It is very easy to become scatterbrained when you decide to learn something new. You decide what it is you want to learn, somehow get distracted, and start taking in information about all of the things. This is a sure-fire way to become burned out and actually achieve nothing. To avoid this pitfall, here’s a foolproof roadmap to earning certifications and staying the course! This roadmap can be applied to several career paths, not just marketing.

The roadmap: 

Fundamental certifications

These are certifications that give you basic knowledge of certain topics or certain areas of a potential career field. These alone will not land you a job. 

Industry-recognized professional certifications

These are the certifications that will have you getting reached out to by recruiters and usually require ample amounts of hands-on experience to back them up in order to land the job. 

Specific software/tools (those in high-demand)

Once you've obtained your desired combination of the certifications above, and landed the job, you can take it a step further. These are the certifications that will get you a high(er)-paying job. They show that you specialize in a specific software/tool.

*Real-life Examples: 

A. You’ve decided you want to become a Data Analyst

Step 1 - You start off with a fundamental certification in Microsoft Excel and maybe some SQL courses that offer certifications

Step 2 - You go for Industry-recognized certifications like the Google Data Analytics one and build a portfolio with plenty of projects

Step 3 - You’ve landed an entry-level Data Analytics role, gained some more experience, and now decide to specialize in a Data Visualization tool like Tableau or Microsoft Power BI

B. You’ve decided you want to become a Digital Marketer

Step 1 - You start off with a fundamental certification like the Google Digital Marketing certification or HubSpot Inbound Course

Step 2 - You go for Industry-recognized certifications like Google Ads or Facebook Digital Marketing Associate and build a portfolio with plenty of projects

Step 3 - You’ve landed an entry-level Digital Marketing role, gained some more experience, and now decide to specialize in a specific platform like Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Marketo

*Please note that these are just general ideas and this doesn't guarantee you a job