Certifications & exams > Certifications > Why get certified
Why get certified?
Verify your skills and unlock opportunity
This is an exciting time to get certified: our certification paths reflect today's cloud-focused jobs, helping you to get hired, get ahead, be productive faster, and to receive the recognition you deserve.
Why get certified? Certifications give you a professional edge by providing globally recognised industry endorsed evidence of skills mastery, demonstrating your abilities and willingness to embrace new technologies. Verify your skills—and unlock your opportunities.
High-growth opportunity
Upon earning a certification, 23% of Microsoft certified technologists reported receiving up to a 20% salary increase. What’s more, certified employees are often entrusted with supervising their peers—putting them on the fast track for a promotion.
When you pass a Microsoft Certification exam, you’ll have access to your Microsoft Badge; share your certification online with your professional network, and unlock your salary potential.
Download the 2017 Pearson VUE Value of Certification white paper
A career building block
Professionals can expect career advancement from certification. Employers regularly use certifications as selection criteria for hiring and promotion, and are willing to pay certified professionals more. Some fields, like security, networking, and cloud are completely shaped by certifications. The credentials define a clear career ladder from beginner to expert, validating qualifications at each career stage.
Burning Glass, The Narrow Ladder: The Value of Industry Certifications in the Job Market, November 2017
Become a leader
Certified new hires reach full productivity sooner, and end up having more opportunities for advancement. On average, certified employees earn 15% more than those without certification and are nearly 20% more productive. Learn more about how certification can transform your career and download the newest white paper.
Get hired and be productive faster
Microsoft Certified Professionals spend less time interviewing and more time driving value. Adding a Microsoft certification to your CV helps you stand out and get hired—faster. What’s more, certified new hires are fully productive an entire month sooner than their uncertified peers, making your skills clearly stand out.
38%
38% of IT positions will be cloud related by 2021.
IDC/Microsoft, Cloud Skills and Organisational Influence: How Cloud Skills Are Accelerating the Careers of IT Professional, May 2017
35%
of IT professionals say they are more influential during cloud deployments than counterparts during deployments of other technologies.
IDC/Microsoft, Cloud Skills and Organisational Influence: How Cloud Skills Are Accelerating the Careers of IT Professional, May 2017
36.9%
36.9% of IT professionals claimed certification helped them perform complex tasks more confidently.
Pearson VUE, The Value of IT Certification Survey, January 2017
Get recognised
As a Microsoft Certified Professional, you’ll make immediate impact, helping you get noticed and move forward quickly in your career. Compared to their peers, Microsoft certified developers are 90% more productive and nearly 60% more efficient. This means that they make nearly twice as many applications per year and in half the time per application.
And when you’ve been certified, you can share your achievements in a way that’s trusted and verifiable with your Microsoft badge! Your Microsoft badge empowers you to share your certification online with your professional network, find the employers that are looking for candidates like you, discover your salary potential, and easily apply for jobs.
Discover the Microsoft Certification benefits—and find out how the program has helped people in their careers.
