Certifications That Matter for MSPs

When I was running my MSP, one of the toughest challenges I faced was training my team. Finding training that actually helped turn help desk techs into superstars—whether it was sharpening their technical skills or making them better at customer communication—was nearly impossible.

And let’s be clear: great customer service is great communication. You can have the smartest engineers in the world, but if they can’t explain things clearly to clients, you’re still going to have problems.

Why Certifications Matter—For You and Your Team

Certifications aren’t just about collecting fancy letters next to your name. They can completely change the game for both you (as an MSP leader) and your team.

For you, certifications are a competitive advantage. A certified team means you have a differentiator your competitors don’t. If a prospect is comparing two MSPs, and your team has the credentials while the other doesn’t, guess who looks like the safer bet?

But the real magic happens inside your organization. A certified team is more efficient, gets more done, and that leads to higher job satisfaction. And when people feel like they’re progressing in their careers, they stick around longer. That’s a win for retention, culture, and your bottom line.

For your team, certifications mean:

Higher earning potential

Expanded skills and knowledge

A clear career path

But What Certifications Actually Matter?

Here’s the problem: not all certifications are created equal.

You’ll see stats like “PMP-certified professionals earn 26% more than their peers.” That’s great, but let’s be honest—if a certification isn’t making you better at your job, it’s not worth your time.

Most vendor certifications are designed to sell more vendor products, not to make your team better MSP engineers. So, as an MSP leader, my recommendation is to find certifications that actually help your team do their jobs better and communicate risk effectively.

That’s exactly why I built the GC3 (Galactic Certified Compliance Consultant) and CCRS (Galactic Certified Risk Strategist) certifications.

I wanted my team to learn without practicing on clients. To communicate risk at an executive level. To understand compliance and liability issues inside an organization.

If I had something like GC3 or CCRS back then, I would have made it a required part of our team’s career growth plan. Instead, we had to piece together non-MSP certifications and hope my team could figure out how to apply them. That’s a huge gap I wish I could’ve avoided.

What’s Next?

We’re rolling out a new certification in the next few weeks—one designed specifically for security engineers to help remediate findings in a vendor-agnostic way. This one is going to be a game-changer.

Stay tuned. If you’re serious about leveling up your team, you’ll want to keep an eye on this.