Which DevOps and Cloud Certifications Are Best for a Beginner Project Manager?

Cloud and tool-specific training may be more practical than collecting broad certifications. Focus on whichever cloud provider and delivery tools your organization uses, then learn the security and compliance parts of the workflow. AWS and Microsoft both offer beginner-friendly DevOps learning materials that can help you decide where to specialize.

First, ask your manager or technical team which cloud platform, tools, and certifications they actually use. A certification tied to your organization’s environment will be much more valuable than a generic one. You could ask what training resources the team recommends and which credentials are part of the role’s development plan.

There isn’t really one universal DevOps certification. Choose based on your company’s platform: for Azure, look into AZ-400 after building some fundamentals; for AWS, consider the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer path once you have enough background. Start with an introductory cloud certification if you’re completely new.

Don’t skip the basic IT concepts. Even as a project manager, learning Linux fundamentals, networking, version control, scripting concepts, and how deployments work will make DevOps discussions much easier. You don’t necessarily need to become an engineer, but a foundation in system administration and automation is worthwhile.