Training path

[Matthias Celis]

Dear Atlassians,

I am at the beginning of my career as an Atlassian Consultant and would like to take a structured and strategic approach to my professional development.

My background is within the Microsoft ecosystem, where I worked as an IT System Administrator across first- and second-line support roles, as well as in Microsoft Power Platform engineering. Currently, I am providing support focused on user management within the Atlassian stack.

Before fully transitioning into this new role, I would like to follow the most relevant training and certification path to build strong technical and functional expertise. Could you advise on a recommended roadmap, including key certifications and learning tracks that would best support a consultant trajectory?

Thank you in advance for your guidance.

[Martin Runge]

Hi Matthias,

Since you already manage users, your first priority should be mastering Jira Cloud, which is the foundation of the platform. I recommend starting with the "Become an effective Jira admin" Learning Path, then building other admin skills, and working toward the ACP-120 (Jira Administration for Cloud) certification. This industry-standard certification demonstrates your expertise in global settings, permission schemes, and project configurations. It is essential for establishing your credibility as a consultant.

Later, you can expand your expertise to additional apps on the platform by pursuing the ACP-520 Cloud Organization Admin Certification, ACP-420 for Jira Service Management, and ACP-220 for Confluence.

Ultimately, I recommend focusing on one designation and developing specialized expertise.
The Atlassian ecosystem is too extensive for anyone to master every niche app. I recommend adopting a 'T-shaped' expertise model, maintaining broad knowledge of the suite while developing deep expertise in key areas.

[Matthias Celis]

That makes a lot of sense, and it aligns with what others have told me about the Atlassian ecosystem being too broad to fully master.In your experience, would you still recommend actively pursuing multiple certifications over time, or is it better to focus deeply on one core designation and build practical expertise around it?

[Martin Runge]

Hi Matthias, I recommend starting with one core designation that best matches your daily work and tasks on the Atlassian platform. Over time, these areas may expand as you naturally cover more topics. As your experience grows, you can easily focus more specifically on more. There are many resources available even without formal certification, such as the ACH and ACA certifications, as well as numerous learning paths in the Community. You might also explore Udemy with Robert Hean, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning with Rachel Wright, or Atlassian Everything on skool.com by Alex and Josh.

[Jay Jarman]

Matthias, I would agree that the Atlassian ecosystem is broad, but it's not so broad that you can't master it.  Start with Jira and Confluence, then move to the different admin learning paths.  Once you've taken those learning paths, you can go to Rovo, and then the other Atlassian apps.  If you've done any development or are managing dev accounts, Compass and Forge are good apps to learn.  If you're not with the dev team but are working with your ITSM team, JSM is a good app to learn about.  You're not going to master it by taking a course.  You'll have to work with the apps, but you'll get there.

[Shashank Dubey]

Hi @Matthias Celis 
First of all, congratulations on starting your journey as an Atlassian Consultant! With your background in the Microsoft ecosystem (system administration + Power Platform), you already have a strong foundation in identity management, governance, automation, and enterprise architecture — all highly valuable in the Atlassian world.

 I’d recommend from a Community perspective
Core Certifications:
Atlassian Certified Associate – Jira Administrator (ACP-120 equivalent track)
Jira Service Management Administrator
Confluence Administrator
ACP-620: Managing Jira Projects
ACP-420: Managing Jira Service Projects
Atlassian Cloud Organization Admin
 
With your Microsoft + Power Platform background, you are in a very strong position to become a cross-ecosystem integration specialist.
Wishing you success on your consultant journey — and welcome to the Community! 🚀