)
- Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
- Salesforce Certified Platform Developer
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Must Read: Google Cloud vs AWS: What's the difference?
AWS Certified Developer-Associate
This is a good way to start earning different AWS certifications and begin your journey of getting programming certifications. This certification tells your clients and employers that you have knowledge and understanding of core AWS services. It showcases your ability to employ the basic AWS architecture best practices. It also showcases your proficiency in developing, deploying, and debugging cloud-based applications by using AWS.
The exam is offered in English, Italian, Japanese, French (France), Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), German, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish (Latin America). The German version of this exam is available until March 14, 2024.
Who can take this exam?
- Experienced developers with in-depth knowledge of at least one high-level programming language
- Developers with experience in AWS technology
- Strong on-premises IT experience and understanding of mapping on-premises to cloud
- Experience working in other cloud services
Exam Overview
Level: Associate
Duration: 130 minutes
Cost: 150 USD. Visit the official AWS website for additional information.
Format: 65 questions, either multiple–choice or multiple–response
Delivery method: Pearson VUE testing center or online proctored exam
CIW Web Development Professional
It is a comprehensive, vendor-neutral certification offered by Certification Partners. It evaluates your understanding of web development concepts and applications, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and web design/management principles. CIW certifications showcase the developer’s ability to work in a competitive workplace, as it has an extensive series of curriculum and high–stakes certification examinations.
Who can take this exam?
- Experienced developers with in-depth knowledge of the programming languages included by CIW
- Developers with a strong understanding of web development concepts and applications
- Experienced developers familiar with web page development and network configurations
- Developers with a basic understanding of databases and operating systems
Exam Overview
Test takers need to clear three individual exams/certifications to earn the CIW Web Development Professional certification.
- CIW JavaScript Specialist
- CIW Database Design Specialist
- CIW advanced HTML5 and CSS3 Specialist
Exam Format
- CIW Javascript Specialist: 55 questions, 90 minutes
- CIW Database Design Specialist: 50 questions, 90 minutes
- CIW Advanced HTML5 and CSS3 Specialist: 56 questions, 75 minutes
The topics covered include HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, and Database design and planning. For detailed price information, you can visit the official CIW website.
Google Certified Professional Cloud Developer
This certification tells your clients and employers that you can build scalable and highly available applications using Google-recommended tools and best practices. As a professional cloud developer, you have experience with:
- Cloud-native applications
- Developer tools
- Managed services
- Next-generation databases
- At least one general-purpose programming language
The Professional Cloud Developer exam tests your ability to:
- Design highly scalable, available, reliable cloud-native applications
- Build and test applications
- Deploy applications
- Integrate Google Cloud services
- Manage deployed applications
Exam Overview
Duration: Two hours
Registration fee: $200 (plus tax where applicable)
Languages: English and Japanese
Exam format: 50-60 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions
Delivery method: i)Take the online-proctored exam from a remote location ii) Take the onsite-proctored exam at a testing center
Prerequisites: More than 3 years of industry experience in designing and managing solutions using Google Cloud
All Google Cloud certifications are valid for two years from the date of certification. Recertification is required to maintain the certification status. For more details and a detailed exam overview, you can visit the official website here.
Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer
If you are a professional mobile or web app developer, you know that Java is one of the most widely used versatile programming languages. This certification helps you build a foundational understanding of Java. The Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer certification is a great choice if you are an entry-level programmer, as it is a foundation-level certification.
Topic areas covered
- Java basics and data types
- Operators and Decision constructs
- Arrays, loop constructs, Methods, and Encapsulation
- Inheritance
- Working with select classes from Java APIs
Exam Overview
Level: Associate
Duration: 120 minutes
Cost: Visit the official Oracle website.
Format: 56 multiple-choice questions
Passing Score: 65%
CLP – C Certified Professional Programmer Certification
This is an advanced-level certification that evaluates advanced C programming concepts like advanced data types, libraries, syntax, and language semantics. It is designed to prove a programmer’s proficiency in the C programming language.
Who can take the test?
Candidates with a good knowledge of the following concepts can take the test
- Handling a variable number of parameters
- Low level IO
- Memory and strings
- Processes and threads
- Floats and ints once again
- Network sockets
Exam Overview
Level: Professional
Duration: 65 minutes (exam) + 10 minutes (NDA Tutorial)
Cost: $295
Format: 55 Single and multiple-choice questions
Exam delivery channel: Pearson VUE
Passing Score: 70%
The test is conducted in English. You can visit the official website for detailed information on the examination and associated certifications.
CompTIA Security+ Certification
If you are building a career as a cybersecurity analyst, network administrator, or security engineer, the CompTIA Security+ certification can be of tremendous help. It is an industry-standard certification that demonstrates your ability to access network structures of enterprise environments, as well as knowledge about recommending and monitoring security solutions.
Skills covered in this certification
- General security concepts
- Threats, vulnerabilities & mitigations
- Security architecture
- Security operations
- Security Program Management & Oversight
Exam Overview
Level: Professional
Duration: 130 minutes
Cost: $392. Visit the official website for detailed information.
Format: Maximum 90 multiple-choice and performance-based questions
Exam delivery channel: Pearson VUE
Passing Score: 750 (on a scale of 100-900)
Once you have earned this certification, you can
- Identify, analyze, and respond to security events and incidents
- Assess the security posture of an enterprise environment
- Monitor and secure hybrid environments
- Recommend and implement security solutions
- Operate with knowledge of applicable laws and policies
The CompTIA Security+ certification is valid for three years, and it can be extended in three-year intervals through activities and training programs, including higher certifications.
Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification
You might wonder why, as a professional programmer, you need to earn a PMP certification. As an experienced programmer, as you spend years in the industry, you get opportunities to lead large-scale projects. As a certified project management professional, you can confidently demonstrate your skills to lead and manage projects assigned to your team.
PMI is known to be a leading authority on project management. It offers the PMP Certification to professionals who can manage the people, processes, and business priorities of professional projects.
Who can take the PMP?
- Four-Year College / University Degree
- 36 months of experience leading projects within the past eight years
- 35 hours of project management education/training or CAPM certification
— or —
- High School or Secondary School Diploma
- 60 months of experience leading projects within the past eight years
- 35 hours of project management education/training or CAPM certification
Exam Overview
Level: Managerial
Duration: 230 minutes
Cost: $548 for nonmembers; $281 for members
Format: Maximum 90 multiple-choice and performance-based questions
Exam delivery channel: Pearson VUE
The PMP exam can be taken in English Arabic, Russian, Spanish (Mexico + Spain), German, Hebrew, Chinese (Simplified + Traditional), French, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish (Poland), Portuguese (Brazilian), and Turkish. You can visit the official PMI website for detailed information and guidance on the PMP certifications.
Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)
If you are looking for an entry-level IT certification that verifies your foundational network knowledge, you should become a Cisco Certified Network Associate.
What will the exam evaluate?
Knowledge and skills related to:
- Network fundamentals
- Network access
- IP connectivity
- IP services
- Security fundamentals
- Automation and programmability
Exam Overview
Duration: 120 minutes
Cost: $300 plus taxes
Format: Approximately 100 questions
Exam delivery channel: Online and offline
The exam is conducted in English and Japanese. To review the exam topics and access self-study materials, you can visit the official website here.
Microsoft Azure Developer Associate
This certification is useful for programmers developing software on the Azure cloud computing service. While preparing for this certification, candidates must participate in all development phases, including requirements gathering, design, development, deployment, security, maintenance, performance tuning, and monitoring.
Who can apply for this certification?
- Candidates with a minimum of two years professional development experience
- Developers who can program in Azure concepts and processes and an Azure-supported language
- Candidates proficient in Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, and other tools
Exam Overview
Level: Associate
Duration: 150 minutes
Cost: $165
Format: 40-60 questions; multi-choice and multi-response
Certified Associate in Python Programming (PCAP)
Programmers looking to acquire foundational knowledge of Python programming concepts should consider this certification. It is offered by the Python Institute and covers fundamental Python programming concepts, syntax, semantics, and the application of Python language constructs.
Why earn this certification?
A certified associate in Python programming with a PCAP certification is familiar with
- Essentials of OOP
- Advanced aspects of programming
- Modules and packages
- Exception handling mechanism in OOP
- Advanced operations on strings, list comprehensions, lambdas, generators, closures, and file processing
Exam Overview
Cost: $295. Visit the official PI website for detailed pricing information.
Format: 40 single and multiple-select questions
Duration: 65 minutes + 10 minutes for the NDA/tutorial
Passing Score: 70%
Delivery Channel: Pearson VUE
The PCAP certification is valid for a lifetime. It is a great choice if you are an aspiring programmer looking to specialize in areas such as testing, data analytics, machine learning, IoT, and web development. You can also check the associated certifications, such as PCEP and PCPP1, and the courses aligned on the official website.
MongoDB Certified Developer Associate Exam
MongoDB is a NoSQL database development system. It came up with this certification for individuals who need certified knowledge of MongoDB fundamentals to design and build applications. MongoDB uses a collection of documents that offers scalability and flexibility as per query requirements.
What does the certification cover?
Candidates pursuing this certification will acquire proficiency in
- MongoDB Basics
- MongoDB Performance
- MongoDB for Python Developers
- MongoDB for Java Developers or MongoDB for JavaScript Developers
- The MongoDB Aggregation Framework
- Indexing and Performance
- Basic Cluster Administration
- Aggregation & Replication
- CRUD
- Sharding
- Data Modeling
Exam Overview
Cost: $150
Format: 53 multiple-choice questions
Duration: 75 minutes
Passing Score: 70%
Delivery Channel: Pearson VUE
If you are a student or educator, you might earn a 100% discount after completing a Learning Path through MongoDB’s student and educator programs. You can check the official website for details.
R Programming Certification
A certificate in R programming language validates your proficiency in statistical computing and data analysis using R. Programmers seeking professional expertise in data analysis, debugging, R Programming, and Rstudio should explore the R Programming Certification.
Topics covered in the certification course:
- Basic building blocks in R
- Data types in R
- Control Structures
- R Profiler
- Debugging tools
- Coding Standards
- Scoping Rules – Optimization
- Simulating data in R
- Dates and Times
- Looping
- Functions
Many organizations and educational platforms offer R Programming Certification. For instance, the Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate certification includes R programming skills as part of its curriculum.
As a certified R Programmer, you can
- Configure statistical programming software
- Understand critical programming language concepts
- Collect detailed information using R profiler
- Make use of R loop functions and debugging tools
Oracle MySQL Database Administration Training and Certification (CMDBA)
Programmers who want to manage and administer MySQL databases efficiently should get this certification. It is offered by Oracle for SQL developers seeking to validate their skills in developing performance, blending business processes, and accomplishing data processing work.
Topics covered under CMDBA:
- Installing MySQL
- MySQL Architecture
- Configuring MySQL
- MySQL Security
- User Management
- Optimizing Query Performance
- Maintaining a Stable System
- Backup Strategies
- Configuring a Replication Topology
SQL developers can choose Professional, Specialist, and Developer levels based on their competency. To earn the certification, one has to pass the MySQL Database Administrator Certified Professional Exam Part 1 & Part 2. Detailed information can be explored on the official Oracle University website.
CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer
If you are a Big Data and Spark developer proficient in Scala and Python, you can earn this certification to showcase your data management skills. As a certified CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer, you have more chances of getting recruited as a Hadoop developer who can handle Big data projects.
Programmers studying for this certification will learn to:
- Loading data from HDFS for use in Spark applications
- Filter data using Spark
- Write the results back into HDFS using Spark
- Write queries that calculate aggregate statistics
- Read and write files in a variety of file formats
- Produce ranked or sorted data
- Supply command-line options to change your application configuration
- Understand the fundamentals of querying datasets in Spark
- Join disparate datasets using Spark
- Use Spark API to perform standard extract, transform, load (ETL) processes on data
- Use metastore tables as an input source or an output sink for Spark applications
How can you get this certification?
You can earn the CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer Certification here.
Exam Overview
Cost: $295
Exam Format: 8–12 performance-based (hands-on) tasks on Cloudera Enterprise cluster.
Delivery Format: Test Center or Remotely Proctored
Duration: 120 minutes
Passing Score: 70%
Language: English
Certified Scrum Developer (CSD)
A certified Scrum developer can showcase strong, agile product development skills. CSD professionals have specialized agile engineering skills and can demonstrate a strong understanding of Scrum and agile principles.
How can you get this certification?
To get certified, you must undergo at least two days of formal training by a Scrum Alliance-approved CSD Educator. You will receive your CSD Certification and License after the course completion, and the certification is valid for two years. More details about CSD Certification can be explored on the Scrum Alliance website.
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
An ethical hacker is a cybersecurity professional trained to identify and fix security vulnerabilities. Ethical hackers work legally and ethically to strengthen security measures. Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is a globally recognized certification that equips you to use various hacking techniques legally. As a CEH, you acquire skills to assess and strengthen the security of an organization’s networks and data.
Exam Overview
Duration: 4 minutes
Fornat: 125 questions
Passing score: 60% to 85%, depending on the exam taken
Delivery: ECC Exam Centre and Pearson Vue testing centers
CEH offers three levels of certification. More details can be found here.
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer
Salesforce offers this certification to professionals who develop custom applications on the Salesforce platform. As a platform developer certified by the Salesforce platform, you can showcase your proficiency in building and deploying custom applications, extending the functionality of Salesforce, and integrating with external systems.
A Salesforce Certified Platform Developer can use the Salesforce platform to design and implement custom applications as per Salesforce’s declarative and programmatic capabilities. You can explore the available Salesforce certification here.
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Conclusion
Earning a programming certification is a strategic way to advance in your career. In the ever-evolving world of rapidly transforming technologies, adding programming certifications from recognized organizations is a smart move. Programming certifications not only enhance your skillset but also offer a structured learning path and help you master specific programming languages, frameworks, and platforms. Investing in the programming certifications mentioned in this blog would help you unlock new opportunities while staying updated with industry trends.
Frequently Asked Questions
Programming certifications are offered online and offline by many recognized organizations and educational institutes. Based on your area of interest, you can apply for the desired course, take the test, and earn your certification after clearing the exam.
Yes. Ensure that you get certifications only from recognized online testing authorities.
There are many Coding courses offered online and offline. You can choose which language you want to learn Coding in and get your certification upon completion.
Ethical hacking is legal if performed with the permission of the owner under legal compliance.
