4 Certifications That Will Earn You Money During COVID-19 Shutdowns

Geeks who love information and don’t mind staying home have an advantage when it comes to earning money during the COVID-19 shutdowns.

With a little effort, it’s easy to turn a love for information into a profitable source of income. The key is finding the opportunities that most people ignore. The challenge is that some of those opportunities are only available to people with certifications.

If you’re looking for income while the world is shut down, consider acquiring the following certifications to broaden your income opportunities.

1. Certified Personal Accountant (CPA) license

CPAs earn good money and rightfully so. Most CPAs are required to have a four-year bachelor’s degree focusing on accounting with an extra year of study. CPA licensing is hard-earned.

If you’re in the process of earning a qualifying bachelor’s degree, or if you already have one, getting your CPA license will help you earn money during the coronavirus economic shutdowns. You don’t have to create your own firm or work for anyone else’s firm. You can conduct business online as an independent contractor.

If you haven’t begun the process, verify your state’s CPA exam requirements before getting started. Some states have different requirements for sitting for the exam and for getting certified. If you’re still in school and can’t meet your state’s educational requirements this year, don’t give up; good things are worth waiting for.

Complete your education and in the meantime, study hard. The CPA exam is one of the toughest exams to pass. You can’t study too much.

2. Digital marketing certifications

Digital marketing is perhaps the one industry that won’t see a permanent hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. With business continuing to move online, the demand for digital marketing services will only rise. In fact, a Search Engine Journal survey of more than 4,500 digital marketing professionals found that marketing firms are experiencing an increase in sales, traffic, and new customers.

If you love crunching data, strategizing for SEO, and devising high-level marketing strategies, now is the perfect time to get certified in digital marketing.

Not sure which certifications to pursue? Here’s a list of fifteen certifications you might find useful. If you’re more interested in the analytical side of marketing, the top certifications you should pursue are Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Market Motive.

You won’t be able to start your own marketing firm with a basic certification, but you will learn enough to land an entry-level job at an existing marketing firm.

3. Basic website development certifications

If you’ve been tinkering around with HTML, CSS, and a little JavaScript here and there, start focusing your efforts on building solid skills you can sell to clients. Website development is always in demand, but that demand is about to skyrocket.

Current statistics show that the demand for ecommerce websites isn’t any higher than it’s always been. However, that’s guaranteed to change. There’s no telling how long this pandemic will last. With a handful of European countries entering a second phase of lockdowns, it’s easy to see that online business will soon be required to survive in the world’s economy.

Now is the perfect time to turn your geeky passion for coding into a source of income. Search for courses on sites like Udemy and complete the ones that interest you. Today’s web clients are more interested in what you can do rather than your certifications, but by earning certifications, you’ll learn the necessary skills.

4. Programming certifications

If you geek out messing around with Python, PHP, or JavaScript, turn that interest into some cash by getting certified. Hopefully, you’ve already got a foundation of basic website development skills using HTML and CSS. You’ll need those skills before you can learn most programming languages, like PHP. However, there are courses that teach both at the same time.

With business moving online, there will be a stampede of business owners looking for fast, affordable design and programming services to get their business online. It looks like this demand might not exist until 2021, which makes now the perfect time to start pursuing certifications.

Technically, you can earn money with any programming language and they each have pros and cons. However, JavaScript and PHP are better for freelancers with less experience. Everyone uses JavaScript, and a large number of businesses use WordPress, which is written in PHP.

Collect as many certifications as possible

You can’t have too many certifications. The more certifications you pursue, the more you’ll learn. The more knowledge you have, the more services you can offer, which ultimately translates to more opportunities to generate money.