The market for IT certifications has shifted from “nice-to-have” resume bling to a measurable career lever: certifications in cloud, cybersecurity, data and AI, and project management are driving hiring decisions, raising starting salaries, and shaping enterprise training budgets — a reality laid out in the FTN News overview and supported by industry salary and labor-data reports.
Background / Overview
The FTN News piece frames certifications as practical, career-accelerating credentials that deliver both employer value and improved earnings potential for professionals. Its roundup highlights five core areas where credentialing produces the most measurable returns: cloud computing, data science & analytics, cybersecurity, project management, and artificial intelligence (AI). The article positions vendor and vendor‑agnostic certifications as the quickest route to validated, on‑the‑job skills.Industry surveys corroborate the FTN News thesis: the latest Global Knowledge (Skillsoft) IT Skills & Salary Report shows that certification prevalence is rising and that certified staff are perceived to add significant value to employers. The report found that most tech professionals now hold at least one certification and that decision‑makers estimate certified staff produce measurable organizational benefits.
This article unpacks the FTN analysis, verifies salary and demand claims against independent data, and evaluates the real value and risks of certification paths for Windows and broader IT professionals. The goal is to deliver actionable guidance — which credentials to prioritize, realistic salary expectations, and practical career roadmaps — while flagging claims that need caution or additional verification.
The demand map: where hiring momentum lives
Cloud: the single biggest hiring engine
Cloud skills remain the most in‑demand credentials. AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) certifications continue to dominate enterprise hiring lists, with AWS widely reported as the largest catalog and the most frequent mention in job postings, Azure growing rapidly inside large enterprises and regulated industries, and GCP earning traction for data/ML roles. The FTN News roundup highlights AWS Solutions Architect and Azure Solutions Architect as “wallet‑boosting” credentials.Independent labor and platform reports support that view. Job listings and platform talent reports show AWS with the broadest footprint, while Azure and GCP are expanding fast in enterprise, finance, and AI verticals. Employers frequently prefer deep, vendor‑specific cloud skills combined with cross‑platform fluency in tools such as Kubernetes and Terraform.
Cybersecurity: steady demand, high ceilings
Security certifications like CISSP, CEH, CCSP, and specialty cloud‑security credentials are consistently listed among the top paying and most mission‑critical credentials. FTN News calls CISSP a “lock‑tight seatbelt” for careers in security — and ISC2’s salary data shows that CISSP holders in North America report very strong compensation relative to global averages.AI & Data: the new frontier for premiums
AI and data credentials (TensorFlow, Google Professional Data Engineer, Vertex AI, and platform‑agnostic ML engineering skills) are increasingly priced into compensation, especially where organizations are building production ML systems or MLOps pipelines. LinkedIn and other workforce trackers show AI roles among the fastest‑growing job titles, making AI‑adjacent certifications especially valuable for salary negotiation.Project management and agile credentials: steady ROI
Project management certifications such as PMP and agile credentials (CSM, PSM) remain high‑value for non‑technical leadership and product delivery roles. FTN News highlights the PMP as a long‑standing salary differentiator for managers. Industry salary aggregators show PM certification often correlates with an uplift — though published averages vary by source and geography.Salary reality check: what the numbers actually say
Evaluating “how much” certifications pay requires parsing multiple data sources: employer job listings, vendor salary surveys, independent aggregators, and professional association reports. Below are cross‑checked salary signals for the key certifications FTN News emphasizes.- AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Associate / Professional)
Salary.com reports a U.S. average base for AWS Solutions Architect credentials near $128k (updated Jan 1, 2025), with broader market snapshots placing senior architect and professional levels considerably higher — frequently in the $140k–$170k range depending on experience and location. Aggregate ranking sites and specialty salary guides show overlapping bands that align with these figures. - CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)
ISC2’s own regional salary releases indicate North American CISSP holders report average compensation well above global means — in the high five‑figures to mid six‑figures depending on role and seniority. Independent aggregators (Glassdoor, Payscale, Coursera summaries) show median CISSP‑related salaries commonly ranging from roughly $120k to $150k in the U.S., with security architects and CISO roles near the top end. Use role context when interpreting CISSP numbers: the cert itself is an experience‑gated credential. - PMP (Project Management Professional)
PMP salary estimates vary by data source. Some aggregators report average PM pay near $88k–$120k, while PMP‑certified PMs — especially in IT — frequently report averages around $100k–$130k. Note the variation: industry, size of projects, and region significantly influence outcomes. - Data & AI certifications (Google Professional Data Engineer, TensorFlow, IBM Data Science)
Salaries for data roles depend heavily on role (data analyst vs. data engineer vs. ML engineer). Top Data/ML engineers typically command salaries north of $120k, and specialist ML engineers or those running production ML at scale can exceed $150k–$200k, particularly in high‑cost tech hubs. Vendor certifications help, but employers prioritize demonstrable project experience and production systems.
The value proposition: what certifications reliably deliver
Certifications deliver value in three overlapping ways:- Signal and screening value — Recruiters and hiring managers use certifications as efficient filters to validate baseline skills and reduce hiring friction. Global Knowledge found that certified employees are widely perceived as more productive and engaged.
- Skills and structure — Certifications create a curriculum and a measurable learning path, which is useful for disciplined upskilling (hands-on labs, exam objectives, role‑based skills outlines). For companies, standardized cert frameworks make team-level capability planning easier.
- Negotiation leverage — In many markets, holding a current, in‑demand certification helps in salary and role negotiations; combined credentials or specialty tracks (e.g., AWS Solutions Architect + DevOps + Security specialty) can materially lift offers. Salary aggregators show bundled credentials often lead to premium compensation.
Practical roadmap: choosing the right certification for your goals
Certifications are not one-size-fits-all. Match your certification plan to role aspirations and market signals.- If you want to be a cloud generalist:
- Start with platform fundamentals: AWS Cloud Practitioner or Microsoft AZ‑900.
- Move to role associate certs: AWS Solutions Architect – Associate or Azure Administrator (AZ‑104).
- Add cross‑cutting skills: Terraform, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines.
- If you aim for data/ML:
- Begin with SQL and Python fundamentals.
- Earn Google Professional Data Engineer or platform ML certs (Vertex AI / SageMaker).
- Build end‑to‑end projects (ingestion → training → deployment → monitoring) and learn MLOps tools.
- If security is your priority:
- For entry: CompTIA Security+ or vendor foundation certs.
- For senior roles: CISSP, CCSP, and cloud security specialties.
- Combine technical certs with hands‑on labs and capture real incident response or cloud‑security projects.
- If you prefer management or delivery leadership:
- Pursue PMP for formal project governance.
- For agile team leadership, obtain CSM or PSM.
- Pair with technical certs to move into program or product management roles that require domain fluency.
Strengths and strategic advantages noted in the FTN coverage
- Clear market alignment: FTN News correctly calls out cloud, AI, security, data, and project management as the highest‑value credential clusters. These align with vendor roadmaps, employer demand, and third‑party labor analyses.
- Actionable advice: The article’s practical study tips (hands‑on labs, mock exams, platform training) are consistent with best practice learning methods widely advocated across vendor learning platforms and professional training firms.
- Realistic ROI framing: The piece emphasizes that certifications are validation tools rather than guarantees of a job — a nuance sometimes missing from marketing collateral. The best ROI appears when certs are combined with project experience and role‑aligned skills.
Risks, limitations, and what FTN News didn’t fully quantify
- Vendor lock‑in reality: Deep platform knowledge (e.g., proprietary PaaS, managed foundation models) speeds hiring but increases migration costs later. Multiple industry analyses warn about long‑term portability problems if you tie architecture to proprietary primitives without abstraction layers. Organizations should design for portability and professionals should avoid single‑platform dependence unless their career map facilities it.
- Salary snapshots are variable: Many online “top-paying certs” lists compress wide salary ranges into single numbers. Aggregators differ in methodology; some use self‑reported data, others scrape job postings. Treat any single number as a directional estimate — cross‑reference BLS, vendor reports, and market salary aggregators before negotiating. FTN News provides helpful direction but its pay claims must be grounded in live market checks.
- Certs vs. demonstrable experience: Employers increasingly prize demonstrable delivery — production deployments, code samples, architecture diagrams — over certificate counts. Certifications open doors, but real projects often close the deal. FTN News highlights this; corroborating reports emphasize building a portfolio alongside exams.
- Inflation and regional pay gaps: Geographic location, company size, and sector heavily influence offers. A certified cloud architect in a U.S. tech hub will likely see much higher compensation than an identical profile in a lower‑cost region. FTN News notes the salary upside but readers must contextualize by region and role.
- Rapidly changing AI market: AI engineer demand is intense and wages are rising quickly, but platform choices (hosted LLMs vs. open models), regulatory changes, and shifting cost structures for inference can change which skills are most valuable. FTN News flags AI certs as high‑value; professionals should track vendor roadmaps and seek platform‑agnostic MLOps skills where possible.
How to evaluate cert programs and avoid common pitfalls
- Confirm what employers actually list: search job postings in your target geography and role for required certs and version numbers. If a qualification appears rarely, deprioritize it.
- Prefer courses with hands‑on labs and real project work rather than pure memorization. Employers will probe for examples of real delivery.
- Watch for recertification and renewal costs; some vendors require continuing education or exam renewals that create recurring expenses.
- Beware of shortcuts: exam‑preparation mills promise quick pass rates but don’t always provide usable skills. Combine exam prep with sandbox projects.
- Consider employer‑sponsored programs: many firms have training budgets and will reimburse certification costs when the certification aligns with business needs. FTN News mentions vendor training ecosystems and marketplaces that can be helpful — but validate employer reimbursement policy before investing.
A realistic cost/benefit example
Consider a mid‑career systems engineer targeting cloud architect roles.- Investment:
- Study time: 3–6 months per major cert (varies).
- Exam fees: $150–$300 for fundamentals, $300–$400+ for professional exams; some specialty exams cost more.
- Paid training (optional): $0–$3,000 per course.
- Potential benefit:
- Faster job screening for cloud architect roles.
- Salary uplift: market estimates imply passing from $110k–$130k roles into $130k–$170k ranges when combined with experience and multiple certs.
- Career resilience across hybrid and cloud‑first organizations.
Tactical checklist: maximize certification ROI
- Choose 1 foundational cert and 1 specialty cert for your first 12 months.
- Build a public portfolio (GitHub, architecture write‑ups, deployments in free tiers).
- Track job postings weekly to ensure your cert choices match employer demand.
- Learn cost optimization and governance (cloud ops skills that directly save money are highly prized).
- Keep learning: supplement cert study with hands‑on labs, community meetups, and open‑source contributions.
Conclusion
FTN News’ primer on “IT Certifications in Demand” correctly identifies the credential clusters that matter in today’s market — cloud, security, data/AI, and project delivery — and provides practical study guidance that matches industry best practices. Independent salary and labor‑market sources verify that these certifications can and do improve hiring prospects and compensation, though outcomes vary widely by role, experience, and geography.Certifications are powerful career accelerants when chosen deliberately and paired with demonstrable, production‑grade experience. The rational path is to treat them as part of a broader professional portfolio: strategic cert selection, practical projects, cross‑discipline skills (cloud + security + automation), and ongoing market validation. Be mindful of vendor lock‑in, recurring costs, and the variability of salary snapshots; verify claims with live job searches and multiple salary data sources as you plan your learning investment.
For Windows professionals and IT practitioners, the smartest investment is a blended one: a credential that signals capability, plus observable projects that demonstrate delivery. Follow the roadmap, validate with current market data, and let your certifications amplify — not replace — practical expertise.
Source: FTN news IT Certifications in Demand: Salary, Value & Professional News - Focus on Travel News