In this AWS Certification blog, we will discuss everything you need to know about AWS certifications like “Why certification is important & Which certification is right for you?”
Irrespective of the size of a Company, everyone in the industry has started to adopt cloud services in one way, and AWS is the major leading player in the cloud services provider industry. AWS Training & Certification is designed to provide in-depth knowledge about AWS services not only from a certification point of view but also from a job perspective.
Why AWS Certification is important?
Being AWS certified shows that you have the most industry-centric knowledge that is validated by the world leader in the Cloud Computing stream. Certifications are a great way to demonstrate your skills to potential employers
Below Table shows the benefits of AWS Certifications:
Gartner’s Infrastructure & Platform Services Magic Quadrant
According to Gartner, Amazon’s cloud currently is 10 times bigger than its next 14 competitors, combined. This clearly shows that more and more organizations are opting for AWS, which directly indicates that more career opportunities coming your way if you are AWS certified.
What AWS Certification options do we have?
Let’s start with a 30,000-foot view or big picture: AWS currently offers 11 certifications, including six core certifications and five specialty certificates. Basically, AWS organizes its core certificates into three parts: starting with Foundational and then you can advance to Associate and Professional certifications.
Check Out: Our blog post on AWS VPC.
Which AWS certification should I get?
What Experience do I need?
These are the maximum time-asked questions that I’ll try and answer for you. Each and every person come from different starting points so the answers to the above questions will depend on your current skills and experience and what your career objectives are. Therefore, I’d like to start with an overview of the different levels of certification offered by us and how they relate to your background and career aspirations.
From 2019 AWS removed the prerequisites from all AWS certifications so this means you can now take ANY AWS certification at any time, you don’t need to complete other certifications first. Now you’ll learn, there is a structure to the AWS certification learning paths and it is wise to follow that structure to maximize your chance of success in your exams and most importantly to ensure you have a good skill set to take into your working life.
“CERTIFICATE ACCOLADES KNOWLEDGE WHILE KNOWLEDGE PROMISES CERTIFICATE.”
Types of AWS Certifications Based on Job Role
AWS, for now, provides six core certifications and five specialty certifications (For your information AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder – Specialty exam (AXS-C01) has just recently been retired). All these AWS certifications are grouped into 4 main paths based on job role – Foundational, Architect, Operations, and Developer.
Foundational
This is a basic or entry-level certification that is designed for people who want to build and validate their overall understanding of the AWS cloud. This path is beneficial for those people who are more in managerial, sales, technical, finance and purchasing roles working with AWS cloud. There is only one exam in this path which is the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam.
You can start your AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner with us, as the best place to start for anyone who’s new to cloud computing. This will help you build your core strength, the foundation you’ll need as you dive deeper into the inner workings of AWS.
So, if you are ready to fly with us on the AWS Cloud journey then take the first step on your AWS learning path and begin your cloud quest with our AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner course.
Architect
This particular AWS certification path is designed for solution design engineers, solutions architects, and everyone who wishes to learn how to develop applications and systems on the AWS platform. AWS Architect path has two sub-paths:
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate: At this certification level, you have to demonstrate your knowledge of how things are designed, managed, and how well you can use AWS tools. If you are taking this certification must possess the ability to design and deploy highly scalable and available systems in AWS. Although it is not necessary, it is just recommended that those who wish to take this certification have at least one year of hands-on experience designing and deploying highly fault-tolerant and scalable AWS systems.
Ready to proceed with one of the top certifications in the cloud? Level up your AWS skills with AWS Certified Solutions Architect –Associate course. - AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional: Now here comes the Boss of Associate the Professional to undertake this certification, it is recommended (not required) to take the Associate-level AWS Certified Solutions Architect exam and have at least two years of hands-on experience designing and deploying AWS systems (Not mandatory at all). In this certification, you are required to showcase knowledge of complex AWS applications, including how to apply application design best practices in an optimized manner, and how to move applications to AWS.
Ready to take down one of the toughest certs in the cloud? Prepare for AWS glory with our AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional course.
Developer & Operations
This path is specifically designed for software developers who are interested in learning how to create cloud applications on AWS and how they work. It has two sub-paths that include:
- AWS Certified Developer – Associate: This certification provides you code-level knowledge and understanding for AWS application design, development, and maintenance. It is highly recommended not mandatory again! that you possess a minimum of one year of experience maintaining AWS applications before taking this certification.
Start your cloud journey for an exam with AWS Certified Developer – Associate course. - AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate: This path provides single certification though the DevOps Engineer Professional in the Developer path also sits across this route. It provides knowledge of operations and deployment of different AWS services and architecture, including data migration and application deployment.
- AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional: For this certification, it is recommended to have at least two years of hands-on experience provisioning and managing AWS. Professionals learn various concepts involving continuous deployment and automation of AWS processes as well as how to implement them into the AWS architecture.
Master the ultimate skills needed to ace the exam and grow in your career with AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional course.
Specialty
Specialty AWS certifications that are more specialized, these certifications focus on specific AWS services but the level of technical expertise required is very deep. You need to be an expert in your chosen specialty before taking these exams.
- AWS Certified Machine Learning – Speciality: This certification is intended for those who perform a development or data science role. It Mainly validates a candidate’s ability to design, implement, deploy, and maintain machine learning (ML) solutions for particular problems. Machines can adapt and learn, so can you. Start learning and prepare for your exam with AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty course
- AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty: This Certification is designed to validate candidate’s skills and experience in connection with performing complex networking tasks on AWS and hybrid IT networking architecture at scale. A person should possess a background in architecting and implementing network solutions and advanced knowledge of networking on AWS.
- AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty: This certification is mainly focused on all the data services, especially S3, RedShift, Kinesis, and Elastic MapReduce.
- AWS Certified Security – Specialty: The certification covers major topics such as security pros and teams need to master security fundamentals, follow best practices, and build deep knowledge in key services unique to the AWS platform.
- AWS Certified Database – Specialty: It basically validates that you have an overall comprehension of all the AWS database services offered, as well as how to bring value to your business through optimized database integration and architecting.
The following mentioned image below also shows the AWS role-based certifications associated with the above-mentioned categories of difficulty levels to explain the AWS certification path.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: I’m New to Cloud from where to start?
Answer: Our recommendation will be to start with the AWS Solution Architect Associate. This certification is for those who are from both technical and non-technical backgrounds who want to explore the AWS cloud and the core AWS services. Once you’re finished with this, you can then move on to the associate-level certifications or professionals ones.
Q2: What are the best ways to prepare for the AWS Certification Exam?
Answer: This will always differ from person to person, but I personally recommend is to watch the live session recording(Yes! we have interactive live sessions for every course), and play with the AWS console. This allows you to perform Labs/Activity Guides.
General Tips
To pass AWS certification, you’ll need to get your hands dirty with AWS — and the only way to do that is by using all the AWS services covered in the certification training.
So, my suggestion would be to complete the course, and then try it again without following the course. Try to explore yourself with AWS. Create minor projects to practice and understand AWS. There is no shortcut to learn AWS when you are studying and preparing for the exam.
Q3: What’s next after AWS Solution Architect Associate?
Answer: After completing the Solutions Architect Associate the first step is to start your cloud career. The Solutions architect exam is tougher as it requires you to have knowledge of almost all the AWS Services as compared to other associate-level exams. The doors have now opened for you to decide which career path you want to take. You can either go for the Developer, SysOps, or can take up the Professional level exam.
Q4: How much does it cost to get AWS certified?
Answer: The prices of AWS certification are based on the level of the certification:
- Practitioner = $100
- Associate = $150
- Professional = $300
- Specialty = $300
Q5: Why should I earn the AWS Certification?
Answer: Earning an AWS certification could not only increase the probability of landing that next job interview, but also create opportunities for a long-term, successful career path.
- More than 80% of people get a higher salary as a direct result of cloud certification.
- Global Knowledge found IT professionals who gained new skills and/or certifications have a high probability of receiving an average raise of $12,000 to $13,000.