Top Paying Certifications 2021

IT certification is one of the best ways to validate our knowledge, skills and abilities in a subject, Skillsoft said. Learning new skills or earning a certification can result in a raise of as much as $12,000 a year, according to the Global Knowledge report.

The top certification on the annual Skillsoft list has a salary of more than $171,000. The following are the lists Cybersecurity and cloud certifications comprise most of the list collectively for 2021, confirming how crucial risk management has become to organizations today, the firm said. The top-paying certifications in cloud computing command salaries of more than $150,000, according to Skillsoft.

The company said ITIL 4 Foundation is the most widely held certification. 

As per the TechRepublic reports, the listed certifications are the Top-Paying Certifications. The list of the top-paying certifications in the United States is based on data from more than 3,700 U.S. respondents who participated in the Global Knowledge 2021 IT Skills and Salary Survey.:

1. Google Certified Professional Data Engineer—$171,749
2. Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect—$169,029
3. AWS Certified Solutions Architect—Associate—$159,033
4. CRISC—Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control—$151,995
5. CISSP—Certified Information Systems Security Professional—$151,853
6. CISM—Certified Information Security Manager—$149,246
7. PMP—Project Management Professional—$148,906
8. NCP-MCI—Nutanix Certified Professional—Multicloud Infrastructure—$142,810
9. CISA—Certified Information Systems Auditor—$134,460
10. VCP-DVC—VMware Certified Professional - Data Center Virtualization 2020—$132,947
11. MCSE: Windows Server—$125,980
12. Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate—$121,420
13. CCNP Enterprise—Cisco Certified Network Professional—Enterprise—$118,911
14. CCA-V—Citrix Certified Associate—Virtualization—$115,308
15. Security+—$110,974

Certifications that have equal Potential Revenue:

The following certifications are associated with top-paying IT salaries, but just missed the respondent threshold:

1. Certified Ethical Hacker (EC-Council)
2. AWS Certified Developer
3. Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Other observations

• 55% of IT professionals said they earned a new certification in the past year.
• ITIL® Foundation is the most widely held certification.
• CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications are among the most popular certifications held by IT professionals.

The no. 1 reason mentioned by IT professionals who changed employers was due to the lack of opportunities for career growth and professional development. In a distance second, IT pros changed employers for an increase in compensation—56% to 41% respectively.

Certification is an excellent vehicle for professional development that leads to value creation for an organization. Sixty-six percent of IT decision-makers said the annual economic value of having an employee with the additional skills and contributions made by being certified over a non-certified employee is over $10,000. Within that group, 22% said the annual value is $25,000 and above. Organizations who support continuous learning will have an easier time attracting and retaining talent while deriving more value from their employees.