In today’s digital age, the demand for skilled programmers is higher than ever before. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting your career, obtaining a programming certification can give you a competitive edge in the job market and help you advance your career.
With so many certifications to choose from, it can be difficult to know which ones are worth pursuing. To help you navigate the options, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 most popular programming certifications for 2023.
These certifications are widely recognized in the industry and are highly valued by employers. They cover a range of programming languages, frameworks and technologies, and will help you gain the skills you need to be successful in the field.
What is Programming Certification?
A programming certification is a formal recognition or validation of an individual’s knowledge and skills in a specific programming language or technology.
These certifications are usually offered by technology vendors, such as Microsoft, Oracle, or Amazon Web Services, or by industry-specific organizations. They typically require passing an exam that tests the candidate’s knowledge of the specific programming language or technology.
Programming certifications are widely recognized in the industry and are highly valued by employers as they demonstrate that an individual has the necessary skills to work with a specific technology, and thus it can help individual to advance their career in the field of programming.
1. AWS Certified Developer Associate
The AWS Certified Developer-Associate is a widely recognized programming certification that demonstrates your ability to design, develop, and maintain applications on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform.
By obtaining this certification, you are showing that you possess the technical skills required to use AWS software development kits (SDKs) to write code that improves application performance and makes changes within the applications.
As more and more companies are migrating to cloud-based applications, the demand for AWS Certified Developers has increased. Additionally, the growing popularity of mobile games and cloud-dependent applications is also driving the demand for this certification.
The certification exam covers a wide range of topics such as AWS fundamentals, developing and running cloud-based applications, security, and more. It measures your ability to use AWS SDKs and services to develop, deploy, and debug cloud-based applications.
Cost: $150
Duration: 130 minutes
Number of questions: 65
Passing score: 720
2. AWS Certified Solutions Architect-Associate
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA) certification is a widely recognized certification that validates your ability to design and deploy scalable systems on the AWS platform.
It is a requirement for the advanced level AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional certification. This credential is highly valued by companies looking to hire AWS-certified architects.
The SAA exam covers a wide range of topics such as designing in AWS, importing and exporting data in AWS, selecting the appropriate AWS solution for specific scenarios, and cost-control strategies.
It measures your ability to design, deploy and operate systems on the AWS platform and your understanding of the AWS architecture best practices. This certification is a great way to demonstrate your skills and knowledge of AWS and the AWS architecture.
Cost: $150
Duration: 130 minutes
Number of questions: 65
Passing score: 720
3. C and C++ Certifications
The C and C++ programming languages are well-established, widely-used tools in the field of computer programming that have been a crucial part of the industry for many years. They are considered as the building blocks of the modern internet.
It is highly recommended for programmers, regardless of their primary programming language, to have certifications in these two languages.
Cost: $295
Duration: 65 minutes (exam) & 10 minutes (NDA/tutorial)
Number of questions: 60 (CPP/CPP-22-01), 40 (CPP-22-02)
Passing score: 80% (CPP/CPP-22-01), 70% (CPP-22-02)
4. Oracle Certified Associate Java Programmer OCAJP
Java is a widely-used, high-level, robust, and object-oriented programming language that is consistently ranked among the most popular programming languages.
It is also one of the most widely-used software development platforms, making it a valuable skill for professionals in the field. The Java Certification training course is ideal for aspiring web developers, and the Full Stack Java Developer master’s program provides an in-depth understanding of front-end, middleware, and back-end Java web development technologies.
These resources can help individuals to gain a deeper understanding of Java and demonstrate their proficiency in the language to potential employers.
Duration: 150 minutes
Number of questions: 70 (Multiple Choice)
Passing score: 65 % (46 out of 70)
5. Certified Associate in Python Programming (PCAP)
The PCAP, Certified Associate in Python Programming certification. is a highly respected, professional credential that demonstrates an individual’s proficiency in the Python programming language, specifically with an emphasis on Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts.
The certification covers advanced topics such as OOP essentials, modules and packages, exception handling, advanced string operations, list comprehensions, lambdas, generators, closures, and file processing.
Holding the PCAP™ certification gives individuals confidence in their programming skills, sets them apart in the job market, and provides a solid foundation for advancing to professional-level programming positions.
The PCAP™ exam (PCAP-31-0x) is a rigorous and high-stakes test that assesses a candidate’s ability to perform intermediate-level coding tasks in Python, including the ability to design, develop, debug, execute, and refactor multi-module Python programs. The exam also measures a candidate’s ability to analyze and model real-life problems using OOP concepts and techniques.
Cost: $295
Duration: 65 minutes (exam) + 10 minutes (Non-Disclosure Agreement/Tutorial)
Number of questions: 40 questions of type Single-choice and multiple-choice questions
Passing score: 70% (PCAP-31-02, PCAP-31-03)
6. R Programming Certification
The R programming language is a powerful tool for data analysis and visualization. It is widely used in statistics, data science, and machine learning, and is particularly popular among statisticians and data miners.
The demand for professionals proficient in R is high, and the field is relatively less competitive than other programming languages, making it a great option for those looking to specialize in a specific area.
A Data Science with R certification course that helps individuals become experts in data analytics with the R programming language.
The course covers a wide range of topics, including data exploration, data visualization, predictive analytics, descriptive analytics techniques, R packages, data structures, statistical concepts, cluster analysis, and forecasting.
7. Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
Obtaining a CCNA certification demonstrates to potential employers that you have a strong understanding of Cisco technologies and are capable of configuring, troubleshooting, and maintaining Cisco network solutions.
With the increasing demand for networking professionals, having a CCNA certification can help you stand out in the job market and open up new career opportunities in the field of network engineering and administration.
Additionally, it can be the first step towards more advanced Cisco certifications such as the CCNP or CCIE.
Cost: $300
Duration: 120
Number of questions: 100 questions
Passing score: 825-850/1000 or 82%
8. Oracle MySQL Database Administration Training and Certification (CMDBA)
The SQL certification training course covers topics such as database design, SQL syntax, data manipulation, data retrieval, and database management.
It also includes hands-on practice with a variety of real-world scenarios and case studies to ensure that you have a solid understanding of how to use SQL in a professional setting.
By completing this course, you will gain the skills and knowledge needed to work with SQL databases and use the database in your applications, making you a valuable asset to any organization.
Cost: $233
Duration:120 Minutes
Number of questions: 73
Passing score: 62%
9. CompTIA Security+
The CompTIA Security+ certification is widely recognized in the IT industry as a benchmark for foundational security knowledge and skills. It covers essential principles of network security, risk management, and threat management.
The certification is vendor-neutral, meaning it is not specific to any one technology or vendor.
Cost: %392
Duration: 90 minutes
Number of questions: Maximum of 90 questions
Passing score: 750 (on a scale of 100-900)
10. MongoDB Certified Developer Associate Exam
A MongoDB certification training course provides the relevant skills to become a MongoDB Developer. This program covers topics such as data modeling, querying, ingestion, sharding, and data replication with MongoDB.
Additionally, you will learn how to install, update, and maintain the MongoDB environment, as well as gain skills in MongoDB configuration and backup methods, and monitoring and operational strategies.
Cost: $150
Duration: 75 minutes
Number of questions: 53 Questions, Multiple choice