To meet today’s dynamic and fast-paced workforce, micro-credentials have become the industry's method for validating relevant skills. Let’s be honest: studying for a certification can be daunting. It requires months of focus and dedication, diving deep into the full subjects, filled with a plethora of knowledge and skills. Then, you must prove your competency by passing a proctored exam. Sometimes, opening a certification study guide is enough to contemplate what extra dessert you deserve (donuts for me), which will help you get through a lengthy list of exam objectives to study.

The good news is that the unheated rivalry to proctored certifications are micro-credentials, for us at Okta known as Skill and Super Badges, that are here to bridge the gap between learning and earning. Skill and Super badges are compatible with certifications as they are meant to compliment each other in your learning and assessment goals.

Skill badges and super badges are a flexible way to learn and earn. They validate that you have a specific single skill or a cluster of skills. Think of an Okta or Auth0 Skill Badge as a quiz on a single chapter in a book and a Super Badge on several chapters of a book. A certification is a comprehensive exam that essentially covers the entire textbook, with the additional recommendation of hands-on experience before attempting an exam. All credentials are valuable and serve different purposes as you grow your knowledge. 

It gets better: Skill Badges and Super Badges are stand alone micro-credentials that showcase your skills. You can leverage their associated learning paths and micro-assessments as additional preparation alongside the exam study guide for certification. Or if you are new to IAM, leverage Skill and Super badges to see what interests you. Maybe you only need to know how to use a specific feature or product that is relevant to a project you’re collaborating on. Skill and Super badges are here for you, one quick and efficient learning path and non-proctored micro-assessment at a time. 

Plus, when you complete the learning path(s) and pass the micro-assessment(s) for a Skill or Super Badge, you earn a credential in the form of a digital badge from Credly to share your skills on your resume, LinkedIn profile, e-mail signature, etc. And, yes, Skill Badges and Super Badges are kind of like the industry's trading cards. I’ve heard from technical subject matter experts that they like to collect ‘em all.

Okta Learning offers a wide range of Skill and Super Badges across key areas of Okta and Auth0, including: Getting Started, Administration, Development, and Best Practices.  

Unsure where to begin? On Okta Learning, you can filter through a variety of topics for either the Okta or Auth0 platform and select the specific skills you want to learn that are relevant to your projects, role, or aspiring career. You can access on-demand courses and learning paths, at times that work for you to prepare and build your skills.

Remember this, “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch.” I heard this saying nearly 12 years ago, when my former colleague and I both started our first new jobs together in a niche industry, and we had…so. much. to. learn. I have kept that saying in my back pocket whenever I need to learn something lengthy and complex.

Okta and Auth0 Skill and Super badges help you inch your way through learning and earning: your learning journey is a life-long marathon, and we’re here to celebrate your wins. Earning an Okta or Auth0 Skill or Super Badge is a little extra extrinsic motivation meant to inspire, validate, and showcase, while you stay relevant in today’s fast-paced industry.  

Speaking of relevancy, we are thrilled to announce our new Okta Identity Governance super badge! We know how critical it is to effectively manage and strengthen the security of your company. This new super badge will showcase your proficiency in configuring Okta Identity Governance to streamline access and compliance for your company. 

Earners of the Okta Identity Governance super badge have validated their skills in:

• Configuring certification campaigns to audit access to resources and ensure least privileged access
• Enabling self-service access requests and automating the approval process
• Configuring entitlements and granting access to them through a transparent and auditable process

To earn the Okta Identity Governance super badge, complete and pass the required learning paths:

• Identity Governance Access Certifications
• Identity Governance Access Requests
• Identity Governance Entitlement Management

Earn all three OIG Skill Badges, and you will automatically earn the Okta Identity Governance Super Badge!

All of our Okta and Auth0 Skill and Super badges are available to you on-demand at learning.okta.com. To learn more about our certifications, visit okta.com/certification

The Okta Certification team wishes you the best of luck with your certification and credentialing journey!