CareerOneStop’s Certification Finder includes details for more than 6,000 professional certifications. The online tool offers users a quick way to search for relevant certifications that can help them advance their careers. A chili-pepper icon designates the certifications that have been identified as most in demand by employers—vital information for career planners, job seekers, and workforce professionals.
CareerOneStop staff analyze current job posting data to identify these “hot” certifications.
How does the analysis work?
Analysts start by compiling a structured list of certification and organization names and acronyms. Then, they use a Python-based program to analyze millions of National Labor Exchange job postings, searching for and matching references to those certifications.
Because employers often use abbreviations or partial certification titles, the matching process accounts for variations in how certifications are written. For example, an employer may indicate “Azure AI”, meaning “Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals”. Rather than eliminate these non-exact titles, the matching process identifies the likely matches and calculates frequency counts.
After automated matching is complete, analysts manually review certifications with high match volumes. This step helps eliminate false positives and confirms that employer mentions reflect legitimate demand. One common complexity involves certifications that share identical or similar names but are issued by different organizations. This is common with “Personal Trainer” certifications, for example. In these cases, contextual review helps ensure correct attribution.
The result is a list of certifications that employers are actively referencing in job postings. We conduct this process annually, so the data are up to date.
Who benefits from this data?
For job seekers, In Demand certifications provide insight into which credentials employers are looking for. Earning a certification can demonstrate verified competency and may strengthen their competitiveness in the job market.
For workforce professionals and training providers, this analysis offers demand-informed data to support program design, advising, and investment decisions.
While certification demand can vary by occupation and region, the In Demand designation highlights certifications that are nationally trending with employers.
You’ll find the Certification Finder at CareerOneStop.org under the Toolkit where you can select to filter by “In Demand” to see hot certifications in any occupation or industry.