Learning Python language is one of the key steps in the career of every professional developer. You might find various short courses for Python, but certification is a much more solid validation of your skills than learning the courses. Only a few Python certifications ultimately abate the confusion about which certification is best to earn.
In this blog, you will learn about the whole range of Python certifications offered by the Python Institute and Microsoft. You will learn about the details of the exams, course learning, difficulty level, and tips to learn Python and earn the certification real quick.
1. PCEP™ – Certified Entry-Level Python Programmer
- Exam name: PCEP™ – Certified Entry-Level Python Programmer
- Exam Code: PCEP-30-02
- Status: Active
- Prerequisites: None
- Validity: Lifetime
- Exam Duration: PCEP-30-02 – Exam: 40 minutes, NDA/Tutorial: 5 minutes
Number of Questions: 30 - Format: Single- and multiple-select questions, drag & drop, gap fill, sort, code fill, code insertion | Python 3.x
- Passing Score: 70%
- Languages: English, Spanish
Cost
- Single take: USD 59
- 1 retake: USD 76.70
- Section 1:Computer Programming and Python Fundamentals (18%)
- Section 2:Control Flow – Conditional Blocks and Loops (29%)
- Section 3:Data Collections – Tuples, Dictionaries, Lists, and Strings (25%)
- Section 4:Functions and Exceptions (28%)
2. PCAP™ – Certified Associate in Python Programming
- Exam name: PCAP™ – Certified Associate in Python Programming
- Exam Code: PCAP-31-03
- Status: Active
- Pre-requisites: None
- Validity: Lifetime
- Exam Duration: Exam: 65 minutes, NDA/Tutorial: 10 minutes
- Number of Questions: 40
- Format: Single- and multiple-select questions | Python 3.x
- Passing Score: 70%
- Languages: English
- Exam Cost: USD 295
- Section 1: Modules and Packages (12%)
- Section 2: Exceptions (14%)
- Section 3: Strings (18%)
- Section 4: Object-Oriented Programming (34%)
- Section 5: Miscellaneous (22%)
Read more: PCAP Certification Salary
3. PCPP1™ – Certified Professional in Python Programming 1
- Exam name: PCPP2™ – Certified Professional in Python Programming 2
- Exam Code & Current Exam Versions: PCPP-32-101
- Pre-requisites: PCAP – Certified Associate in Python Programming (Exam PCAP-31-0x)
- Validity: Lifetime
- Exam Duration: Exam: 65 minutes, NDA/Tutorial: 10 minutes
- Number of Questions: 45
- Format: Single- and multiple-select questions | Python 3.x
- Passing Score: 70%
- Languages: English
- Exam Cost: USD 195
Section 1:Advanced Object-Oriented Programming (25%)
Section 2:Coding Conventions, Best Practices, and Standardization (12%)
Section 3:GUI Programming (20%)
Section 4:Network Programming (18%)
Section 5: File Processing and Communicating with a Program’s Environment (15%)
4. PCPP2™ – Certified Professional in Python Programming 2
- Exam name: PCPP2™ – Certified Professional in Python Programming 2
- Exam Code: PCPP-32-201
Prerequisites:
- PCAP – Certified Associate in Python Programming (Exam PCAP-31-0x)
- PCPP1 – Certified Professional in Python Programming (Exam PCPP1-32-10x)
- Validity: Lifetime
- Exam Duration: Exam: 65 minutes, NDA/Tutorial: 10 minutes
- Number of Questions: 45
- Format: Single- and multiple-select questions | Python 3.x
- Passing Score: 70%
- Languages: English
- Cost: USD 195 (Exam)
Updated exams are to be announced.
Read more: 10 Best Programming Certifications
5. PCAT™ – Certified Associate in Testing with Python
- Exam name: PCAT™ – Certified Associate in Testing with Python
- Exam Code & Current Exam Versions: PCAT-31-0x (Status: Coming Q1 2023)
- Pre-requisites: None
- Validity: 5 years (unless retaken)
- Exam Duration: Exam: 65 minutes, NDA/Tutorial: 10 minutes
- Number of Questions: 40
- Format: Single- and multiple-select questions | Python 3.x
- Passing Score: 70%
- Languages: English
- Exam Cost: USD 295
Updated exams are to be announced.
6. PCAD™ – Certified Associate in Data Analytics with Python
- Exam name: PCAD™ – Certified Associate in Data Analytics with Python
- Exam Code: PCAD-31-0x
- Prerequisites: None
- Validity: 5 years (unless retaken or PCPD is earned)
- Exam Duration: Exam: 65 minutes, NDA/Tutorial: 10 minutes
- Number of Questions: 40
- Format: Single- and multiple-select questions | Python 3.x
- Passing Score: 70%
- Languages: English
- Exam Cost: USD 295
Updated exams are to be announced.
7. W3Schools Python Certificate
About the exam
- Number of questions: 70
- Requirement to pass: 75%
- Time limit: 70 minutes
- Number of attempts to pass: Two
- Exam deadline: None
- Certification Expiration: None
- Format: Online, multiple choice
- Exam Fee: 95 USD
8. Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
Exam Code: AZ-204
Exam Price: $165 (USD)
Duration: 120 mins
Number of Questions: 40-60
Passing Score: 700 / 1000
Develop Azure compute solutions
Implement containerized solutions
- Create and manage container images for solutions
- Publish an image to Azure Container Registry
- Run containers by using Azure Container Instance
- Create solutions by using Azure Container Apps
Implement Azure App Service Web Apps
- Create an Azure App Service Web App
- Enable diagnostics logging
- Deploy code to a web app
- Configure web app settings including SSL, API settings, and connection strings
- Implement autoscaling
Implement Azure Functions
- Create and configure an Azure Function App
- Implement input and output bindings
- Implement function triggers by using data operations, timers, and webhooks
Develop for Azure storage
Develop solutions that use Azure Cosmos DB
- Perform operations on containers and items by using the SDK
- Set the appropriate consistency level for operations
- Implement change feed notifications
Develop solutions that use Azure Blob Storage
- Set and retrieve properties and metadata
- Perform operations on data by using the appropriate SDK
- Implement storage policies and data lifecycle management
- Implement static site hosting
Implement Azure security
Implement user authentication and authorization
- Authenticate and authorize users by using the Microsoft Identity platform
- Authenticate and authorize users and apps by using Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), part of Microsoft Entra
- Create and implement shared access signatures
- Implement solutions that interact with Microsoft Graph
Implement secure Azure solutions
- Secure app configuration data by using App Configuration or Azure Key Vault
- Develop code that uses keys, secrets, and certificates stored in Azure Key Vault
- Implement Managed Identities for Azure resources
Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions
Implement caching for solutions
- Configure cache and expiration policies for Azure Cache for Redis
- Implement secure and optimized application cache patterns including data sizing, connections, encryption, and expiration
- Implement Azure CDN endpoints and profiles
Troubleshoot solutions by using Application Insights
- Configure an app or service to use Application Insights
- Monitor and analyze metrics, logs, and traces
- Implement Application Insights web tests and alerts
Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services
Implement API Management
- Create an APIM instance
- Create and document APIs
- Configure authentication for APIs
- Implement policies for APIs
Develop event-based solutions
- Implement solutions that use Azure Event Grid
- Implement solutions that use Azure Event Hub
Develop message-based solutions
- Implement solutions that use Azure Service Bus
- Implement solutions that use Azure Queue Storage queues
Read more: Azure Certification Cost in Current Year
9. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate
Exam name: Designing and Implementing a Microsoft Azure AI Solution
Exam code: AI-102
Number of questions: 40-60 Questions
Type of questions: Multiple-choice questions
Exam duration: 130 minutes
Exam cost: $165
Exam languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Russian, Chinese (Traditional), Italian, Indonesian (Indonesia)
- Plan and manage an Azure AI solution (25–30%)
Select the appropriate Azure AI service
- Select the appropriate service for a vision solution
- Select the appropriate service for a language analysis solution
- Select the appropriate service for a decision support solution
- Select the appropriate service for a speech solution
- Select the appropriate Applied AI services
Plan and configure security for Azure AI services
- Manage account keys
- Manage authentication for a resource
- Secure services by using Azure Virtual Networks
- Plan for a solution that meets Responsible AI principles
Create and manage an Azure AI service
- Create an Azure AI resource
- Configure diagnostic logging
- Manage costs for Azure AI services
- Monitor an Azure AI resource
Deploy Azure AI services
- Determine a default endpoint for a service
- Create a resource by using the Azure portal
- Integrate Azure AI services into a continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline
- Plan a container deployment
- Implement prebuilt containers in a connected environment
Create solutions to detect anomalies and improve content
- Create a solution that uses Anomaly Detector, part of Cognitive Services
- Create a solution that uses Azure Content Moderator, part of Cognitive Services
- Create a solution that uses Personalizer, part of Cognitive Services
- Create a solution that uses Azure Metrics Advisor, part of Azure Applied AI Services
- Create a solution that uses Azure Immersive Reader, part of Azure Applied AI Services
- Implement image and video processing solutions (15–20%)
Analyze images
- Select appropriate visual features to meet image processing requirements
- Create an image processing request to include appropriate image analysis features
- Interpret image processing responses
Extract text from images
- Extract text from images or PDFs by using the Computer Vision service
- Convert handwritten text by using the Computer Vision service
- Extract information using prebuilt models in Azure Form Recognizer
- Build and optimize a custom model for Azure Form Recognizer
Implement image classification and object detection by using the Custom Vision service, part of Azure Cognitive Services
- Choose between image classification and object detection models
- Specify model configuration options, including category, version, and compact
- Label images
- Train custom image models, including classifiers and detectors
- Manage training iterations
- Evaluate model metrics
- Publish a trained iteration of a model
- Export a model to run on a specific target
- Implement a Custom Vision model as a Docker container
- Interpret model responses
Process videos
- Process a video by using Azure Video Indexer
- Extract insights from a video or live stream by using Azure Video Indexer
- Implement content moderation by using Azure Video Indexer
- Integrate a custom language model into Azure Video Indexer
- Implement natural language processing solutions (25–30%)
Analyze text
- Retrieve and process key phrases
- Retrieve and process entities
- Retrieve and process sentiment
- Detect the language used in text
- Detect personally identifiable information (PII)
Process speech
- Implement and customize text-to-speech
- Implement and customize speech-to-text
- Improve text-to-speech by using SSML and Custom Neural Voice
- Improve speech-to-text by using phrase lists and Custom Speech
- Implement intent recognition
- Implement keyword recognition
Translate language
- Translate text and documents by using the Translator service
- Implement custom translation, including training, improving, and publishing a custom model
- Translate speech-to-speech by using the Speech service
- Translate speech-to-text by using the Speech service
- Translate to multiple languages simultaneously
Build and manage a language understanding model
- Create intents and add utterances
- Create entities
- Train evaluate, deploy, and test a language understanding model
- Optimize a Language Understanding (LUIS) model
- Integrate multiple language service models by using Orchestrator
- Import and export language understanding models
Create a question answering solution
- Create a question answering project
- Add question-and-answer pairs manually
- Import sources
- Train and test a knowledge base
- Publish a knowledge base
- Create a multi-turn conversation
- Add alternate phrasing
- Add chit-chat to a knowledge base
- Export a knowledge base
- Create a multi-language question answering solution
- Create a multi-domain question answering solution
- Use metadata for question-and-answer pairs
- Implement knowledge mining solutions (5–10%)
Implement a Cognitive Search solution
- Provision a Cognitive Search resource
- Create data sources
- Define an index
- Create and run an indexer
- Query an index, including syntax, sorting, filtering, and wildcards
- Manage knowledge store projections, including file, object, and table projections
Apply AI enrichment skills to an indexer pipeline
- Attach a Cognitive Services account to a skillset
- Select and include built-in skills for documents
- Implement custom skills and include them in a skillset
- Implement incremental enrichment
- Implement conversational AI solutions (15–20%)
Design and implement conversation flow
- Design conversational logic for a bot
- Choose appropriate activity handlers, dialogs or topics, triggers, and state handling for a bot
Build a conversational bot
- Create a bot from a template
- Create a bot from scratch
- Implement activity handlers, dialogs or topics, and triggers
- Implement channel-specific logic
- Implement Adaptive Cards
- Implement multi-language support in a bot
- Implement multi-step conversations
- Manage state for a bot
- Integrate Cognitive Services into a bot, including question answering, language understanding, and Speech service
Test, publish, and maintain a conversational bot
- Test a bot using the Bot Framework Emulator or the Power Virtual Agents web app
- Test a bot in a channel-specific environment
- Troubleshoot a conversational bot
- Deploy bot logic
10. Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate
Course level: Beginner
Number of modules: 6
This new beginner-level, six-course certificate, developed by Google, is designed to provide IT professionals with in-demand skills — including Python, Git, and IT automation — that can help you advance your career.
Knowing how to write code to solve problems and automate solutions is a crucial skill for anybody in IT. Python, in particular, is now the most in-demand programming language by employers.
This program builds on your IT foundations to help you take your career to the next level. It’s designed to teach you how to program with Python and how to use Python to automate common system administration tasks. You’ll also learn to use Git and GitHub, troubleshoot and debug complex problems, and apply automation at scale by using configuration management and the Cloud.
This certificate can be completed in about 3-6 months and is designed to prepare you for a variety of roles in IT, like more advanced IT Support Specialist or Junior Systems Administrator positions.
- Automate tasks by writing Python scripts
- Use Git and GitHub for version control
- Manage IT resources at scale, both for physical machines and virtual machines in the cloud
- Analyze real-world IT problems and implement the appropriate strategies to solve those problems
Read more: A Glimpse of Cloud Certifications
Is Python Really Hard?
It is undoubtedly correct that Python certifications are tough. The hardness level of Python is evident from the fact that it may take months for the candidates to learn Python. Some may even take years. Coding is never so easy. Only 61% of the candidates are able to crack the Python exam and apply to learn and apply Python effectively. The interviews for job positions in Python are based on tricky Python concepts. Moreover, proficiency in Python is achieved through years of practice and testing on various projects.
Tips and tricks to learn Python Fast
Let’s learn a few great tips and tricks that would help you learn Python quickly.
Coding requires intense practice and revision. Code every day and try to learn something new relevant to Python.
Learn the language step by step. Start with the fundamentals and then learn the advanced concepts.
- Learning syntax is not a wise technique for becoming a good developer. You need to learn the concept behind each code.
- Working and developing various projects would help you develop great coding skills. The more you experiment with different codes, the more you can learn enhanced skills.
Why is Python So Famous among the IT Aspirants?
Guaranteed job positions
You are able to land the following jobs after gaining Python certifications based on your experience and learned skills.
- Python developer – $102,736
- Full-stack developer – $119,357
- Data engineer – $91,648
- Data scientist – $123,820
- Machine learning engineer – $116,004
- Data analyst – $70,132
- Backend developer – $96,993
- Quality assurance engineer – $107,270
- Operations automation engineer – $88,526
Earn raised salaries
The salaries of Python professionals depend on their expertise and experience. However, the average salaries of Python experts are much higher than usual. The average salary ranges from $65,000 to $130,000.
Required in every IT Team
Every IT team requires developers and Python experts are most demanding. Python professionals have a great capacity to integrate and run complex projects. Every IT team is required to have Python professionals for efficient development.
Read more: Python Certification Cost
A step-by-step guide to Earn Python Certifications
By committing time and resources to prepare for the examination, you may improve your chances of getting the qualification. Consider the following steps to get these certifications:
1. Learn the Python skills
You can learn Python by referring to books or online resources. There are many websites and online videos that teach this programming language. Self-learning may enable you to learn Python at a speed that’s suitable for you. This may improve learning outcomes.
2. Pursue online courses
Many online courses and tutorials explain Python concepts. While some require you to pay a fee, many are available for free. Studying online courses may be suitable if you prefer more structure and organization when learning.
3. Attend Python coding boot camps
Coding boot camps are short, intensive training courses that teach students practical technology skills to meet current job demands. Instructors show students how to write code and apply it to workplace projects. Many of these boot camps are online virtual events.
4. Attempt practice questions from mock tests
Taking certification practice tests may help you become familiar with the type of questions you can expect in an examination. You can access these mock tests online for a fee or search for free ones. Attempting these practice questions may strengthen your examination preparation.
5. Register for the certification examination
You can register for examinations on the official website. It’s important to ensure that your computer meets the technical requirements for taking the examination. You can create a test candidate account and purchase an examination voucher that provides a code. After logging into your account, you enter the voucher code and launch the examination session.
Conclusion
Deciding which certification is right for you is a personal decision based on your career plans, time frames, and previous Python experience. Once you have the necessary certifications, though, you might be interested in landing work as a Python developer. 90% of the candidates prefer to take the certifications provided by the Python institute. The reason lies in the fact that they offer a step-by-step learning of the concepts through entry, associate, and professional certifications.
FREQUENTLY ASKED CERTIFICATIONS
Which is the best certification for Python?
PCPP2 certification is considered to be the best certification of 2023.
Is Python certification easy?
Python developer certification exams should be sufficiently challenging to ensure you have the required knowledge to take the certification. To help you pass, research the exam content, take practice tests, study online resources and Python books, and practice Python past paper questions.
Can I get a job after learning Python?
If you acquire this skill, you will have more Python career opportunities than you can imagine. Python opens for you several avenues that no other programming language can. You can become a software developer who excels in Python or a data scientist who uses this language to make data more valuable for businesses.