Certification paths
Individual exam guides tell you what one exam covers. These pages answer the question that comes first: which exam should you take, and what comes after it.
Each path lays out the exams in order, says what level of experience each one assumes, and is honest about which ones are worth skipping. All of them link through to the full guides and free practice tests.
The single most common mistake is booking an exam one level above where you actually work. Associate and professional exams assume you have done the job, not that you have watched a course. Start where your daily work sits, not where you would like it to sit.
Choosing between vendors rather than within one? The comparison guides put exams head to head across ecosystems. And check the exam changes tracker before booking anything — objectives and versions move more than most people expect.
Not sure where your background fits? The advice by situation pages start from your current role, whether that is help desk, accounting, data analysis or a career change, and point to the exams on this site that match it.
- Azure AI certification pathWhich Microsoft Azure AI certification to take first, what follows, and which exams you can safely skip.
- AWS AI and ML certification pathWhich AWS AI certification to take first, how AIF-C01 and MLA-C02 differ, and who should skip the foundational exam.
- Databricks certification pathHow the seven Databricks certifications fit together, which to take first, and how big the jump to professional really is.
- CompTIA certification pathWhere Network+ and Security+ sit in the CompTIA sequence, which to take first, and how the newer SecAI+ exam relates to them.
- ISACA AI certification pathHow AAIA, AAIR and AAISM differ, who each is for, and why none of them is an entry point into governance.
- Salesforce AI certification pathWhere the Agentforce Specialist exam fits, what it assumes about Salesforce experience, and who should not take it.
- IRS enrolled agent certification pathIn which order to take SEE Parts 1, 2 and 3, which order suits preparers and career changers, and what comes after the last pass.
- Microsoft security certification pathWhich Microsoft security certification first: SC-900, then SC-300, SC-200, SC-401 or SC-500, depending on whether you work in identity, SOC, data or cloud.
- Microsoft data and analytics certification pathWhich Microsoft data certification to take: PL-300 for Power BI, DP-600 or DP-700 for Fabric, DP-750 for Azure Databricks, DP-800 for AI-enabled SQL.
- Cisco CCNA certification pathWhere to start with Cisco: CCNA 200-301 first, then CCNA Automation 200-901 if you write code, and how Network+ compares. With the v1.1 to v2.0 timing.
- Azure administrator and architect pathAZ-900, AZ-104, AZ-305 and AZ-400 in order: who needs the fundamentals exam, why AZ-104 comes first, and how to choose between architect and DevOps.