This guide was written with regard to Sitecore 9.0 Developer Certification, however the advice should also be relevant to those looking to get certified for other Sitecore versions as well.

Sitecore Developer Certification sounds like a daunting achievement to a new developer, at least, it did to me when I was first beginning. For many, it is one of the first steps Sitecore Developers take in their careers. It's not as difficult to achieve as I originally thought, and I hope that by explaining the steps that I took to become a Sitecore Certified Developer, I can help you along your career path.

What is Sitecore Certification?

Essentially, Sitecore Developer Certification means that you passed an exam which shows you have a good grasp of the fundamentals of Sitecore and know how to implement them when developing a Sitecore website. It doesn't mean that you are an expert at everything, but that you know the basics, as well as understand high level concepts about the overall way that Sitecore functions and what it can do. To test your proficiency, the current certification exam consists of 50 multiple choice questions. Getting a score of at least 40 correct answers (80%) grants you a Sitecore Certified Developer Certificate.

Where do I begin?

The first step that I took in becoming a certified Sitecore developer actually cost nothing. Sitecore provides a free online training course that, I believe, all new Sitecore developers should take. It provides a great high-level understanding of the Sitecore CMS and a great foundation of knowledge on which to build upon. The training guide says it should take about 5 hours to complete the training, but it took me about double that. The training consists of videos to follow along, as well as a Student Lab Guide where you take the knowledge you learn and apply it to a local Sitecore site that you've set up. Since you will be setting up a local Sitecore site, Sitecore asks that you use your employer's Sitecore license. For those that do not have the benefit of working for a company with an active license, Sitecore can also provide a free 60-day trial license to use during your training.

The next step would then be to either purchase or have your company purchase the paid Sitecore training for you. The price for this training is pretty steep at $1500. However, in my opinion, this training is more or less essential for a new developer to gain enough knowledge to pass the Sitecore Certification exam. The paid training repeats some of the basic knowledge taught in the free training, and then goes into more advanced concepts. Once activated, the training course only stays open for 4 months. That may seem like a long time, but the deadline comes up quick, so don't make the mistake of waiting. Just like the free training, the paid course consists of a series of videos and a Student Lab Guide to reinforce the topics covered during the videos.

Training Tips

While going through the training, I encourage you to take detailed notes, as well as record the questions and answers at the end of each topic module. The style and difficulty of the exam questions is very similar to the questions in the modules. When it comes time to review all of the topics for study, it will be very beneficial to see the key points (that you wrote down) all in one place, instead of trying to scrub through all of the slides again.

Another tip is to try and not space out the length of time that you do the paid training by too much. Ideally, I recommend doing 1 module every day or two. Since there are 8 modules, you should be able to get them all done in about 2-3 weeks time. After you finish all of the modules, take a day to study, and then take the Certification exam as soon as possible. There is a lot of information to remember in the training, and taking the exam while it's all fresh in your mind will make passing that much easier.

This helpful Sitecore Study Guide gives some great advice on what to study. It also breaks down the percentage of the exam devoted to various topics. There is a lot of information in the study guide and it is very easy to be overwhelmed. Do not worry, because going through and paying attention to the paid training is sufficient to be able to pass the exam.

Why do I care?

Being Sitecore Certified is a distinguishing achievement among Sitecore developers. Many people who work as Sitecore developers aren't certified. The certification process gives you a good overall understanding of how Sitecore works and makes you familiar with many of the more advanced features that you normally don't interact with as a Sitecore developer.

Being Sitecore certified also makes you a more valuable employee. Web development companies get access to various Sitecore partnership levels once they have a certain amount of certified Sitecore developers. When it all comes down to it, there is an actual monetary benefit, which should be reflected in your increased salary, if you're a certified Sitecore developer.

I was really excited to earn Sitecore certification a few weeks ago. I hope this information helps to motivate you if you're thinking about becoming Sitecore certified.

Take care!

-Szymon