What courses should I take through Atlassian University
Asked by Aubrey Gardi:

I am new to Atlassian and need advise as far as what certifications I should be obtaining. I was recommended by a friend to get certified through Atlassian as it could be a good option to get a job that offers good pay, health benefits, and opportunity to work remotely without having a college degree.

I have started studying the courses offered by Atlassian U but need some help as to which course and certifications I should be pursuing. I assume I'll need to complete all of the associate courses but as far as the professional course certifications, would I just need to pick one of the many options or do I need to complete all of them. Each professional course is $270 for the course and an exam voucher so I trying to prevent making an expensive mistake if I only need to take one.

I also would love to know if these certifications could be an equivalent to a college degree? Would getting certified through Atlassian allow me to immediately start applying for jobs or is there more I need to do beforehand?


Answers:
author: Carla Ann Rowland
body: I concur with [@Ste Wright](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1166470) start with basics and use the tool. Certification as a project manager will give you a good basis. Cloud is very popular but if you have ambitions to work in the US Government sector that is still Data Center based for most part.

My recommendation also is to stick to one platform until you have more experience because the two platforms, Data Center vs. Cloud, don't operate the same way so I would not want you to frustrate yourself trying to remember the different how to's in each environment.


author: Ste Wright
body: Hi [@Aubrey Gardi](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/5455585)

I can't guarantee you need certifications to land a role within the Atlassian ecosystem, but it definitely helps! You'd be best to check jobs in your area, and see what their requirements are.

The certifications aren't similar to college degrees either - they're designed to help you learn the fundamentals, and then test you understand them!

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I would recommend...

* Start with the free courses, as a good way to learn the fundamentals - <https://university.atlassian.com/student/catalog/list?category_ids=21734-free-training>
* Take advantage of the free licensing you can get, to help you learn. Many products have free license tiers, including Jira Software, Jira Work Management, Jira Service Management, and Confluence
* In terms of certifications, I would start with the [associate certifications](https://university.atlassian.com/student/catalog/list?category_ids=33661-associate-certifications), before moving onto the [professional certifications](https://university.atlassian.com/student/catalog/list?category_ids=21735-professional-certifications)
* In terms of professional certifications, [Managing Jira Projects for Cloud](https://university.atlassian.com/student/activity/840992-acp-620-managing-jira-cloud-projects-certification?sid=af23ef1c-9f90-4a09-912f-1c12e6dfab73&sid_i=0) is the one I'd suggest starting with

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Another good way to increase your skills is the Community itself! You can look at questions and help find solutions for other users; it's a good way to get experience using real-life scenarios.

Ste