Which certification fits your next job?

Four questions. We rank certifications by how often real job ads for your job name them, then check the experience each one needs and what the exam costs.

Question 1 of 4

Which job do you want?

Shortlist by job in the United States

Ranked by share of job ads (October 2026). Turn on JavaScript to filter by country, experience and goal.

Cloud engineer

AWS
3.8% of cloud engineer job ads in the United States name it (297 of 7,726 ads)
AWS Solutions Architect Associate
3.1% of cloud engineer job ads in the United States name it (242 of 7,726 ads)
Vendor recommends 1 year of work experienceExam fee $150
Google Associate Cloud Engineer
2.2% of cloud engineer job ads in the United States name it (167 of 7,726 ads)
Vendor recommends 6 months of work experienceExam fee $125
Microsoft Azure certifications
2.3% of cloud engineer job ads in the United States name it (178 of 7,726 ads)
AZ-305
1.5% of cloud engineer job ads in the United States name it (117 of 7,726 ads)
Exam fee $165

Cybersecurity analyst

CISSP
4.2% of cybersecurity analyst job ads in the United States name it (338 of 8,110 ads)
Needs 4–5 years of work experienceExam fee $749
CompTIA
2.0% of cybersecurity analyst job ads in the United States name it (162 of 8,110 ads)
CISM
1.7% of cybersecurity analyst job ads in the United States name it (134 of 8,110 ads)
Needs 5 years of work experienceExam fee $760
CompTIA CySA+
1.5% of cybersecurity analyst job ads in the United States name it (119 of 8,110 ads)
Vendor recommends 4 years of work experienceExam fee $439
CompTIA Security+
1.4% of cybersecurity analyst job ads in the United States name it (112 of 8,110 ads)
Vendor recommends 2 years of work experienceExam fee $439

Data analyst

Google Data Analytics
7 of 6,094 data analyst job ads in the United States name it
No work experience required$49 a month (course subscription)
PL-300
4 of 6,094 data analyst job ads in the United States name it
Exam fee $165

Job ads for this role in the United States rarely name a certification. Employers ask for skills instead: SQL, Python, Power BI. See what data analyst ads ask for

DevOps engineer

AWS
3.8% of devops engineer job ads in the United States name it (148 of 3,861 ads)

IT support

CompTIA A+
20% of IT support job ads in the United States name it (551 of 2,745 ads)
Vendor recommends 1 year of work experienceExam fee $274
CompTIA
20% of IT support job ads in the United States name it (546 of 2,745 ads)
ITIL
7.5% of IT support job ads in the United States name it (206 of 2,745 ads)
CompTIA Network+
5.9% of IT support job ads in the United States name it (163 of 2,745 ads)
Vendor recommends 9 months of work experienceExam fee $399
CompTIA Security+
1.2% of IT support job ads in the United States name it (34 of 2,745 ads)
Vendor recommends 2 years of work experienceExam fee $439

Network engineer

CCNP
20% of network engineer job ads in the United States name it (1,892 of 9,475 ads)
No work experience requiredExam fee $400
CCNA
16% of network engineer job ads in the United States name it (1,557 of 9,475 ads)
No work experience requiredExam fee $300
CompTIA
4.9% of network engineer job ads in the United States name it (463 of 9,475 ads)
CompTIA Network+
1.5% of network engineer job ads in the United States name it (139 of 9,475 ads)
Vendor recommends 9 months of work experienceExam fee $399

Program manager

PMP
19% of program manager job ads in the United States name it (5,868 of 30,691 ads)
Needs 2–5 years of work experienceExam fee $655
PRINCE2
1.1% of program manager job ads in the United States name it (333 of 30,691 ads)
Six Sigma Black Belt
59 of 30,691 program manager job ads in the United States name it
PMI-RMP
13 of 30,691 program manager job ads in the United States name it
Needs 1–3 years of work experienceExam fee $670
IPMA
5 of 30,691 program manager job ads in the United States name it

Project manager

PMP
24% of project manager job ads in the United States name it (14,183 of 59,273 ads)
Needs 2–5 years of work experienceExam fee $655
CAPM
1.7% of project manager job ads in the United States name it (982 of 59,273 ads)
No work experience requiredExam fee $300
PMI-ACP
1.1% of project manager job ads in the United States name it (673 of 59,273 ads)
Needs 1–2 years of work experienceExam fee $495
ITIL
1.2% of project manager job ads in the United States name it (702 of 59,273 ads)
Six Sigma Green Belt
364 of 59,273 project manager job ads in the United States name it

Scrum Master

SAFe
22% of scrum master job ads in the United States name it (211 of 946 ads)
No work experience requiredExam fee $495
CSM
22% of scrum master job ads in the United States name it (210 of 946 ads)
No work experience required
PMI-ACP
19% of scrum master job ads in the United States name it (179 of 946 ads)
Needs 1–2 years of work experienceExam fee $495
Scrum Master
16% of scrum master job ads in the United States name it (150 of 946 ads)
PSM
12% of scrum master job ads in the United States name it (112 of 946 ads)
Exam fee $200

SOC analyst

CompTIA CySA+
15% of SOC analyst job ads in the United States name it (34 of 233 ads)
Vendor recommends 4 years of work experienceExam fee $439
CEH
13% of SOC analyst job ads in the United States name it (30 of 233 ads)
Needs 2 years of work experienceExam fee $950–$1,199
CompTIA Security+
7% of SOC analyst job ads in the United States name it (17 of 233 ads)
Vendor recommends 2 years of work experienceExam fee $439
SSCP
4% of SOC analyst job ads in the United States name it (9 of 233 ads)
Needs 1 year of work experienceExam fee $249

System administrator

ITIL
7.8% of system administrator job ads in the United States name it (489 of 6,233 ads)
Microsoft Azure certifications
35 of 6,233 system administrator job ads in the United States name it