Watch Microsoft Certified Trainers Vlad Catrinescu, Tiago Costa, and Jonah Andersson in this AMA clip where they give you tips on finding the right Microsoft credential for your career path!
Make sure to check out my Power Platform Certifications and Applied Skills Infographic to see all options in a single place!
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Video Summary
- Growing Demand for Power Platform Skills: The Power Platform is expanding rapidly, with 48 million monthly active users. Many users with access to it aren’t utilizing it yet, presenting a huge opportunity.
- High Demand for Functional Consultants and Developers: There’s a booming demand for Power Platform experts, especially functional consultants and developers. Architects are also in demand but are more specialized.
- RPA Developer Role: The role of Power Platform RPA (Robotic Process Automation) developers is emerging, though it’s currently less in demand compared to other roles. This field is expected to grow as Microsoft gains traction.
- Certification Recommendations: The best certification depends on your role. For developers, get the developer certification; for RPA developers, get the RPA certification. The key is to choose certifications that align with your job responsibilities.
- Applied Skills Importance: Beyond certifications, applied skills are crucial. These are specific to tasks and can be earned by solving challenges. They are free and immediately added to your transcript, showcasing your practical abilities.
For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!
Video Transcript
So we have Marcus. Marcus is saying that, how do we see the skill set needed for Power Platform careers evolving over the next year or two? And then he has also a subsequent question on this one, and with that in mind, what would be a specific Power Platform certification that you will see as the most valuable to achieve? Okay, Vlad, what do you think?
Well, again, I’ll kind of go back to my stance on seeing how the Power Platform grew and keeps growing. It’s currently at 48 million monthly active users, and let me tell you a stat from the Power Platform conference that really opened my eyes: Power Platform has 48 million monthly active users, Microsoft Teams has 320 million. Most people that have a Teams license can use Power Apps, they can use Power Automate; they’re licensed to do it. That means you have over 200 million users that are licensed for the Power Platform that are not using it today. That opportunity is crazy. Every time I go on LinkedIn nowadays, I see a job offer for Power Platform experts, for both internal jobs at companies and consultants. It’s currently blowing up right now, in my opinion.
So, I think at the Power Platform functional consultant developer level, that’s where the big need is right now. Architect as well, of course, one of them that is a lot more specialized, and I’ll just put my screen back here for a second. Let me go in this one, is the Power Platform RPA developer, which is robotic process automation. That one I’ve seen a little bit less demand, but also Microsoft is so new in this field that it has been dominated by UiPath and others, and I’m sure that will grow. But now, if you ask me, what’s the best certification for you? My answer will always be the one that covers the products that you work with. I don’t think we need to follow the best certification in a way, because the answer will always be the architect. So it will always be, you know, the one at the top here, where is it? The advanced one, the expert. That will always be the best one in theory.
However, if you’re a developer, get the developer one. If you’re an RPA developer, you specialize in robotic process automation, get that certification. It really depends on the job you do and proving to employers that you know how to do that job. For example, I do a lot of Power Automate; I don’t do a lot of Power Apps. So the best one for me is “Create and manage automated processes with Power Automate,” the applied skill, because that’s the one that applies to most of the projects I’m doing. So that is my answer. Jonah or Thiago, do you want to add anything?
Yeah, I can chime in on that one. That’s exactly what I was saying. It’s not just the certification itself now; it’s also the applied skills. And you can get, like, the, you know, Power Platform developer, for example, and then also complete that with, you know, an applied skill. Because the applied skills are, like, super specific, you know, to tasks, or in this case, you know, super specific. For example, you were saying, Vlad, you do a lot of stuff in Power Automate, so there is this one: “Create and manage automated processes by using Power Automate.” But if you’re doing more Power Apps, you know, there’s one for Power Apps, and so on. So also see those applied skills, and don’t forget the applied skills are free, okay? You just need to sit and solve, like, a challenge, and you get the applied skill on your transcript, like, immediately. So that’s good.
Yes, in my perspective, I don’t work with Power Platform every day. I work a lot with Azure, but I am very interested to work and learn Power Platform in a way that you can use or combine, actually, the programming logic, for example, of Azure functions and integrate it with Logic Apps or Power Automate in terms of, like, Teams integration. So I think it’s a good way for everybody to learn at least for existing project kind of work, in my perspective.
