Learning
Certifications & Exam Prep
Official certification paths, and honest notes on which are worth paying for.
Where to start
A certificate is worth what the hiring market pays for it, which varies enormously — cloud and security certifications clear that bar, most others do not. Always prepare from the official exam guide rather than a course description, because the guide is what the questions are written against. Everything listed is the vendor’s own page, so the syllabus is the current one. The free group is where to start if you are paying for this yourself.
Free to earn5
Real certifications with no exam fee, or a free training path attached.
- Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)Start hereFree tier
An entry-level security certification ISC2 has been offering free to newcomers, training included.
- Cisco Networking AcademyStart hereFree tier
Free networking and security courses, including CCNA preparation material.
- freeCodeCamp CertificationsStart hereFree
Free, project-based certifications. Not recognised the way a vendor certification is, but the projects are real.
- Fortinet TrainingStart hereFree tier
Network security training with a substantial free tier, widely used as a first security credential.
- Google Cloud Skills BoostStart hereFree tier
Several complete learning paths carry no cost; the labs within them are where credits get used.
Cloud4
- AWS CertificationCorePaid
Exam guides, sample questions and the path from Cloud Practitioner upwards. The guides are free even though the exams are not.
- Microsoft CredentialsCorePaid
Azure, Security and Power Platform certifications, each with a free structured learning path attached.
- Google Cloud CertificationCorePaid
Associate and Professional tracks. The Professional Cloud Architect case studies are published and worth reading early.
- Certified Kubernetes AdministratorAdvancedPaid
Entirely hands-on: a real cluster and a time limit. One of the few certifications that cannot be passed by memorising.
Security and data4
- CompTIA CertificationsStart herePaid
Vendor-neutral entry points — A+, Network+, Security+. Security+ is the one that opens doors in defensive security.
- OffSec Courses and CertificationsAdvancedPaid
OSCP and the rest. Brutal, practical, and the closest thing to a respected offensive-security standard.
- GIAC CertificationsAdvancedPaid
The most expensive security certifications there are, and the most respected in incident response.
- Databricks CertificationCorePaid
Data engineering and machine learning certifications, with free self-paced training behind an account.
Project and product3
- Project Management InstituteCorePaid
CAPM and PMP. Worth it in organisations that ask for it by name, and rarely otherwise.
- Scrum.org CertificationsStart herePaid
PSM and PSPO. The open assessments are free to practise against and are a fair sample of the real thing.
- Google Career CertificatesStart herePaid
Data analytics, UX, IT support and project management. Linked at Coursera because grow.google sends visitors outside the US to a country page instead.
About this list
16 resources, checked automatically every week so dead links do not sit here unnoticed. Nothing on this page is sponsored and none of these links pay us — which is the only reason a recommendation on it is worth anything. Every link goes to the original source, and we take nothing with you when you leave.