Updated by Daniel Greenspan

Getting certified can pay off quickly. In Pearson VUE's 2025 Value of IT Certification Candidate Report, 32% of the nearly 24,000 IT pros surveyed said they got a raise after earning a certification. But what each certification is worth varies widely. Among the top-paying IT certs in the U.S., average salaries range from $146,033 for ISACA CDPSE to $203,597 for AWS Certified Security - Specialty.

A big paycheck doesn't always require a decade of experience. Nutanix's NCP-MCI certification, which targets candidates with about a year of IT infrastructure experience, ranks third overall at $175,409, and two cloud certs on this list recommend just six months of hands-on work.

Below, we rank 19 of the highest-paying IT certifications by average salary and show the experience each one expects, so you can see which are within reach and which to strive for.

How we ranked them: Salaries are U.S. averages reported in Skillsoft's latest IT Skills and Salary Survey of 2,217 U.S. tech professionals. We left out one certification on Skillsoft's list, Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert, because Microsoft is retiring it. Levels reflect the experience each certifying body recommends or requires: beginner is up to 2 years, mid-level is 3-4 years and advanced is 5+ years. These levels describe expected experience, not test difficulty. Seven of the 19 certs require verified work experience, and CEH requires it unless you take official training; for the rest, you can take the exam when you're ready. Remember that salaries are averages for current credential holders, many of whom have more experience than the minimum.

Education vs. Experience: Many people find that their career reaches a plateau and that employers place greater value on workers with a higher level of education or a degree more relevant to the modern workplace. Anyone that has ever been passed over for promotion only to find a college graduate in the post will know how frustrating this can be. An online degree offers the perfect solution.

ITCareerFinder analyzes the latest data on tech salaries, employment, cost of living and quality of life to uncover the best cities for IT professionals to call home.

Many of the best computer jobs can now be done remotely, but plenty of tech roles still come with a commute. And even if you work from home, where you live shapes what you earn, what you spend and how much you enjoy life after hours. This study compares 74 U.S. metro areas with at least 10,000 computer and math jobs to find the best places to live in or relocate to as an IT professional.

To rank the best cities for tech jobs, we weighed what tech pros actually take home after local prices, how many tech jobs each metro offers and how concentrated they are, and quality of life, because after all, once the 9-to-5 is over you still have to live there.

Jump down to the bottom of the page for the ranking methodology and source list, or read on for this year's top 10 cities for IT professionals.

ITCareerFinder analyzes salaries and hiring trends to uncover this year's best-paying cyber security roles.

Data breaches are becoming so ubiquitous that it’s easy to gloss over the headlines, but the fallout is much harder for companies to ignore -- hacks are not just embarrassing but can lead to serious financial and reputational damage. So, it’s not surprising that there’s high demand for IT security specialists, and that those who are up to the task are generously compensated. In fact, cyber security is the 3rd most highly sought-after skill set in 2023, and many companies report info-sec vacancies due to their inability to find qualified candidates.

Not only are these skills in peak demand, but cyber security is one of the highest-paying IT specialties, bringing in an average salary of $102,600 (more than double the $45,760 average for all occupations) according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. But not all cyber-sec jobs pay the same. A handful of positions stand above the rest, at least in terms of compensation.

Here are some of the highest paying cyber security careers for 2023:

Scott Skinger, CEO and Founder of TrainSignal, answers the age-old question of aspiring IT professionals; “Which is most important to landing the job: IT certifications, real-world experience or a college degree?”

It’s that inevitable fork in the road for an IT professional. Determining the path that will lead you to the most success when sprucing up your resume to land that next job. What are employers looking for? Certifications? Experience? Degrees? Some combination of the three? It’s a dilemma faced by many looking to launch or advance their careers.

Ten years ago, I founded my company TrainSignal to develop training courses that help IT professionals learn new skills to grow their careers. Over the years, I've spoken to a lot of hiring managers to understand what grabs their attention when evaluating resumes. As it turns out, most are zoning in on those three factors: IT certifications, hands-on experience, and education. So how do you determine the right blend to wow your future employer?

Here are some considerations when weighing the value of certifications, experience and degrees:

ITCareerFinder breaks down some of the most sought-after jobs in the metaverse and the skills you need to level up in each position.

This page will be updated regularly with the latest and greatest metaverse career paths.

In October 2021, Facebook changed its name to Meta and announced plans to create 10,000 new high-skilled jobs in the European Union (EU) to help shape the metaverse.

It turns out that Facebook isn’t the only one betting heavily on the growth of the metaverse, over 160 companies are jumping in too.

So what is the metaverse and what types of jobs might it create?

Broadly speaking, the metaverse is a shared virtual world. In theory, people will be able to create an avatar and travel into this immersive virtual world to socialize, play games, work, create, shop, or even remotely attend a concert or sporting event by wearing virtual reality headsets.

Much like the transition to Web 2.0, mobile technologies, and the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, the metaverse is creating new IT and hybrid job opportunities, which require a combination of technical and non-technical skills.

To keep your career thriving in the metaverse, here’s a look at 6 roles that are in demand right now and poised to explode in the future.

ITCareerFinder breaks down the most sought-after tech jobs you can get with a degree in computer science. Delve into each role for marketable courses, salaries, recommended degree programs and insider tips.

There’s never been a better time than now to pursue a career in IT. The proliferation of emerging technologies in mobile and cloud computing, soaring demand for data science, programming and cyber security skills, and the increased automation (for better or worse) of legacy roles in retail and manufacturing, are just some of the factors driving a golden age for tech employment. There are infinite paths to the IT job of your dreams, but whichever road you choose there’s a good chance that earning a degree in computer science (CS) will be your first step.

CS curricula and the jobs you can land with a computer science degree vary widely, but there are some core subjects shared by most undergraduate computer science programs. The core curriculum in a CS associate or bachelor’s degree typically includes programming and software development, data structures and algorithms, operating systems, and applied mathematics. There are many CS specializations that dive deeper into one or more of these core areas, and plenty of computer science majors designed to prepare you for a specific IT career path. Your personal passions, resources like time and money, and the job you’re shooting for will dictate the computer science program that’s right for you.

The curriculum in a graduate computer science program builds on the undergrad coursework above. Generally, a computer science master’s degree dives deeper into the technical skills you learned as an undergrad, with a greater focus on a specific career track and potential management roles. MBAs in computer science concentrate on the business side of things; here you will learn to use computing skills to set and achieve organizational goals. Doctoral and PhD degrees in computer science tend to focus on research and scientific advancement; these programs are geared toward jobs like computer research scientist and CS professor.

This article will lay out some of the best jobs you can achieve with a computer science diploma (“best” in this case means top-tier salaries, an aggressive hiring forecast, and a high rate of upward mobility). We'll also highlight the courses and electives you should pursue to maximize your job prospects in each role, recommended degree levels, and earnings.

Here are the best jobs you can get with computer science degree:

A breakdown of the top 8 programming languages you should learn right now based on workforce demand, hiring trends, and earnings.

This page will be updated annually with the most desirable programming languages and current statistics.

If you're new to the world of software development, figuring out the best programming language to learn can be daunting. There are literally hundreds of programming languages out there. Thankfully you don't have to learn them all.

With that said, there’s a number of programming skills and platforms that a young developer should study and master, and choosing the right ones can shape your career. Luckily for you, we've assembled this list of the best programming languages to learn - based on workforce demand (gauged by the number of coding tests DevSkiller's clients ordered for job interviewees), salaries according to Payscale.com, and emerging trends in software production and hiring. We've included data and statistics from the DevSkiller 2020 IT Skills Report on the top eight programming languages you should learn right now.

Here are the best programming languages to learn in 2020: