Tell CertPath where you are and where you want to go. Get a sequenced, time-estimated certification plan with reasoning — built for IT professionals moving into cloud, security, and beyond.
No generic templates. CertPath builds your sequence based on your specific certs, your target role, and how much time you have each week.
🗃
Enter what you hold
List your current certifications — or pick from the quick-add tags. We use these to skip redundant steps.
🎯
Set your target role
Cloud architect, security analyst, SysAdmin, pentester — or describe something specific. The path adjusts to the destination.
⏱
Tell us your pace
Weekly study hours shape time estimates. Someone studying 5 hrs/week needs a different plan than someone doing 20.
📍
Get your roadmap
A sequenced, reasoned path — with study hours, priority level, and resource pointers for each cert.
// WHAT YOU GET
More than a list of cert names
Every field in the output earns its place. No padding, no generic advice.
🗺
Sequenced steps
Certs appear in the order that builds on each other — no jumping to OSCP before Security+.
⏳
Time estimates
Calendar ranges scaled to your weekly study hours so you can plan around real life.
💬
Reasoning per cert
Each step explains why it comes here — not just what it is. You understand the logic, not just the list.
🔗
Resource pointers
Study platforms and exam links per cert. No hunting across Reddit threads for where to start.
📊
Total commitment view
See total certs, total estimated study hours, and overall timeline at a glance before you commit.
📋
Copyable output
One click exports the full roadmap as clean plain text. Paste it into Notion, a doc, or your notes app.
// EXAMPLE · CLOUD SECURITY TRACK
What a roadmap looks like
Starting from scratch, targeting a Cloud Security Engineer role, studying 10 hrs/week.
AZ-900
Azure Fundamentals
5 wks
→
SC-900
Security Fundamentals
3 wks
→
SY0-701
CompTIA Security+
8 wks
→
AZ-500
Azure Security Engineer
10 wks
→
MS-102
M365 Administrator
10 wks
→
SC-200
Security Operations Analyst
8 wks
Total: ~44 weeks (~11 months) at 10 hrs/week · 6 certifications · estimated ~440 study hours. The first three certs (highlighted) build the foundation that makes AZ-500 and SC-200 significantly easier to pass on the first attempt.
// BUILD YOUR ROADMAP
Plan your path
Fill in what you have and where you're going. The AI handles the sequencing.
certpath_planner.py
More tools for IT professionals
CertPath is one of several free tools from The IT Desk AI — a newsletter for IT professionals navigating AI, cloud, and security careers.
Effective date: June 25, 2026 · CertPath by The IT Desk AI
1. Acceptance of terms
By accessing or using CertPath ("the Tool"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, please do not use the Tool. These terms apply to all visitors and users.
2. Description of service
CertPath is a free, browser-based tool that uses the Anthropic Claude API to generate IT certification roadmap recommendations based on user-provided inputs. The Tool is intended as a planning aid for IT professionals and students.
3. Informational purpose only
All roadmap output is generated by an AI language model for informational and planning purposes only. CertPath does not constitute professional career counseling, academic advising, or employer-specific guidance. Certification requirements, exam costs, exam availability, and vendor programs change frequently. You are responsible for verifying current requirements directly with certification vendors (Microsoft, CompTIA, Offensive Security, EC-Council, etc.) before making enrollment or financial decisions.
4. Acceptable use
You agree to use the Tool only for lawful purposes. You must not:
Submit content that contains sensitive personal or employment information of third parties
Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or abuse the Tool or the underlying API infrastructure
Use the Tool in a manner that violates Anthropic's usage policies
Represent AI-generated roadmap output as official certification guidance from any vendor
5. Third-party services
The Tool uses the Anthropic Claude API. Text you submit is sent to Anthropic's servers for processing under their privacy and data retention policies. We are not responsible for Anthropic's data handling beyond what is described in our Privacy Policy. The Tool may reference third-party study platforms (e.g., Microsoft Learn, TryHackMe, Udemy). These are mentioned for informational purposes only; we have no affiliate relationship with any platform unless explicitly stated.
6. No warranty
The Tool is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for purpose of any AI-generated roadmap output. Cert requirements, exam codes, and study time estimates may be outdated.
7. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, The IT Desk AI and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Tool, including but not limited to reliance on certification roadmap recommendations, exam fees paid based on Tool output, or employment decisions.
8. Intellectual property
The CertPath interface, logo, and original content are the property of The IT Desk AI. You retain ownership of any text you submit. You grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to process your input solely to provide the requested output.
9. Changes to terms
We may update these Terms at any time. Continued use after changes are posted constitutes acceptance. The effective date above reflects the most recent revision.
Effective date: June 25, 2026 · CertPath by The IT Desk AI
1. Overview
This Privacy Policy explains how CertPath, operated by The IT Desk AI, handles information when you use the Tool. We are committed to transparency about what data flows where.
2. What we do not collect
CertPath does not:
Require account creation, login, or email submission
Store your inputs or generated roadmaps on our servers
Use advertising or behavioral tracking cookies
Collect your name, email address, IP address, or device fingerprint
Run third-party analytics scripts
3. Data sent to third-party APIs
When you click "Generate my roadmap," the text you have entered — your current certifications, target role, study hours, and any additional context — is sent directly from your browser to the Anthropic Claude API over HTTPS for processing. This transmission is necessary for the Tool to function.
Avoid submitting employer names, employee IDs, or confidential organizational information
Use general descriptions rather than specific internal role titles if privacy is a concern
Review Anthropic's data retention policies if you have concerns about how API inputs are handled
4. Local processing
The user interface, form logic, result rendering, and copy-to-clipboard functionality run entirely in your browser. No input data is stored in our databases — we do not operate a database for this Tool. Form field values are held in browser memory only for the duration of your active session.
5. Browser data
Your browser may cache page assets (HTML, CSS, web fonts) as part of normal browser behavior. This is standard browser functionality outside our control. No user input is persisted to localStorage, sessionStorage, or any browser storage mechanism by this Tool.
6. Children's privacy
CertPath is intended for use by IT professionals and adult learners. The Tool is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
7. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The effective date above reflects the most recent revision. Continued use after changes are posted constitutes acceptance.