If you’re already working in IT, you’ve probably felt the pull in two directions: stack another certification or go back for a graduate degree. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way.
The strongest IT résumés typically pair targeted, employer-recognized certifications that prove you can execute a specific technical task with a graduate credential, such as the online Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program from Emporia State University (ESU), which proves you can architect solutions, manage technology programs, and lead teams. This guide breaks down the certifications that working IT professionals are pursuing in 2026, organized by career track, format, and experience requirements you need to plan your next move. It also shows where a degree like Emporia State’s online MSIT fits into that plan.
CompTIA Certifications: The Foundation Stack for IT Professionals
For most IT careers, the entry point is the same three-certification stack from CompTIA. These aren’t flashy, but they’re the baseline credentials that hiring managers use to screen resumes, and each one builds on the last.
- CompTIA A+: The starting line for help desk, desktop support, and technical support roles. It consists of two exams, Core 1 and Core 2, each scored on a 100-900 scale, with passing scores of 675 on Core 1 and 700 on Core 2. There’s no formal experience requirement, which is exactly the point: A+ is designed for people entering IT for the first time. Like all CompTIA certifications, it’s valid for three years, after which you either earn continuing education units or let it lapse.
- CompTIA Network+: The next logical step for anyone moving into network administration or infrastructure support. The single exam requires a scaled score of 720 out of 900 to pass. CompTIA recommends candidates already hold A+ and have roughly 9 to 12 months of networking experience under their belt, though neither is mandatory to sit for the exam. Network+ also runs on a three-year renewal cycle.
- CompTIA Security+: Where the foundation stack turns toward cybersecurity, and it’s become a near-universal baseline requirement for security-adjacent roles, including many U.S. government and defense contractor positions. According to CompTIA’s official Security+ certification page, the current exam version requires a passing score of 750 out of 900 across a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes.
CompTIA recommends that candidates hold Network+ and roughly two years of experience in a security or systems administration role before attempting it. Security+ also renews every three years, and, importantly for your certification roadmap, earning a higher-tier credential like CySA+ automatically renews Security+ (and Network+ and A+ along with it), so the stack compounds instead of creating separate renewal deadlines to track.
Who should start here: anyone early in an IT career, anyone pivoting into IT from another field, and anyone whose resume doesn’t yet have a credential that proves baseline competency. If you already have several years of hands-on experience, you can often skip straight to the role-specific certifications below.
AWS Certifications: Cloud Credentials That Employers Are Paying For
Once you’ve cleared the foundation stack, cloud is where the compensation data gets interesting. AWS remains the certification employers ask for most often, given its continued lead in the cloud infrastructure market share.
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate: Validates your ability to design cost-effective, resilient architectures on AWS. The exam runs for 130 minutes and includes 65 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions. AWS recommends at least one year of hands-on experience designing cloud solutions before you sit for it. It’s valid for three years.
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional: This is the advanced version, a 180-minute, 75-question exam intended for candidates with two or more years of hands-on AWS design and implementation experience. This credential often appears as a preferred (sometimes required) qualification for senior cloud architect and infrastructure lead roles.
Cloud certifications carry some of the largest salary premiums in IT, and the data backs that up. Skillsoft’s Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report, an annual survey of more than 5,100 tech professionals worldwide, found that 93% of respondents now hold at least one certification, and 97% of IT decision-makers say a certified staff adds measurable value to their organization, with 22% estimating that value at $30,000 or more per certified employee. Cloud architecture and cloud security consistently rank among the highest-compensated specializations in the report.
Also Worth Considering: Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud
AWS isn’t the only cloud platform employers are certifying for. If your organization runs a multi-cloud or Microsoft-centric environment, these two credentials matter just as much.
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate: Validates hands-on Azure infrastructure management: compute, storage, networking, and identity. The exam runs about 100 minutes and doesn’t require a formal prerequisite, though Microsoft expects candidates to have practical experience administering Azure resources.
- Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect: Google’s flagship architecture credential: a 120-minute, 50-60 question exam built around case studies, where Google recommends three or more years of industry experience, including at least one year designing and managing solutions on Google Cloud specifically. It’s valid for two years, shorter than most competitors, which keeps holders’ skills demonstrably current.
Best IT Certifications in 2026: By Role, Career Stage and Specialization
Beyond the foundation stack and cloud, the right next certification depends heavily on where you’re headed. Many of these specializations align closely with coursework in Emporia State’s online MSIT program, so it’s worth keeping that pairing in mind as you weigh your next move. Here’s how the highest-value credentials break down by specialization.
Cybersecurity Track
Cybersecurity remains one of the most in-demand specializations in IT, with a clear ladder of credentials from analyst-level work up to security leadership. Here’s how the most recognized certifications in this track stack up.
- CompTIA CySA+ is the mid-tier analyst credential, built around scenario-based, multiple-choice questions. CompTIA recommends Network+ and Security+ first, plus three to four years of hands-on security experience, making it a natural next step after the foundation stack rather than a starting point.
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), issued by ISC2, is widely regarded as the terminal credential for security leadership and architecture roles. Per ISC2’s official experience requirements page, candidates must have a minimum of five years of cumulative, full-time experience in at least two of the certification’s eight security domains. ISC2 explicitly allows a relevant bachelor’s or master’s degree, or an approved credential such as Security+, CySA+, or CISM, to satisfy up to one year of the five-year requirement. An MSIT can do double duty here, advancing your career while also shortening the runway to a CISSP.
- Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), from ISACA, targets governance and security program management rather than hands-on technical work. It generally requires several years of experience in information security management, and waivers are available for candidates with related certifications or education. It’s the credential CISOs and security directors tend to hold.
- Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), from EC-Council, is a knowledge-based, multiple-choice exam focused on penetration testing methodology and tools. EC-Council recommends two years of cybersecurity experience or completion of an official training course.
- Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) sits at the top of the difficulty tier for hands-on penetration testing. Rather than multiple-choice questions, candidates complete a 24-hour practical exam against a live target network and submit a professional penetration test report. This format makes it one of the most respected and most demanding credentials in offensive security.
Project Management / IT Management Track
For IT professionals moving toward management, three certifications dominate hiring conversations. Here’s an overview:
- Project Management Professional (PMP), from the Project Management Institute, is the gold standard for project leadership across every industry, not just IT. The exam covers 180 questions in 230 minutes. Eligibility runs through one of several combinations of education level and verified months leading projects, plus 35 hours of formal project management education. It renews every three years through 60 professional development units.
- ITIL 4 Foundation is the entry point into IT service management frameworks. It is a 40-question, 60-minute exam with a 65% passing threshold and no prerequisites, making it accessible to IT professionals at any career stage who want fluency in service management language and processes.
- CompTIA Project+ is a lighter-weight alternative to PMP for IT professionals who manage smaller technical projects without needing full PMP eligibility. The exam includes up to 90 questions in 90 minutes with a passing score of 710 out of 900. CompTIA recommends six to twelve months of project experience, and now renews continuously through a Continuing Education program rather than requiring a full retake.
Data / Analytics Track
IT professionals expanding into data roles have several accessible entry points. These include the following:
- CompTIA Data+ validates foundational data analysis skills, such as data mining, visualization, governance, and quality, without requiring a technical prerequisite, though CompTIA suggests some prior exposure to database or analytical work. It’s a practical starting point for IT professionals who want to demonstrate data literacy without committing to a full analytics specialization yet.
- Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate, delivered through Coursera, is a subscription-based program (billed monthly) that teaches practical data analytics tools, including spreadsheets, SQL, Tableau, and R, with no prerequisites required. It’s built as a career-change credential rather than a single exam, which suits professionals who want a structured, self-paced path into data work.
- Microsoft’s Azure Data Fundamentals is the true entry point into their data credentials with no prerequisites. It is an effective way to validate core data concepts before moving toward the more advanced, role-based Azure data engineering exams.
How an MSIT Degree Complements IT Certifications and Why Employers Value Both
Here’s the distinction that matters most as you plan your next move: Certifications prove you can perform a specific, well-defined task. A Security+ credential tells an employer you understand access control and cryptographic concepts. An AWS Solutions Architect credential tells them you can design resilient cloud architecture. What certifications generally don’t prove is that you can set technology strategy, manage a portfolio of competing priorities, communicate across finance and operations, or lead the team executing the work. That gap is exactly why many senior IT roles and leadership positions explicitly list a graduate degree as a requirement alongside certifications, not a substitute for them.
This is where an MSIT earns its place next to a certification list rather than instead of one. Emporia State’s online MSIT curriculum was built around the same knowledge areas that the top certifications test, but from the architect’s and manager’s vantage point rather than the operator’s.
The program’s Cloud Computing and Management course provides students with hands-on experience with the public cloud tools and platforms that underlie the AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud certifications listed above. A dedicated Network Security elective covers the same vulnerability, defense, and cybersecurity management concepts tested throughout the Security+ and CySA+ exam objectives. And courses in Enterprise Architecture and Information Systems for Managerial Decision Making build the CIO-level strategic perspective that certifications alone simply aren’t designed to assess. This is the exact perspective employers are screening for when a job posting asks for a master’s degree in addition to a certification list.
The two credentials aren’t competing for the same line on your resume. Certifications keep your technical skills current and verifiable year to year; a graduate degree signals that you can operate at the level where technology decisions meet business strategy. Pursued together, they tell a complete story: a professional who can both execute and lead.
Learn how to advance your career by pairing your certifications with an online MSIT degree from Emporia State.
Frequently Asked Questions
Certifications and graduate degrees raise many practical questions once you start comparing timelines and requirements side by side. Here are answers to some of the most common ones IT professionals ask when planning their next move.
Should you get a certification or a graduate degree first?
Most working professionals start with one or two foundational certifications, since they’re faster to earn and immediately signal a specific skill to employers. From there, a degree like the MSIT is worth adding once you’re ready to move into roles that require strategic or leadership responsibility, since it builds skills certifications don’t test.
How many certifications should I have before I consider a master’s degree?
There’s no fixed number, but most professionals pursuing a graduate degree already hold one to three certifications relevant to their specialty. What matters more than the count is whether your next career move requires skills, like enterprise architecture or cross-functional leadership, that certifications alone don’t cover.
Can an MSIT help me qualify for advanced certifications like CISSP faster?
Yes, in some cases. ISC2, for example, allows a relevant bachelor’s or master’s degree to satisfy up to one year of the experience requirement for the CISSP. Check the specific certifying body’s requirements, since not every credential offers the same credit for graduate education.
Do IT certifications expire, and how does that affect my planning?
Most vendor certifications, including those from CompTIA and AWS, expire on a two- or three-year cycle and require renewal through continuing education or a retake. A graduate degree doesn’t expire the same way, which is one reason many professionals treat it as the more durable credential in a long-term career plan.
About Emporia State University
Emporia State University is a public university based in Emporia, Kansas, with a long-standing focus on accessible, career-relevant graduate education. Its online programs, including the MSIT, are built for working professionals who need the flexibility to advance their careers without stepping away from them.
The ESU School of Business and Technology holds accreditation from AACSB International, a distinction earned by only a fraction of business schools worldwide. That accreditation underpins the rigor of ESU’s online MSIT curriculum, giving graduates a credential that carries weight alongside the technical certifications outlined above.
