Over the years, I’ve noticed that no one can quite settle on how important certification is. All it takes is one look at the Software Architecture subreddit and you’ll see people asking about certificates only to be told they’re both useless and useful.

When I was working with Lemon.io (a developer marketplace with 80k+ developers), I got to see firsthand how certification affected their careers. So when I saw this topic start to pop up again (without any real answers), I decided to dive into research to see if my experience at Lemon.io still held true for architects.

The value of certification

Assuming I’m talking to architects with a lot of experience, what I will say is that certification doesn’t replace experience, but it does complement it really well. And, it can be a strong differentiator from your peers.

I’m going to try a metaphor here. If your career is a burger, your experience is the patty and certificates are the condiments. Some people prefer their burgers with bacon, cheese, or even an egg. Depending on what your career goals are, you’ll want to add different condiments to your ‘burger’. But keep in mind, the most important thing will always be the meat, a.k.a your experience.

Deciding if certification is right for you is the first step. The next step is asking the question: what is the right certification for you?

Pick the right one

I loved the Role Based Roadmap from Mumshad Mannambeth, founder & CEO at KodeKloud on navigating the certification paths (you can find it here).

It inspired me to do something similar but focused on Architects. Below, you’ll find 12 of the most popular architectural certificates you can choose to upgrade your career, and add more “trust badges” to your CV, LinkedIn profile, or freelancer profile.

Each has its own focus and value it can add depending on your career goals and role:

Certifications for Enterprise Architects	Certifications for Domain Solutions Architects	Software Architecture, Governance, and Infrastructure Certification
TOGAF 9	AWS Certified Solutions Architect	Certified SOA Architect
ITIL Master	Google Professional Cloud Architect	iSAQB CPSA-F/CPSA-A
Zachman Certified - Enterprise Architect	Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
Certified Enterprise Architect (CEA) Black Belt Program	Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA)
CITA-P by IASA Global
Archimate

Certifications for Enterprise Architects

TOGAF 9

Recognized globally, this certificate covers the TOGAF framework for designing, planning, implementing, and governing enterprise information technology architecture. So if you are working on an enterprise-wide architecture or want to switch to that direction, it can be useful.
Unlike the certifications below, this is a whole ecosystem that builds on itself. So it is a significant investment. However, if you’re working in, or looking to work in, the governmental sector or with large corporations, this may be a good choice for you. Keep in mind, however, that while it may look cheap, the cost does not include training, which is provided by TOGAF-accredited partners, each of whom sets their own price.

The comment below sums up my research into TOGAF 9 really well:

Best for Software Architects working in large organizations: Enterprise Architects, Business Architects, Solutions Architects, and IT Strategy Consultants with experience in strategic planning, We had a few Enterprise Architects with TOGAF 9 certification at Lemon.io and it was a nice value-add to their profiles. It is worth mentioning that their rates were in the top tier 🙂.

Format

Training

• 13 Level 1 Learning Units
• 27 Level 2 Learning Units

Testing: Two-stage testing, including TOGAF 9 Part 1 and TOGAF 9 Part 2 examinations

Price	Prerequisites	Recommended Experience	Languages
$360 USD per exam (requires two exams)	None	None	English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish (Latin American), French

Certification expiry & recertification: TOGAF 9 certificate does not expire.

ITIL Master

ITIL is one of the most popular certification systems in the world, with more than two million certified specialists in the world. The Master certification is the highest level of ITIL certifications and requires passing all four previous certifications before challenging it. To achieve the master certification you have to pass an assessment to validate your ability to apply ITIL frameworks to real-world business scenarios. So, experience working with the ITIL principals and practices as an enterprise software architect is required.

ITIL is not a training or testing provider but works with accredited partners for each. That means the pricing is dependent on your provider. The nice thing is, that it is one of the few large accreditations you can achieve through self-study.

If you want to chat with peers who are planning to become ITIL Masters, there is an active subreddit called ITIL_Certification.

Best for: Governance & Compliance Architects, Governance and Compliance Managers, Enterprise Architects.

Format

Five distinct levels to progress through: Foundation -> Practitioner –> Intermediate -> Expert -> Master. Each level has its own training and requirements.

Two paths:

• Attend a training course with an accredited training organization, which will include the exam as part of the course.
• Self-study using the core manual, then book an exam directly with PeopleCert.

Price	Prerequisites	Recommended Experience	Languages
Dependent on your chosen training/testing partner.	All 4 previous ITIL certifications, including ITIL Expert certification	5 years in IT leadership, management, or higher management advisory levels.	English, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Spanish, Thai

Certification expiry & recertification: Certification is valid for 3 years. You can renew your certification by retaking the exam or by earning a new certification.

Zachman Certified - Enterprise Architect

This certification covers the Zachman Framework for designing and maintaining Enterprise Architectures, which aligns IT with business goals. The training is focused on high-level enterprise planning, including Enterprise Architecture principles, strategy formulation, and practical application, rather than project or solutions architecture. This makes it ideal for those who need a structured approach to solve enterprise challenges.

This is another multi-level certification option. Each level builds on the one before it, which makes it a very comprehensive course. And, in my humble opinion, very expensive.

Best for: Enterprise Architects, Business Architects, and IT Consultants with an Enterprise Architecture focus.

Format

Four levels available: Associate, Practitioner, Professional and Educator (last one only required for those who want to teach the course).

Training: Two weeks of online prep work, and three days of live instruction

Testing: Two-hour, online exam (passing grants level 1 Associate)

Case study: Delivering a case study provides level 2 Practitioner, and a second case study provides level 3 Professional

Price	Prerequisites	Recommended Experience	Languages
$2999 USD covers level 1 & 2 (regional pricing is available)	Each level requires certification in the preceding level	None	N/A

Certification expiry & recertification: The certificate expires in 3 years. Recertification costs $99 USD.

Certified Enterprise Architect (CEA) Black Belt Program (Owned by Zachman now)

Zachman now owns CEA, so I decided to add this certification under the Zachman banner. Just like Zachman, this is a three-step course, except the naming convention is designed to make you feel like you’re in a martial art, which is cool. It’s also $7,000 more, which is not as cool, but that does mean you get to skip the yellow and green belt and go straight for the black belt.

Designed to develop Enterprise Architects through hands-on training and real-world projects, this program will prepare you for leadership roles in Enterprise Architecture. This program is built on ISO standards and focuses on the practical application of frameworks, tools, and methodologies.

Best for: (Very rich people) Senior Enterprise Architect, IT Director with EA experience, Chief Architect, Enterprise Architect with 10+ years experience, Enterprise Architecture Consultant.

Price: $ 9,995 USD

Format

Two paths:

• Accelerated Path of 12 Weeks: Five individual courses taught in parallel over twelve weeks.
• Progressive Path that is self-paced: Five individual online courses taken at your own pace over 24-30 weeks.

CITA-P by IASA Global

The IASA Global certification is a vendor-independent program for Business Technology Architects. The training has four stages that roughly align with your career stage. For Enterprise Architects, the professional (3rd) tier is the most useful The previous two tiers are for those in earlier stages of their career. The training is based on practical experience with a focus on Enterprise Architecture (EA), Software Architecture (SA), Solution Architecture (SolA), Infrastructure Architecture (IA) and Business Architecture (BA).

Unlike most tiered options, IASA allows you to challenge each level even if you haven’t attained the certification under it. So if you’ve progressed in your career far enough that you don’t think a foundational certification is valuable, and you don’t want to work your way through 3 tiers you already fully understand, IASA may be the answer for you.

Best for: Senior architects and business analysts aiming to bridge the gap between business and technology.

Format

Four levels of certification:

• Foundation
• Associate
• Professional (recommended for enterprise-level architects) - achieved by presenting to a board of CITA-D certified architects and answering any questions. 2 hrs allotted for the exam.
• Distinguished - achieved by presenting to a board of CITA-D certified architects and answering any questions. 2.5 hrs allotted for the exam.

Testing: Online or onsite testing is available

Price	Prerequisites (for professional tier)	Recommended experience	Languages
Foundation Exam: $425 USD Associate N/A Professional Exam + prep: $2,000 USD Distinguished Exam + prep: $2,800 USD	A minimum of 10 years in the industry as a practicing architect. Extensive documentation is required.	CITA-Associate level certificate is recommended but not mandatory.	N/A

Certification expiry & recertification: Requires individuals to maintain an active Full Iasa Membership and collect at least 80 hours of Continuing Education Units bi-annually (based on their website).

The Open Group ArchiMate 3 Certification

ArchiMate was mentioned a lot over Reddit. The Open Group ArchiMate 3 doesn’t teach you how to be an EA but rather focuses on how to communicate better as an EA by teaching ArchiMate’s modelling language. This language is designed to remove ambiguity from the description, analysis, and visualization of Enterprise Architectures.

The content of the course is designed to complement TOGAF, which makes it useful for Enterprise Architects who already work in a TOGAF framework. They aren’t however, the same thing.

Best for: Enterprise Architects

Format

Training: Online self-study available, or attend an accredited training course (Accredited Training Courses provide an exam voucher).

Testing:

Two exams

• ArchiMate 3 Part 1 offers foundation certification (60 min time limit for 40-question, multiple choice exam. Passing score: 60%)
• ArchiMate 3 Part 2 offers practitioner certification (90 min time limit for 8-question, scenario-based and complex multiple choice exam. Passing score: 65%)

Online or in-person proctored exams available depending on provider

Price	Prerequisites	Recommended experience	Languages
Training cost depends on the provider. Each exam costs $360 USD.	Part 1: None Part 2: Foundation certification or pass Part 1 exam on the same day with the same provider.	N/A	English

Certification expiry & recertification: The certification does not expire, which is very cool.

Certifications for Domain Solutions Architects

AWS Certified Solutions Architect

The AWS certification is a great starting point for architects or senior Software Engineers with AWS Cloud or strong on-premises IT experience. It covers the design and optimization of AWS cloud-based software and shows you can handle complex multi-service architectures, which is crucial as more companies move to the cloud. The exam tests real-world scenarios you would face designing large-scale systems, including hybrid architectures, multi-region deployments, and cost optimization at scale. Basic familiarity with programming concepts will help, but you don’t need hands-on experience with code.

This is the only provider-specific certificate that offers a more in-depth, self-directed training option for a price. Of course, you don’t have to take that option. If you’re confident, you can take the free training and then challenge the test. However, the test is also the cheapest among these certifications, so it offsets the overall cost a little bit.

During my research, I found quite a few posters, including this one, that had seen significant benefits from taking the course.

Best for: Systems Administrators (Cloud Focused), Cloud Architects, Solutions Architects, Cloud Consultants Software Architects for Cloud-Based Applications, and Enterprise Architects.

Format

Training

• 3 courses of online, self-directed exam prep are available
• 15.25 hrs free; 48.75 hrs paid

Testing: 130 minutes. Pearson VUE testing center, or online proctored exam

Price	Prerequisites	Recommended experience	Languages
$150 USD	None	1 year of hands-on experience designing cloud solutions with AWS services.	English, French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), Simplified and Traditional Chinese

Certification expiry & recertification: This certification is valid for 3 years. You can recertify by passing the exam again, or by earning the next certification, AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional.

Google Professional Cloud Architect

If you’re all in on Google, this certification is for you. It will help you show your cloud architecture skills and advance your career in Google’s cloud technology. Keep in mind, this is focused on Google’s cloud infrastructure and doesn’t cover software architecture.

The training and exam for this certificate are all online (though on-site exams are available) which makes it very flexible. Plus, it’s pretty cheap (although it’s the most expensive of the provider-specific options). However, if you go through all the training, it’s going to take you some time, as it’s the longest provider-specific course here.

Best for: Cloud Architects, Solutions Architects, IT Project Managers focused on the cloud, Cloud Engineers, DevOps Engineers, and Enterprise Architects.

Training: 114.75 hrs, online, self-directed

Testing: 2-hr test, with two options: an online proctored exam, or an onsite-proctored exam at a testing center.

Price	Prerequisites	Recommended experience	Languages
$200 USD for the test	None	3+ years of industry experience, including 1+ year of designing and managing solutions with Google Cloud	English & Japanese

Certification expiry & recertification: The certificate is valid for 2 years. Recertify by retaking the exam within 60 days of the expiration date.

Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

This certificate shows you know your way around Azure, including how to design and implement cloud and hybrid solutions. It dives deep into how various IT infrastructure components in the Microsoft ecosystem (like compute, network, storage, monitoring, and security) interact to generate solutions. Just like the Google certificate above, this is infrastructure-focused, not software-focused, so keep that in mind when considering it.

The course for the Microsoft certification is shorter than Google’s by almost 100 hours and can be taken both online at your own pace, or with an online instructor. It’s also a bit cheaper than Google’s, making it an easier investment both for hours and dollars spent.

Best for: Systems Administrators, Network Engineers, IT Managers, Cloud Architects, Computer Systems Analysts and Infrastructure Engineers.

Format

Training: Self-paced online learning (15.25 hrs), or instructor-led online training (4 days).

Testing: Online proctored exam.

Price	Prerequisites	Recommended Experience	Languages
$165 USD Self-paced training is free; instructor-led depends on the provider.	Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate	Experience with Azure administration and development, and DevOps processes. Advanced experience and knowledge of IT operations.	English, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish

Certification expiry & recertification: The certificate expires after one year. Recertification is free via an online assessment on Microsoft Learn.

Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA)

Red Hat’s highest level of certification, the RHCA designation covers designing, implementing, and managing Red Hat-based IT infrastructures. One of the nice things is that RHCA offers tracks in both infrastructure and enterprise applications. So you can choose the option that best matches your goals.

Red Hat prices its certification differently than most. It’s a subscription-based model, which allows you to have a little more freedom with how you tackle their training. In fact, their certification offers the most custom options, with a variety of options to get from A (where you are) to B (certified). So if you have diverse interests, this one might be the one for you.

Best for: Senior Systems Administrator, Cloud Architect, IT Infrastructure Architect, DevOps Engineer, Senior Application Developer, Enterprise Solutions Architect

Format

Two pathways:

• Red Hat Certified Architect in Infrastructure
• Red Hat Certified Architect in Enterprise Applications

Certification builds on prerequisites with five additional certifications chosen from a list.

Training and exams depend on your chosen path and certifications.

Price	Prerequisites	Recommended Experience	Languages
By Subscription: Standard: $7,500 USD/year for 25 training units and certification. Premium: $9,000 USD/year for 30 training units and certification.	Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) OR Red Hat Certified Enterprise Microservices Developer (RHCEMD) OR Red Hat Certified Cloud-native Developer (RHCCD)	Recommended experience depends on your specific path.	N/A

Certification expiry & recertification: Certifications become ‘non-current’ after three years. To maintain an RHCA certification, you must maintain five additional certifications over your RHCE. RHCEMD or RHCCD. These certifications do not need to be the same as those you’ve taken to attain your RHCA.

Software Architecture, Governance, and Infrastructure Certification

Certified SOA Architect

Made for IT professionals who want to master SOA, this certification covers designing, implementing, and managing Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) infrastructure.

SOA certification is one and done. There are no levels or long-term commitment to one system, which makes it less of a commitment. It’s also very affordable.

Best for: Enterprise Architects, Solutions Architects, IT Architects, Software Architects, Systems Engineers with SOA experience, Technical Leads with architecture responsibilities

Format

• 170 mins online proctored exam
• 50 hrs of training over 5 modules (modules include: Workbook Lessons, Video Lessons, Interactive Exercises, Mind Map Poster, Practice Exam Questions, PDFs of Workbook and Poster, Lab Exercise Booklet).

Price	Prerequisites	Recommended Experience	Languages
$399 USD for course and certification	None	None	N/A

iSAQB CPSA-F/CPSA-A (International Software Architecture Qualification Board)

In contrast to TOGAF training, the CPSA program focuses on the practical implementation of IT systems. Its foundation and advanced certificates offer room for architects to grow.

This is a two-step program, foundation and advanced, which puts it between the single-step SOA certification and the larger three- or even four-step offerings. Just like TOGAF and ITIL, iSAQB is not a testing or training provider, so there are a lot of options for training. Or, if you’re confident, you can challenge the exam without, though that’s not recommended.

Best for: Software designers, software developers, Software Architects, systems analysts

Format Though training and testing are performed by independent operators, you have four testing options available, including:

• Online exam
• Exam after classroom training
• Public exam
• Exam in the test centre

Price	Prerequisites	Recommended Experience	Languages
The cost of training is dependent on training providers. Testing price is dependent on training providers.	Training is suggested. Foundation certification is required for Advanced.	18+ months of practical experience, including: - A higher programming language - Technical documentation - Object-oriented programming language - Design and implementation of distributed applications - Basics of modeling and abstraction; and UML and their relation to source	Language is dependent on training providers.

Certification expiry & recertification: The certificate does not expire.

Experience makes you an architect, certificates set you apart

The right certification can set you apart on your resume, but it’s never a replacement for experience. Depending on your career path, you may choose to get certified by one of the bodies above, or simply study on your own and prove what you can do through practical experience.

If you’ve decided to pursue the certification path, the options above are all great choices. Of course, each requires a commitment of time and money. While you can’t warp the space-time continuum to change the time requirement, it may be possible to get your employer to help you cover some, if not all of the cost. If they do, it gives you an even higher ROI on your investment to yourself.