Career resources

Certifications worth getting (and which to skip)

Certifications can help you prove skills on paper — but not all are worth the investment. Here is an honest breakdown.

Product Manager

PSPO (Professional Scrum Product Owner)

Scrum.org

Yes

Cost

$200

Effort

1-2 weeks

High — widely recognized, practical

Google Project Management Certificate

Coursera/Google

Yes (if new)

Cost

~$200

Effort

3-6 months

Good for complete beginners

PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner)

PMI

Maybe

Cost

$495

Effort

3+ months

Enterprise-focused, less startup-relevant

Data Analyst

Google Data Analytics Certificate

Coursera/Google

Yes

Cost

~$200

Effort

3-6 months

Strong brand, practical projects

Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst (PL-300)

Microsoft

Yes (if using Power BI)

Cost

$165

Effort

1-2 months

High for BI-focused roles

Tableau Desktop Specialist

Tableau

Yes (if using Tableau)

Cost

$250

Effort

2-4 weeks

Good for DA roles using Tableau

UX Designer

Google UX Design Certificate

Coursera/Google

Yes

Cost

~$200

Effort

3-6 months

Good starting point, portfolio projects included

Nielsen Norman Group UX Certification

NN/g

Only if funded

Cost

$3,000+

Effort

1+ year

Prestigious but expensive

QA Engineer

ISTQB Foundation Level

ISTQB

Yes

Cost

~$200

Effort

1-2 months

Industry standard worldwide

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

AWS

Yes (optional)

Cost

$100

Effort

1 month

Good complement for DevOps QA

A certification helps you get the interview. Your portfolio and story get you the job.

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