In this post, I'm going to be ranking the Google career certificates from A tier, which is the best to F tier, which is the worst. Now, these Google career certificates are basically like a job cheat code. And the reason I say they're like a job cheat code is because pretty much nobody knows about these right now. And they're incredibly valuable.
The reason these massive companies like Google, IBM, Meta, et cetera, started creating these certificates is because of the fact that there were certain positions where there simply were not enough people who had those skills. And college was not keeping up with the demand.
So after getting frustrated with college, they decided, you know what, let's go ahead and create our own alternative to it. And they created the professional certificate program and they partnered with Coursera to do it.
And so with these certificates, even if you decide to not take them, it's worth it to know what subjects they're teaching, because those are the subjects that are in demand right now. Those are the subjects that these big companies want from people. Those are the skills they want people to have. But honestly, I do not know if this is going to last forever because right now it's basically like a career cheat code. So if this changes in the future, I will let you know.
Table of Contents
Google data analytics certificate
The first one we're going to talk about is the Google data analytics certificate. And this is one of my favorites. First of all, I have had several people report to me that they have gotten jobs with just the data analytics certificate alone.
But with that being said, I do not think that for most people getting just the data analytics certificate is going to be enough. I think you should supplement this with other certificates, like maybe the IBM certificate. I think that also you should do some study outside of Coursera. And the biggest thing here is you need to work on your portfolio.
So yes, it will help you create a base portfolio, but you should be doing other things outside of that as well. For the value that it gives, this one is incredible. On the site, this one has a 4.8-star rating with over 61,000 ratings. The cost is about $39 a month. When you look at the demand for Data Analysts on LinkedIn at the entry-level, there are 578,000 results. That's absolutely nuts. And if you look up Data Analyst on Glassdoor, you're gonna see they make about $93,000 a year. So this is one where it is a little bit harder to get into than some of the other ones.
There are certain careers I recommend on this website that are super easy to get into. IT, tech sales, and digital marketing are relatively easy to get into. Data analytics, is a little bit harder, to get into but with that being said, it is a really good one and this one gets A-tier status.
Google IT automation with Python
The next one on the list is Google IT automation with Python. This is one that I'm not as excited about but with that being said even the ones I'm not super excited about are still pretty good. Like I'm not lying, they're still really good value. The ones that I'm more excited about are ones where it can either almost get you a job or straight up get you a job. And those are the ones that I put in the A tier.
It has 29,000 ratings, 4.8 stars. So people are relatively happy with it when they take it. It's $39 a month. And this is one that could get you into many different jobs. I think a lot of the people who take this particular certificate are people who are already in IT and they want to learn a little bit more programming. They want to learn some Python.
So if you're in that situation, this one is like A tier. But if you're somebody who doesn't know anything about IT, you don't know anything about programming, I don't think this is the best one to get right off the bat. So one career path you might go down is becoming an IT administrator.
And by the way, there are like 100 different random little IT jobs. So don't be surprised when you see like kind of lower results on these, whereas data analytics is like 500,000. Trust me, there are a ton of jobs in IT. So IT administrator is like 14,000 results.
So IT admins make about $72,000 according to Glassdoor. You might also become an IT software engineer, they make about 110,000. So yeah, there are some really good options here. This one, because of the fact that it's not as beginner-friendly, in my opinion, it's more made for people who already have a little bit of experience. I can't put it in a higher tier. I have to give this one an E-tier rating. But with that being said, it's still great. Like a lot of these certificates are amazing.
Google project management certificate
Next is going to be the Google project management certificate. 4.8 out of five stars with 73,000 ratings. So it's a really good one. Of course, you could become a project manager or a project coordinator. Project manager, there are about 74,000 results. Project coordinator, there's 30,000. There are a lot of random jobs you can get into this one.
Again, it's one of those things where there's a lot of sort of scattered random jobs you can get into. So you're not gonna see the immediate massive number. But yeah, 30,000 project assistants, 66,000 operations managers, 68,000 program managers, 76,000 scrum masters, and 33,000 project associates, etc. I think you get my point. And those are all at the entry-level.
And if you type in project manager on Glassdoor, you're gonna see about $84,000 a year. So really nice salary there. So this is one where if you already have a little bit of experience and you want to move into kind of a project management type role, that would be a great certificate to get. You can get it on your own. You can get into a project management role with the certificate alone.
I have seen people do it. But with that being said, probably best if you maybe get another certificate and also probably best if you already have a little bit of work experience. So because of the fact that you need a little bit of work experience, I can't give this one too high of a rating, but it is phenomenal.
Lots of people absolutely rave about this one online. We basically scraped the internet when we were doing this project. So, and yeah, I'll give this one B-tier.
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Google UX design certificate
The next one is the Google UX design certificate. So UX stands for user experience. And this is one that a lot of people want to get into because of the fact that it is kind of an artistic type career. They want to get into UX UI design now typically the UI portion is the more popular one because that's more of kind of the artistic portion whereas the UX portion is a little bit more of the analysis type portion.
But with that being said, if you want to get into a UI role, a lot of the time they expect you to be really good at the UX side of things as well. So again, with this one, I have seen people get in with just taking the certificate without having a degree or anything like that. But with that being said, you are going to have to have a super solid portfolio.
Anything that involves designing websites or aesthetic sort of things, you have to have a super good portfolio when you're doing that. So you can't just take this certificate, do the basic portfolio stuff that they offer inside of it, and expect to get a job. You are going to have to work on your own unique projects and have some things that you can show in that portfolio.
But that being said, 4.8 out of five stars with over 58,000 ratings. If you look up UX design on LinkedIn at the entry-level, you're going to see about 16,000 results, which is pretty good. And again, this is another one where it's not always called UX design. There are a bunch of different words for it, but there is a good amount of demand for this one, especially for something that's kind of art-related.
Now, if you look up UX designers on Glassdoor, you're gonna see they make about $97,000 a year. And UI designers make even more at about $100,000 a year. And again, like I said before, there's a bunch of different names for this.
So for instance, UX researchers make about $99,000 a year. Now, with that being said, with this one, it is going to be inherently more difficult to get kind of an art-related career just because of the fact that so many other people want to get those types of careers. The supply and demand are not going to be nearly as off as it is with some of the other careers on this list.
This is a great way for you to kind of dip your toe into UX design, and see if it's something you want to do. And if you are able to get the certificate, it is going to set you apart quite a bit. So the Google UX design certificate, I'm going to give this one B-tier status.
IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Certificate
Next on the list is the IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Certificate. Now for this one, I have seen relatively mediocre ratings and feedback online, as well as people who have talked to me after they've taken it. It is rated 4.6 out of five stars. I will say that there's not a lot of really great resources for getting directly into cybersecurity.
A lot of the time the people who get into cybersecurity kind of make a horizontal career shift from IT or maybe software development. So this is another one of those certificates where it's probably going to be better for you if you already have a little bit of career experience.
On Coursera eighty-four thousand is the median entry-level salary. They also say that 20 percent of graduates actually started a new career. Now, that is a little bit of a suspicious number right there, because, I mean, at any given time, probably 20 percent of people might be starting a new career or like, Maybe not 20%, but a good amount of people are starting a new career.
So why did they start a new career at Starbucks, start a new career working as a carpenter? Like you never really know, right? So that's a little bit of a suspect number right there. I'd like them to dive into the data a little bit more. But that being said, there is a ton of opportunity out there for people who are cybersecurity professionals.
So they say about 205,000 in-demand job openings in cybersecurity. So there's a bunch of different names for the careers. So for instance, security architect, 20,000 results, cybersecurity engineer, 15,000 results, malware tester, 1,800 results, penetration tester, 15,000 results, application security engineer, 14,000 results, cloud security specialist, 32,000 results, and cybersecurity analyst, 15,000 results.
So we're not going to go over all of those different ones again when it comes to the salary. Cybersecurity analysts make about $87,000 a year. And if you're able to become a security architect, you make about $174,000 a year.
Now, for all those reasons I mentioned, the fact that it has a little bit lower ratings, I haven't really heard as much like really positive stuff about this one. And because of the fact that you probably are going to have to have a little bit of career experience to get into this, I have to give this one E-tier status. But with that being said, for the price it's still pretty valuable, it's still probably worth the amount that you have to pay now.
IBM data analyst certificate
Next, let's talk about the IBM data analyst certificate. So this is that certificate that I said, might be a good idea for you to take alongside the Google professional certificate. But with that being said, the rating here is 4.6 out of five stars with 11,000 ratings.
I already talked about all the demand for data analysts. So I'm not going to go over that again. But I will say that this one has gotten less good feedback than the Google Data Analyst certificate, but it's still gotten pretty good feedback. And especially for the price, this one is an incredible value. So I'll put this one in the B tier.
IBM data science certificate
So next on the list, we're going to cover the IBM data science certificate. So data science is kind of a step above data analytics. And yes, I know before somebody says, yes, I know it's data. But anyway, data science is a step above data analytics. And typically people who become data scientists first become data analysts. So this is another one of those certificates where it's really not entry-level.
You're not gonna be able to go straight into a data scientist role. In fact, people who go straight into a data scientist role typically have master's degrees. So the much more common method of getting into this is to first become a data analyst, work on that for a few years probably, learn a bunch of other extra skills, and then become a data scientist.
But with that being said, this one has a 4.6 out of five-star rating as well. So relatively good with 61,000 ratings. And if you type in data scientists on LinkedIn, you sort by entry-level, you're going to see about 137,000 results. So tons of opportunities for data scientists. And there's a bunch of other roles you can go into like data architect, data engineer, marketing analyst, et cetera.
And if you look up data scientists on Glassdoor, you're going to see $125,000 a year. So very high-paying job. And if you type in data architect, even higher paying at $162,000 a year. So yeah, data science and a bunch of the careers that are related to it, are super high paying, super in demand.
I've talked about this over and over again on this website. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse, but data is worth more than oil or gold. It's incredibly valuable. It's also incredibly sketchy. People are taking your data against your will. TikTok is like the devil, basically, but I'm not going to get into that right now.
Meta Social Media Marketing Certificate
Next on the list is going to be the Meta Social Media Marketing Certificate. Now, this one, I haven't gotten a lot of feedback on it. So I'm probably going to put it in a lower tier just because I don't know for sure if it's really good. And, you know, in the future, I might get more feedback on this one and then I would put it in a higher tier.
But with that being said, it is ranked 4.9 out of five stars on social media. Marketing is incredibly valuable. I think everybody knows that the content creation ecosystem is just getting bigger and bigger. Brands are starting to figure out that it's much better to reach people organically than to reach people with paid ads. And this is a relatively broad skill set.
So social media marketing could encompass just making updates on a company's Twitter all the way to stuff like contacting different YouTubers and trying to get paid sponsorships for them. So obviously, depending on what you specialize in and social media marketing, there are going to be better jobs out there.
But with that being said, if you type in social media marketing on LinkedIn at the entry-level, you're going to see thirty-seven thousand results. And there's a bunch of other random names for the things that you could do that are not under social media marketing. So it's another one of those.
And if you type in social media marketer on Glassdoor, you're going to see about forty-five thousand dollars a year. So that's not bad. But at the same time, it's not nearly as good as a lot of the other ones on the list. and I don't think this is nearly as valuable of a skill set in my opinion than a lot of the other ones on the list. For that reason, I will give this one a C-tier ranking.
Python for everybody
The next one on the list is going to be Python for everybody. This is one where there are 200,000 ratings and it is a 4.8-star rating. So this is Python for everybody's specialization. So I'm gonna give this one a little bit lower of a rating than you probably think.
I mean, you see 4.8, 200,000 ratings, you think, okay, he definitely gonna give this one like A tier or B tier, but actually I'm not. And the reason for that is because it doesn't really teach you how to land a job. I like courses and certifications that are outcome-based.
I'm not a big fan of these certifications that are just like, oh, we're gonna teach you this or teach you that or you're gonna be job-ready or whatever. I don't really like that as much as the ones that are like this course is designed to land you a job.
Now, I do think this one has good feedback, and has gotten relatively good feedback when I scraped online, but I didn't hear of that many people who actually landed jobs with this one. So in my opinion, the way that I evaluate courses, that is going to knock it down a little bit for me.
But with that being said, Python developer, if you type that in on LinkedIn at the entry-level, you're going to see 16,000 results. And there are a ton of other random jobs you can go into. This is another one of those.
If you type in Python developer on Glassdoor, you're going to see they make about $101,000 a year. So this is one where, you know, on this site, I give you practical advice, and this is something that's probably going to hurt a little bit, but Chances are, if you're somebody who kind of got into self-development, you're trying to teach yourself these valuable skills, there's a good chance that you have fallen into the trap of paralysis by analysis.
You are information overloading yourself. You're learning all this stuff, but for one, you're not actually learning it because it's too passive, right? You're watching all those videos on Python tutorials and stuff like that, but it's too passive. You're not actually learning it because you aren't applying it to the real world.
And then for two, you are not showcasing the skills you're not creating projects that you can put in your portfolio and so what ends up happening is when you try to learn everything you end up learning nothing.
Because I'm being honest with you, let's say you're starting tutorials like two years ago, you probably could have gotten a job a year ago, maybe even a year and a half ago. And that's if you just focused on the things that you actually need to know to land an entry-level job.
So yeah, for this one, I'm going to have to go ahead and give it a D-tier status. But if you disagree with me, go ahead. Let me know why down in the comment section below. Everybody wins if you do this.
Google IT Support Certificate
All right, so the next one on the list is going to be the Google IT Support Certificate. And this is basically the one that started it all. So with this one, there are 153,000 certificates. Ratings, a ton of people have taken this one and it's 4.8 out of 5 stars.
This is the one that is the oldest and most tested because I believe it was Google's very first certificate that they released. And back when I first covered this certificate, I was a little bit skeptical of it. I wasn't sure if it was going to be as good as people were saying, but over time, more and more people had great outcomes with it. And I just saw over and over again, people getting results, with the google it support certificate.
Now, IT support is a career that is super easy for you to break into. And I know you're probably thinking, these certificates, there's so many certificates in IT. Oh, my God. You go to some event, you get a certificate. If you take some kind of class on Udemy, you get a certificate. And at the end of the day, these certificates are almost like participation trophies.
And that's true for a lot of them. Don't get me wrong. That's actually completely true. But these Google support certificates, they're actually incredibly valuable for three reasons.
- The certificates are actually relatively respected by hiring managers, recruiters, and business owners. The people who actually matter. And the reason for that is because of brand name recognition. People who see a certificate from Google, IBM, Meta, etc. They are going to respect that more than some random certificate from a company that they've never heard of.
- The second reason is they give you access to job boards that you wouldn't have access to otherwise that hundreds of companies are a part of.
- The third reason and this is probably the most ninja stuff I've ever talked about on this website. This is like basically a cheat code, and that is When you put this on your LinkedIn profile, whether you post about it or whether you put that you're actually taking the certificate, you don't even need to finish it. And so it's another way for you to get discovered.
And I had a ton of people tell me or comment on my YouTube channel that they were actually found from certificates through LinkedIn. So businesses actually reached out to them because of the fact that they put that they were taking the certificate on their LinkedIn profile.
So these certificates definitely do make a difference and they set you apart. They're not necessarily going to get you 100% of the way to a job, like take you from zero to 100, like some of the online courses that I recommend will, but they might get you 80-90 of the way there, and then you just have to get yourself the rest of the 10 there.
Typically, that's going to involve making a really good portfolio and making sure that you have the skills necessary. So there are like a million different little random IT-related jobs kind of like I talked about before when I went over the other IT certificate. However according to the certificate, there are over 400,000 in-demand job openings with IT, and I believe that. 75 of Google career certificate graduates report career improvement.
And if you look at computer support specialists, there are over 875,000 jobs, according to BLS. Now, if you start off at a super entry-level role like a help desk, for instance, you can expect to make about $46,000 a year. A little bit up from that would be systems analysts. They make around $86,000 a year. And there is a ton of different opportunities to get into IT.
It's probably the easiest way that you can get your foot in the door in the technology industry, which is probably the best industry that you can work in. The only other job that's as easy to get your foot in the door is tech sales. And let's be honest, a lot of people, they probably don't want to do tech sales because it's a sales role.
So if you're not the type of person who wants to do sales, prospecting, marketing, that sort of thing, but you still want to get a really good job and you want to get into the technology industry, IT help desk is probably the best way to get there.
