Six Hot Developer Certifications for 2022

You may be a software developer, an application engineer, a computer programmer, or a mobile app designer. Or maybe you’re the one your office coworkers refer to as “The Dev.” It all boils down to the same thing: You are an IT professional who builds and supports the software that powers the modern world.

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Software developers create the programs that live in the background, ubiquitous and unobtrusive, but imperative to our working and personal lives. We interact with software when we use our phones, drive our cars, do our jobs, bank and shop online, and binge watch seasons of our favorite shows.

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The future for developers continues to look bullish in 2022 and beyond. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment for software developers, QA analysts, and testers is expected to grow by 22 percent over the current decade. This projected growth significantly outpaces the average for other BLS job categories.

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While many developers come from college and university degree programs, there are several excellent training and certification options for anyone looking to enter the software industry. There are also many certifications for existing developers who want to focus on an aspect of software creation that best matches their skills and interests.

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With this in mind, let's take a look at six software developer certifications with the potential to gain traction in the industry in 2022.

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Amazon Web Services Certified Developer - Associate

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If something is on the internet, then there's a good chance it's being hosted by Amazon Web Services. AWS is the 800-pound gorilla of web hosting and business-related cloud services. Amazon has created a full-fledged training and certification program for AWS, including several credentials for software developers.

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The Amazon Web Services Certified Developer - Associate certification is an intermediate cert aimed at developers with at least one year of experience developing and maintaining an AWS-based application. This certification is an ideal training option for someone who has just waded into AWS software development and wants to start swimming ahead.

Exam at a Glance
Difficulty level: Intermediate
AWS exam number: DVA-C01
Number of questions: 65 multiple choice and multiple answer questions
Exam time limit: 130 minutes

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Google Professional Cloud Developer

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Although Google Cloud hasn't achieved the same level of market share as AWS, it is still a popular and industry-relevant platform. Google Cloud has the advantage of being able to tie into the massive Google ecosystem, which includes the top web browser and search engine on the planet.

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The Google Professional Cloud Developer certification is recommended for software devs with three or more years of industry experience, with at least one of those years spent creating and managing Google Cloud solutions. The certification exam is available in English and Japanese versions, and can be taken at test centers or via an online-proctored system.

Exam at a Glance
Difficulty level: Intermediate
Question types: Multiple choice and and multiple answer
Time limit: 120 minutes
Exam requirements: Candidates must be 18+ years of age.

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Oracle Certified Associate Java Programmer

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Java continues to be one of the most popular programming languages in the world. Platform-independent, object-oriented, and class-based, Java also serves as the basis for Android, the world's most popular mobile OS.

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The Oracle Certified Associate Java Programmer certification is part of the extensive training program offered by the Oracle University site. The most current version of this certificate is based on Java SE 11. Java developers should consider getting certified by Oracle, the home base of the language since 2010, over other available options.

Exam at a Glance
Difficulty level: Intermediate
Oracle exam number: 1Z0-819
Time limit: 90 minutes
Number of questions: 50 multiple choice questions
Passing score: 68 percent

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Professional Scrum Developer

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The Scrum project management framework is very prevalent in the software industry, and countless developers take part in Scrum-based projects every year. The Professional Scrum Developer certification from Scrum.org was created to give software developers the knowledge necessary to work in Scrum-led groups.

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This is a good certification for software developers who eventually want to transition into more senior roles. The combination of project management know-how and software development chops represented by the Professional Scrum Developer credential make for an excellent career pairing.

Exam at a Glance
Difficulty level: Intermediate
Time limit: 60 minutes
Number of questions: 80 multiple choice, multiple answer, and true/false questions
Passing score: 85 percent

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Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate

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Microsoft's Azure cloud platform is another chief competitor of Amazon Web Services, with a respectable market share in the cloud services industry. And like Google, Microsoft has a massively rich software ecosystem that its cloud services can leverage, which makes Azure skills and knowledge highly desirable to have.

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The Azure Developer Associate certification is an advanced-level credential for developers with 1-to-2 years of experience with Microsoft Azure. As Microsoft describes it, candidates for this certification "are cloud developers who participate in all phases of development from requirements definition and design to development, deployment, and maintenance."

Exam at a Glance
Difficulty level: Advanced
Microsoft exam number: AZ-204, Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
Passing score: 700
Most recent exam update: Exam was refreshed on April 19, 2022.

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International JavaScript Institute: Certified JavaScript Developer

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Although it was created in the previous century, the JavaScript programming language remains a key component of web development while still maintaining a presence in non-browser applications. Basically, if you are developing for the web, chances are good you will need to use JavaScript at some point.

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The Certified JavaScript Developer certification from the International JavaScript Institute is recognized as one of the premier vendor-neutral software developer certifications in the industry.

Exam at a Glance
Exam code: CJSD
Number of questions: 70 multiple choice, multiple answer, and short answer questions
Passing score: 70 percent
Exam format: Online proctored

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