6 Certifications to Take Your Career To The Next Level For $100 or Less

Rory Fitzpatrick

July 21 | 2021

A group of people grouped together at computers.

"File:Knight-Crane Convergence Lab - Flickr - Knight Foundation.jpg" by Knight Foundation is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Whether you are looking for a new job or trying to grow in your current one, getting a certification can be a great way to improve your skills.

Anyone can put that they are proficient in a computer program on their resume but having a certificate can help you stand out amongst the competition and give credence to the strength of your skills.

But what's the best way to invest in yourself without breaking the bank? Some certification programs can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. We are going to walk through six of the best certifications you can get for $100 or less.

Tableau's data visualization capabilities are comparable to Domo and Power BI.

Who is it best for: Those who work with analyzing and presenting data.
Cost: $100 for Tableau Desktop Specialist; additional certifications are available for a larger fee.
More companies than ever see themselves as data companies. Being able to understand data and use it to guide decisions at your company is often critical to taking on a leadership role. Not to mention, being able to present the data in a clean, attractive, and compelling way can help get buy-in from others in your organization or clients. That's why Tableau is a great tool to have in your toolbox.
Tableau allows you to create interactive visual analytics dashboards. In layman's terms, you can take data; create graphs, maps, or charts; and then allow end-users to interact with these graphics to better understand the information. It's a fantastic tool allowing non-technical users to gain insights for data-driven decision-making.
Tableau Desktop Specialist certification starts at $100 and has no expiration date. There are many videos on Tableau's site to prepare for your exam as well as Tableau Starter Kits allowing you to play around and learn the different capabilities of the program. Tableau offers a 14-day free trial as well as free license for one year for students.
Additional certifications after Desktop Specialist are Desktop Associate and Desktop Professional. Those working with a Tableau server may also be interested in a separate certification as a Server Associate or Server Professional.
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Six Sigma principals can help your company improve its processes.

Who is it best for: Operations professionals or those managing processes for any type of company.
Cost: Free for White Belt; additional certifications are available for a fee.
Six Sigma is a methodology to find defects or variations in a process. Six Sigma methodology is used across industries all over the world to improve operational efficiencies in all different processes. It's not just manufacturing; it can even be used to streamline the efficiency of the work in your office to save time and reduce errors.
Six Sigma White Belt Certification is currently free and allows you to understand the methodology and the impact it can have at your organization. It is an ideal jumping-off point for those with no previous experience with Six Sigma who are looking to get a high-level overview of the program.
Six Sigma offers additional certifications in Yellow Belt, Green Belt, Black Belt, and Master Black Belt as well as customized courses for many particular industries.
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Alteryx is a useful tool for any company looking for data-driven decision-making.

Who it is best for: Those who work with analyzing and presenting data.
Cost: Free.
Alteryx, like Tableau, is most-suited for those working in data analysis. However, the tools are very different. Alteryx allows users to take very large data sets, manipulate and clean them, and then can return a clean data set for easy analysis as well as ready-made reports and visualizations made in the program itself. If you have large amounts of data you need to manipulate or a report that needs to go out regularly, Alteryx is a great choice to streamline your workflow.
Alteryx Designer Core and Designer Advanced are both free, with Alteryx Designer Expert also available for $150. The forums are very active and the weekly challenges on their website are widely considered the best way to master the program.
Alteryx offers a one-year free license for students as well as a six-month free license for recent graduates and the unemployed throughAlteryx for Good.
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Mastery of Facebook is a must for any marketing professional in the 2020s.

Who it is best for: Social media managers and marketing professionals.
Cost: $99 for Associate certification; additional certifications are available for additional fees.
Facebook has been the largest social network for a long time. If your job involves marketing or social media, understanding Facebook's platform is critical to your career success. Facebook Blueprint offers free self-paced courses for online advertising on Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook. These courses cover useful topics including ad policies, how to grow your audience and reach, as well as how to manage campaigns on Facebook's platform.
Facebook Blueprint Certification can show your advanced proficiency in these topics and allows you to leverage one of the largest online advertising platforms to its full potential. The exams to become a Facebook Certified Digital Marketing Associate or a Facebook Certified Community Manager start at $99, with professional-level exams also available for $150.
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Google Analytics can be leveraged to help your company reach its customers.

Who it is best for: Marketing professionals.
Cost: Free.
Facebook is an advertising behemoth, but Google is even bigger. Marketing professionals use Google tools to both reach their customers as well as understand the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. Having a certificate from Google attesting to your skills on the platform can give a huge leg-up in any organization that relies on the web to reach their customers.
Google offers aGoogle Analytics Individual Qualification exam for free as well as free training inGoogle Academy. They also offer free Google Ads Certifications as well as YouTube Certifications for those seeking to display expertise in a more narrow subject matter.
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Your company likely relies on the Amazon Cloud and knowledge of the back-end can help differentiate you.

Who is it best for: IT Professionals, managers, or any professional that works in the AWS cloud.
Cost: $100 for a Foundational certificate; additional certificates are available for a higher fee.
Amazon is the biggest player in web hosting, but the certifications aren't just for IT professionals. Purchase, sales, finance, and all sorts of different departments in your organization are likely to use Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud computing. Demonstrating an understanding of the back end of this process can be a real asset as you grow in your field. Managers throughout organizations often need a good grasp of IT services from AWS and this certification may help unlock that next step in your career.
Amazon offers a full array ofcertifications for IT professionals who work more-heavily in AWS, but we recommend theAWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam if you are only seeking to demonstrate an overall understanding of the Amazon Web Services Cloud not tied to a particular technical role. That certification costs $100 with practice exams available for $20.
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