🔥 Chasing Atlassian Merch 👕 Led Me to 3 Specialist Designations 👀

[Mark Sayo]

It honestly started as a joke… 😅  (in my head: Bee Gees playing 🎶)

I thought:
👉 “If I complete more certifications, maybe I’ll get more Atlassian SWAG.”

After completing all 6 Atlassian Associate certifications in just 3 weeks back in March 2026 (shared in my previous post 👉 🚀 6 Atlassian Associate Certifications in 3 Weeks (All in March 2026) 🔥 

But somewhere along the way, things escalated…

👉 Chasing Atlassian certifications led me to Specialist Designations… and an Atlassian gift box 🎁👀

---

✅ Atlassian Certified Teamwork Collection Specialist
✅ Atlassian Certified Agile DevOps Specialist
✅ Atlassian Certified ITSM Specialist

---

💡 What I learned:

Atlassian recently introduced Certification Designations, which recognize broader expertise across their solutions—not just one product.

Instead of passing a single exam, you earn them by stacking related certifications within a specific domain.

There are four main paths:

• Administration Expert
• Agile DevOps Specialist
• ITSM Specialist
• Teamwork Collection Specialist

👉 More details here:
Atlassian Certified Designations

---

😂 Reality check: I thought I was chasing more shirts…
But I ended up gaining cross-solution expertise across Atlassian tools

Not a bad trade-off 👕➡️📚🎁😅

💡 Lesson learned: You only get one gift box, even if you earn multiple Specialist Designations 😅

---

💪 If you’re on the same journey:

• Start with Associate certifications
• Build momentum
• Then stack credentials toward Designations

You might be surprised where it leads 👀

---

Happy to share tips if anyone’s exploring Atlassian certifications!

[Ree Kent]

Congratulations @Mark Sayo , well done and great post!

[Mark Sayo]

@Ree Kent Thank you so much! 🙌
Really appreciate it, glad to share my journey with the community!

[Jason Krewson]

Congratulations and well done! 

I really like Atlassian certs as well and currently I am studying for ACP-520. I think it's a great way to validate what you already know while also filling in the gaps of what you don't.

Keep on knocking them out, we look forward to the next post!

[Mark Sayo]

@Jason Krewson  Thank you so much! 🙌

Totally agree, Atlassian certs are a great way to validate what you already know while also filling in the gaps. That was exactly my experience as well.

Good luck with ACP-520, that’s a great next step! 💪
Looking forward to your post when you pass 👀🔥

[Susan Waldrip]

Congrats on a great achievement, @Mark Sayo ! And thanks for posting about your approach and experience.

[Mark Sayo]

@Susan Waldrip Thank you so much! 🙌
I appreciate that and I completely agree. The process really helps reinforce what we already know while also uncovering gaps along the way.
Glad you found the approach helpful! 😊

[Patricia Francezi_iDev_]

I did the same - just because of the more 2 opportunities of having more shirts, and thought the patch would be different for each one... 

Actually I dont agree on receiving only one giftbox @Ree Kent LOL 

we should have one per designation 

But @Mark Sayo the good news is that if you go to the Expert side of the force, you will earn a Expert gift box as well. 

[Mark Sayo]

@Patricia Francezi_iDev_  Haha I agree! 😂

I was also expecting a “per designation” reward system 👀

Looks like I need to switch to the Expert side of the force next… for both the challenge and the upgraded gift box 🎁🚀

[Brita Moorus]

Congrats! 🙌