Certification and training - Magento 1 vs Magento 2

Question

Looking to get certified as a Magento developer however finding the certification page a bit confusing. It looks as though all of the certs are for Magento 1 and but you can do Magento U Courses for Magento 2.

Questions:

1. Are there certifications yet for Magento 2
2. Would it be best to only get certifications in Magento 2 if they exist
3. If Magento 2 certifications dont exist is it still worth getting Magento 1 certified

Answer 1

1. No, there are no certifications for Magento 2 yet (as of writing). Magento has expressed in various webinars and elsewhere that they won't be creating the certification for M2 until there's a solid base of real-world experience working with it (on the part of merchants and developers).

I expect we will start hearing about it around Imagine 2017 (April). This is purely speculation.

Until then, there is a 'Magento 2 Trained' program, but to my knowledge it is only available to Magento solution partners. https://magento.com/training/catalog/magento-2-trained-partner-program-mp

2. Not entirely applicable, but this is a matter of preference. Do you work with M1? Then it may be of value.

3. If you already work with Magento 1 extensively, there is no harm in pursuing certification for it before the M2 certification comes out. A lot of knowledge about how Magento works will translate, so anything you learn in the process will be of value. If you don't have Magento 1 experience and will only be working with Magento 2 going forward, you're probably better off waiting.

This is a pretty common question, so also see the various related questions/answers on the sidebar, including:

• Magento Developer Certification for Magento 1 or 2
• Certification - how will magento 2 release affect it?

Answer 2

My response is based on my personal experience from attending the Magento 2 Developer Bootcamp offered by Magento.

1. Yes, but not in the sense you're referring to. The Recognized Magento 2 Fundamentals Developer Assessment. The Fundamentals of Magento 2 Development on-demand course and it's accompanying classroom add-on are prerequisites for the assessment. We were told that we would receive a certificate upon successful completion of the assessment, albeit not the official Magento 2 Developer certification.
   
   The following description is from Magento's website.

   For employers, it provides recognition of the active learning and knowledge transfer experienced by the participant in completing the Magento 2 Fundamentals curriculum.

   Some folks speculated that the assessment is being offered as an an interim solution for the high demand for Magento 2 certifications until the official certification is available (rumored to be Imagine 2017).

2. That depends on what you need the certification for to begin with. Work? Pleasure? Either way, I don't see how having both would ever hurt you.

3. See the answer to question two.