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When it comes to students finding a job in the tech world, certifications are an increasingly popular way of securing a job in Information Technology.
Below are just a few of some of the most popular and sought after entry-level certifications out there. There are many more, but this list is tailored to certifications that high schoolers can quickly start working towards.
CompTIA Certifications - CompTIA is a non-profit association that is arguably one of the most reputable in the field of providing quality and reputable IT certifications. Any employer who sees you with a compTIA certification will immediately understand that you know your stuff.
CompTIA A+ - General IT skills and foundations
CompTIA Network+ - The fundamentals of network operation, management, and troubleshooting
CompTIA Security+ - The fundamentals and baseline skills needed for a career in cybersecurity.
Cisco Certifications - If you're in a job working with networking technology such as routers, switches, and modems, chances are that they'll be Cisco products. Highly valuable certification.
Cisco Certified Network Assosciate (CCNA) - A networking fundamentals certification with specialization towards Cisco.
AWS Certifications - Amazon Web Services is the largest "cloud" in the world, providing cloud computing services for computing, databases, storage, analytics, networking, and much more. In simple terms, much of the Internet and many of the world's most popular companies such as Twitter, Netflix, Spotify, and even McDonald's use AWS.
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner - A cloud computing fundamentals certification specialized in AWS.
Microsoft Certifications - If a company isn't using AWS for their cloud computing needs, they're most likely using Microsoft's Azure.
Azure Fundamentals - A cloud computing fundamentals certification specialized in Azure.
Making yourself marketable as a programmer - While programming certifications exist, they are not nearly as valuable as in the IT industry. Employers here would much rather see students demonstrate your knowledge in a more hands-on manner, such as in a Github portfolio where you can show off all your projects and contributions.
In addition, it's essential to be up to date with what programming languages are in demand, as well as what they're used for. Students shouldn't spend their time learning a language used in a field they're not interested in, or one that just won't land many opportunities to begin with. Here's a few sought after languages that won't be going anywhere for a while.
Javascript
HTML/CSS
Python
C++
SQL
PHP
Typescript
Java
C#
Lua
React