Zendesk has a whole suite of paid certifications. I recently bumped into folks asking this question, so here’s my two cents.
TL;DR? If someone else is paying you for that, definitely yes: go ahead and get certified! If you’re considering paying for it yourself, get ready to spend somewhere between three-hundred and fifty to approximately one thousand bucks.
So… I was never asked for a cert when being interviewed for admin roles. IMHO, Zendesk certifications can be a costly investment, at least if you’re a freelancer on a limited budget. It might happen that you just can’t afford to spend that money, which is totally legit!
Example:
- Let’s say I want to showcase that I’m proficient in Support and Explore (the reporting tool). This would cost me, as of late January 2023, $350 + $350 = $700
- If I throw in Guide (help center / knowledge management tool), that’s an additional $199
- Let’s add Chat, which also costs $199
This totals $1,098. These are the usual Zendesk products most businesses need help with. As you can imagine, not everyone has this kind of financial availability.
The only time I got an Admin certificate (in over ten years zendeskin’), it was paid for by a previous client who wanted to offer that extra to the team’s curriculum, which was nice! My cert expired in June ’22, though, and I won’t renew it.
Don’t get me wrong: a cert can be a great thing to have, especially for those starting out and who lack data/experience to back their expertise. If I were to hire a Zendesk admin, however, I’d likely ignore if they’re certified.
On the other hand, I can totally understand that some employers may lack sufficient knowledge to ask the right questions when recruiting a Zendesk Admin. I think it makes sense that companies ask if the candidate wouldn’t mind getting certified. It’s a risky early investment, and they won’t pay a cert to all candidates who lack one, of course, so they should validate all other job requirements first, and then offer to pay for the cert.
What’s your opinion? Are you certified? Let’s chat in the comments!