1$203k median salary
Validates knowledge of European data protection law, GDPR requirements, data processing rules and organizational compliance and accountability.
800IntermediateNo prerequisites
Highest-Paying Professional Certifications in 2026
60 certifications ranked by median salary in US job postings that ask for them.
2$192k median salary
Validates knowledge of US privacy law, covering regulators, federal laws, government data access, workplace privacy and state laws.
800IntermediateNo prerequisites
3$180k median salary
Validates knowledge of designing, securing, provisioning and optimizing cloud solutions on Google Cloud against business and technical requirements.
200AdvancedNo prerequisites
4$175k median salary
Validates knowledge of designing complex multi-account solutions, improving existing workloads, and migrating and modernizing applications using AWS services.
300AdvancedNo prerequisites
5$166k median salary
Validates knowledge of leading with SAFe, including Lean-Agile mindset, team agility, product flow, portfolio management and leading change.
495EntryNo prerequisites
6$165k median salary
Validates knowledge of financial risk measurement and management across market, credit, operational and liquidity risk, using quantitative methods.
1,600IntermediateHas prerequisites
7$162k median salary
Validates knowledge of securing cloud environments, including architecture, data, platforms, applications, operations and cloud legal and compliance requirements.
734AdvancedHas prerequisites
8$162k median salary
Validates practical skills in Kubernetes cluster setup, workloads and scheduling, services and networking, storage, and troubleshooting.
445IntermediateNo prerequisites
9$161k median salary
Validates knowledge of securing AWS workloads, including threat detection, incident response, infrastructure security, identity, data protection and governance.
300AdvancedNo prerequisites
10$158k median salary
Validates knowledge of information security governance, risk management, security program development and management, and incident management.
810AdvancedHas prerequisites
11$155k median salary
Validates knowledge of designing Azure solutions for identity, governance, monitoring, data, business continuity and infrastructure.
330AdvancedHas prerequisites
12$154k median salary
Validates knowledge of building security into software, from requirements and design to testing, deployment and supply chain.
734AdvancedHas prerequisites
13$154k median salary
Validates knowledge of IT risk governance, risk assessment, risk response and reporting, and technology controls.
810AdvancedHas prerequisites
14$153k median salary
Validates practical penetration testing skills, including enumeration, exploitation, privilege escalation, Active Directory attacks and professional reporting.
1,749AdvancedNo prerequisites
15$153k median salary
Validates knowledge of developing, securing, deploying, troubleshooting and optimizing cloud applications using AWS services.
150IntermediateNo prerequisites
16$152k median salary
Validates knowledge of designing and managing security programs, including risk, architecture, access control, operations and software security.
884AdvancedHas prerequisites
17$150k median salary
Validates knowledge of designing secure, resilient, high-performing and cost-effective cloud solutions using AWS services.
150IntermediateNo prerequisites
18$144k median salary
Validates knowledge of enterprise network architecture, virtualization, infrastructure, assurance, security and automation for designing and troubleshooting networks.
700IntermediateNo prerequisites
19$144k median salary
Validates knowledge of agile mindset, leadership, product and delivery practices across Scrum, Kanban, Lean and hybrid approaches.
525IntermediateHas prerequisites
20$143k median salary
Validates knowledge of project leadership, team management and delivery across predictive, agile and hybrid approaches.
695AdvancedHas prerequisites
21$142k median salary
Validates knowledge of attacker tools and techniques, including reconnaissance, system, network, web, wireless and cloud attacks, and cryptography.
1,050IntermediateHas prerequisites
22$141k median salary
Validates knowledge of enterprise security architecture and engineering, including governance, risk, compliance and security operations.
544AdvancedNo prerequisites
23$141k median salary
Validates practical skills in detecting, investigating and responding to security incidents, including attacker techniques, credential attacks and exploitation.
999IntermediateNo prerequisites
24$140k median salary
Validates foundational knowledge of cloud concepts, core AWS services, security and compliance, and AWS pricing, billing and support.
100EntryNo prerequisites
25$139k median salary
Validates knowledge of building Salesforce applications with Apex, Flow and Lightning Web Components, and testing and deploying them.
200IntermediateNo prerequisites
26$138k median salary
Validates foundational knowledge of Scrum principles, the Scrum framework and Scrum Master responsibilities for serving teams and organizations.
399EntryHas prerequisites
27$135k median salary
Validates knowledge of IT auditing, covering audit processes, IT governance, systems development, operations, resilience and information asset protection.
810AdvancedHas prerequisites
28$135k median salary
Validates knowledge of configuring and administering ServiceNow, including users and access, forms, service catalog, automation and data integration.
300IntermediateNo prerequisites
29$130k median salary
Validates knowledge of administering Azure identities, governance, storage, compute and networking, and monitoring cloud infrastructure.
165IntermediateNo prerequisites
30$130k median salary
Validates knowledge of financial planning, performance and cost management, internal controls, corporate finance, investment decisions and professional ethics.
1,685IntermediateHas prerequisites
31$130k median salary
Validates knowledge of procurement and supply management, including sourcing, negotiation, contracts, supplier relationships, supply chain integration and leadership.
2,680AdvancedHas prerequisites
32$130k median salary
Validates knowledge of access control, networking, cryptography, Linux and Windows security, cloud security and incident handling.
999IntermediateNo prerequisites
33$130k median salary
Validates practical skills in administering Red Hat Enterprise Linux, including software, storage, file systems, networking, users and security.
500IntermediateNo prerequisites
34$130k median salary
Validates knowledge of security operations, including alert and log analysis, vulnerability prioritization, incident handling and reporting.
439IntermediateNo prerequisites
35$129k median salary
Validates foundational knowledge of ITIL concepts, the four dimensions, guiding principles, management practices and continual improvement.
690EntryNo prerequisites
36$128k median salary
Validates knowledge of authorizing and maintaining secure systems, including scoping, control selection, implementation, assessment and ongoing compliance.
734IntermediateHas prerequisites
37$127k median salary
Validates knowledge of security threats, protective controls, risk management and incident response across modern IT environments.
439EntryNo prerequisites
38$127k median salary
Validates knowledge of cloud architecture, deployment, operations, security, DevOps fundamentals and troubleshooting across multi-vendor cloud environments.
399IntermediateNo prerequisites
39$126k median salary
Validates knowledge of administering Microsoft 365 tenants, including users, identity, security and compliance.
330AdvancedHas prerequisites
40$126k median salary
Validates knowledge of end-to-end supply chain management, including demand, network design, sourcing, operations, logistics, supplier relationships and risk.
2,015IntermediateNo prerequisites
41$126k median salary
Validates knowledge of quality auditing, including audit fundamentals, planning and performing audits, auditor competencies and quality tools.
550AdvancedHas prerequisites
42$124k median salary
Validates knowledge of network fundamentals, routing, switching, IP services, security and automation for managing connected systems.
300IntermediateNo prerequisites
43$123k median salary
Validates knowledge of configuring and administering a Salesforce org, including security, data management, automation, reporting and Agentforce.
200IntermediateNo prerequisites
44$122k median salary
Validates practical skills in planning, performing and reporting penetration tests, from scoping and reconnaissance to exploitation and post-exploitation.
439IntermediateNo prerequisites
45$122k median salary
Validates knowledge of fraud schemes, financial transactions, investigation techniques, relevant law and fraud prevention and deterrence.
699IntermediateHas prerequisites
46$121k median salary
Validates knowledge of Linux system management, services and users, security, automation and scripting, and troubleshooting.
399IntermediateNo prerequisites
47$120k median salary
Validates strategic HR knowledge and judgment across leadership, interpersonal and business competencies, and people, organization and workplace knowledge.
499AdvancedHas prerequisites
48$120k median salary
Validates knowledge of internal audit fundamentals, ethics, engagement planning and performance, and managing the internal audit function.
1,515IntermediateHas prerequisites
49$120k median salary
Validates foundational knowledge of cloud concepts, Azure architecture and services, and Azure management and governance.
99EntryNo prerequisites
50$120k median salary
Validates knowledge of strategic HR leadership, workforce planning, talent management, total rewards and HR information, safety and security.
595AdvancedHas prerequisites
51$117k median salary
Validates knowledge of business analysis planning, elicitation, requirements management, strategy analysis, design definition and solution evaluation.
709AdvancedHas prerequisites
52$116k median salary
Validates practical skills in implementing access controls, monitoring risk, responding to incidents and securing networks, systems and applications.
384IntermediateHas prerequisites
53$115k median salary
Validates knowledge of the DMAIC method, lean tools and the statistics needed to lead Six Sigma process-improvement projects.
483IntermediateHas prerequisites
54$115k median salary
Validates skills in preparing, modeling and visualizing data with Power BI, and managing and securing reports and models.
165IntermediateNo prerequisites
55$112k median salary
Validates foundational knowledge of project management, predictive delivery, agile approaches and business analysis for supporting project work.
330EntryHas prerequisites
56$112k median salary
Validates knowledge of demand planning, supply planning, inventory management, scheduling, distribution and sales and operations planning.
1,755IntermediateNo prerequisites
57$100k median salary
Validates knowledge of US employment law and operational HR, including workforce planning, total rewards, engagement and labor relations.
495IntermediateHas prerequisites
58$96k median salary
Validates knowledge of operational HR across people, organization and workplace topics, plus situational judgment.
499IntermediateNo prerequisites
59$93k median salary
Validates knowledge of networking concepts, implementation, operations, security and troubleshooting for managing and supporting modern networks.
399EntryNo prerequisites
60$63k median salary
Validates foundational IT support knowledge across hardware, operating systems, networking, security and troubleshooting common technical problems.
548EntryNo prerequisites
Median annual advertised pay in US postings that mention each certification, Sep 2025–Aug 2026. Source