Certifications
Certifications are a great way to show your competence to employers. During your time in the program, there will be a few opportunities to get discounts on certification vouchers, or course credit for certifications.
Cisco Certifications¶
Ontario Tech is partnered with Cisco as a Cisco Academy. While enrolled in any of the networking classes, your instructors will give you access to NetAcad courses. If you complete the courses and pass the practice exams with a 75% or higher average, you are able to claim a discount voucher for the relevant certification.
The first year networking classes follow CCNA content. Year two networking (plus third year's troubleshooting class) follow CCNP content.
Amazon¶
In the third year INFR 2670U - Introduction to Cloud Services course, you will have the opportunity to get course credit for obtaining a cloud certification. While the certification you choose can be for any of the major cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure), most people choose AWS due to it having the largest market share.
Amazon offers a program in which you can claim a 100% off voucher, allowing you to get your certification for free. The catch is: the process of obtaining this voucher will take months, and you need to start well before you start the Cloud Services class in order to obtain it in time.
Note that this information applies to the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification. The process for other certifications may be slightly different.
First, you need to complete the two following AWS Skill Builder courses - Exam Prep Official Question Set: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02 - English) - Exam Prep Standard Course: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02 - English)
After you have completed these courses, you need to join the AWS Emerging Talent Community. Once signed up, you will have access to activities that you can complete for a small amount of points. You need 3500 points to redeem the voucher, but there are only so many activities you can complete each week, which will typically net you 20-100 points.