Which certifications are actually worth it? The data.
The honest version. Every "best certs" list ranks by hype. We paired each certificate's real cost with the BLS reality of the job it targets — median pay, projected growth, and whether that field is actually growing. The cert price is trivial (2–6% of a single month of the target salary); what separates "worth it" from "caution" is the role, not the credential.
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| Certificate | Targets | Median pay (BLS) | Growth | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate | Cloud Solutions Architect | $130,390 | +12% | Strong |
| Google Cybersecurity Certificate | Security Analyst | $124,910 | +29% | Strong |
| CompTIA Security+ | Security Analyst / SOC Analyst | $124,910 | +29% | Strong |
| Google Data Analytics Certificate | Data Analyst | $112,590 | +34% | Strong |
| Tableau Desktop Specialist | Data Analyst (BI / Visualization) | $112,590 | +34% | Strong |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | Cloud Support / Associate | $103,790 | +9% | Solid |
| Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) | Cloud / Azure Associate | $103,790 | +9% | Solid |
| Salesforce Certified Administrator | Salesforce Administrator | $103,790 | +9% | Solid |
| Google Project Management Certificate | Project Coordinator / Manager | $100,750 | +6% | Solid |
| Project Management Professional (PMP) | Project Manager | $100,750 | +6% | Solid |
| Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) | Network Engineer | $96,800 | -4% | Caution |
| CompTIA Network+ | Network Administrator | $96,800 | -4% | Caution |
| Google UX Design Certificate | UX Designer | $90,930 | +7% | Solid |
| Meta Front-End Developer Certificate | Front-End Developer | $90,930 | +7% | Solid |
| Google IT Support Certificate | IT Support Specialist | $60,340 | -3% | Caution |
| CompTIA A+ | IT Support / Help Desk Technician | $60,340 | -3% | Caution |
Verdict = a rules-based read of BLS pay + growth on a low-cost credential. Caution flags a target role BLS projects to decline — a fact the marketing omits.
Method & honesty floor
SOURCED: each program’s cost + duration from its official Coursera page; each target role’s median annual wage (May 2024) + 2024–34 employment growth from the U.S. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. DERIVED: cost-as-%-of-one-month-role-pay (cost / (median/12)) + a rules-based worth-it verdict (Strong/Solid/Modest/Caution from BLS growth + pay). HONESTY FLOOR (non-negotiable): a certificate opens a door, it does NOT guarantee a job; the BLS median is for the broader/experienced occupation and entry-level pays less (flagged per cert); we never impute cert-holder earnings or placement rates we do not have. The contrarian truths (e.g., the IT-Support target role is DECLINING per BLS) are the point.
Cite / archived: Couey, V. W. (2026). EduBracket Certification ROI Data 2026 [Data set]. EduBracket. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20768042 · mirrored on Hugging Face and Kaggle.