The free route in, and what the certificates really cost.
Every certificate here is priced against the issuer's own page, with the cost per active year worked out in front of you — and on many of these routes our answer is that you should not buy one at all.
On 36 of our 61 routes, the answer is buy nothing. Free material takes you the whole way, and we say so instead of pointing you at a course that pays us.
Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS)
| Sticker price | $445 |
|---|---|
| Valid | 2 years — stated on the official page. |
| Renewal | Re-certify before expiry. The purchase includes 12 months of exam eligibility, two exam attempts and two simulator attempts. |
| Real cost | $223/yr445 ÷ 2 |
We do that for every certificate on the site, and we say plainly when the answer is that it is not worth it.
Counts come from the data files, not from a hand-edited number. 272 more credentials are listed in the directory without a full price ledger. What we checked, and how far →
Pick a direction
IT, Systems & Cloud
The most reliable no-degree entry into tech. You start by fixing things for people, and the work compounds into systems, networking and cloud.
Cybersecurity
Defensive security work — watching, investigating and responding. Most people arrive here from help desk or networking rather than straight off the street.
AI / Machine Learning
Building and shipping models and the systems around them. The most hyped family on this site, and the one where we are most careful to be honest about entry difficulty.
UX & Product Design
Deciding how a product should work for the people using it. The most portfolio-driven family here, and the most genuinely open to people without a degree.
Software Engineering
Building the software itself — front end, back end, mobile, and the testing and delivery around it.
Data
Turning data into answers people act on — analysis, reporting, and the modelling underneath it.
Infrastructure & Advanced Computing
Software close to the metal — embedded devices, robots, sensors, image processing and machines built for scale. Smaller fields than web or cloud, and less crowded because of it.
Browse everything
The routes above are curated — a handful of resources each, deliberately. Behind them sits the full directory: 889 resources, filterable by field, type and what is actually free. The directory page says plainly how far each entry was checked — they are not all verified to the same standard.
Why the routes are short
A role page shows only a few resources on purpose — when you are starting out, a long list is the problem rather than the help. The whole collection is still here, one click away in the directory; the routes just pick a way through it.