AWS Cloud Certifications Explained: Which Certification is Right for You?

AWS Cloud Certifications explained: Which certification is right for you?

A cloud-certified IT professional now earn an average of $159,033, according to Global Knowledge’s Top-Paying IT Certifications for 2021. This year’s average compensation is $9,587, more significant than the previous year’s $149,446. AWS is now ranked third among North America’s top 15 highest-paying certifications. Enterprises recognize that AWS-certified employees are competent and remember what it takes to keep them.

I want to call attention to a few changes in this year’s update to our AWS certifications guide. To begin with, this year’s emphasis is on advanced certification. The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – The associate has dropped one spot in Global Knowledge’s ranking. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals are no longer in the top 15 certificates. This informs me that these entry-level certificates aren’t worth pursuing and that you should instead aim for the more advanced options. In that vein, you’ll see that a new Google certification has supplanted the previous one at the top.

In addition, four of Global Knowledge’s 15 certifications are cloud-based. This is one fewer than the previous year, but cloud certification is still a prized achievement, as the top three certifications are all cloud-based.

Despite this, many people are still unsure whether acquiring an AWS certification is the best decision for their career. Which should you go after first, and in what order? What should you anticipate from each exam? So, where do you begin? Are there some certifications you should avoid obtaining?

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Before I detail the answers to these questions, I’d like to reflect on what many people have been experiencing since March 2020. People may be spending more time at home due to work-at-home obligations or other unfavorable situations. This, I feel, represents an opportunity to profit from these circumstances. Use this time at home, if possible, to develop skill sets that can help you strengthen your résumés, such as AWS training and certifications. All AWS certifications are available online if you’re looking for a silver lining.

Understanding the AWS certification system

To begin, consider the big picture: Six core certificates and five specialist certifications are presently available through AWS. (Note: As of March 23, 2021, the AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder – Specialty exam is no longer available.) AWS divides its fundamental certifications into three categories, beginning with Foundational and progressing to Associate and Professional certifications.

AWS core certifications explained

​Now for the finer points! Here’s all you need to know about any of the other six credentials you’ll need. Now for the details! Here’s what you need to know about each of the six core certifications. 

​AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification 

• Multiple-choice format 
• Duration: 90 minutes 
• The fee is $100. 

The essential ideas of the AWS Cloud are covered in this foundational AWS exam. Questions will be posted about AWS’ most critical services and capabilities, as well as commercial use cases. You must also demonstrate a working knowledge of AWS billing, support, and pricing, as well as AWS security and compliance standards, to pass the exam. Questions about setting up resources and services on the AWS Cloud Certifications are also likely to arise.

This AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification is ideal for anyone who works in a non-technical job and requires a basic understanding of the AWS platform. For example, when discussing a customer’s AWS investments, IT salespeople can learn to talk with confidence and authority. The certification can also assist professionals in finance, management, and business jobs in interacting with their IT colleagues more clearly.

Before taking this test, AWS recommended that you have six months of AWS experience in any capacity, including technical and non-technical jobs. In practice, the amount of time you spend studying is considerably more critical for passing this exam. Make time to research and review for at least six hours.

Associate AWS Certified Solutions Architect

• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer format 
• Duration: 130 minutes 
• The fee is $150. 

To earn this certification, you must demonstrate your competence to design and deploy systems in the AWS Cloud. The exam will test your knowledge of architectural best practices and ask you questions regarding cloud-based solutions for deployments with rigorous requirements. You’ll need a lot of expertise with AWS computing, network, storage, and database services to deploy, configure, and manage them. I also recommend that you have a working grasp of AWS security and compliance policies before taking this exam.

AWS recommends spending at least a year implementing distributed systems at scale using AWS services before taking this exam.

Professional AWS Certified Solutions Architect

• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer format 
• Duration: 180 minutes 
• The fee is $300. 

Demonstrate your ability to create and deploy distributed systems in the AWS Cloud according to specifications, as well as how to scale them for fault tolerance and high availability. This certification also needs the capacity to deploy multi-tier apps to the AWS Cloud and the ability to construct enterprise-scale cloud solutions using AWS resources while keeping track of your cloud spending.

AWS no longer recommends obtaining the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification before taking this test. I recommend starting with the Solutions Architect – Associate certification if you don’t have much AWS expertise. At least two years of expertise implementing distributed systems at scale utilizing AWS services based on design criteria and best practices is strongly recommended by AWS.

Associate AWS Certified Developer

• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer format 
• Duration: 130 minutes 
• The fee is $150. 

This AWS test measures your ability to build cloud-native applications on AWS. You’ll need to demonstrate your ability to communicate with and optimize AWS services that you construct into an application using the AWS SDK.

Passing this exam also necessitates a functional comprehension of code-level security mechanisms and credential creation and encryption algorithms.

Before taking this exam, AWS recommends that you have at least a year of experience maintaining apps in the AWS Cloud. You should also be familiar with the AWS services’ primary services, ideas, and best practices. It would be best if you also had some familiarity with Amazon DynamoDB, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, and AWS CloudFormation to create applications (among others). ​

Professional AWS Certified DevOps Engineer

• ​Multiple-choice, multiple-answer format 
• Duration: 180 minutes 
• The fee is $300. 

The DevOps Engineer certification examines your ability to handle distributed applications on the Amazon Web Services Cloud from provisioning to overall operational management. You’ll be quizzed on CI/CD approaches and automation best practices, including security and compliance testing automation. You must also show that you are familiar with the AWS platform’s monitoring and logging standards.

As seen in the figure at the beginning of this section, this certification is at the professional tier for the Developer and Operations tracks.

While having an AWS Certified Developer – Associate or AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate certification is no longer required to take this exam, I still recommend having both. Unless you have years of AWS experience, working for these other two certifications will tremendously benefit you because they establish the foundational knowledge you’ll need for the professional-level certification. AWS does require at least two years of experience delivering or maintaining applications in AWS cloud deployments. And also some knowledge of automation best practices, such as scripting or other programming.

Associate AWS Certified SysOps Administrator

• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer format 
• Fee: $150 Length: 130 minutes

Examine your knowledge of how to deploy, administer, and operate AWS Cloud resources and migrate on-premises workloads to the cloud. You should be able to use cloud systems so that they are fault-tolerant and highly available. You should also match resource allocation to requirements and care for operational considerations like security and cost control.
It would help if you had at least a year of experience administering Microsoft Azure apps to be eligible for this certification. You’ll also need expertise gathering requirements and adhering to AWS best practices for deployments and project management.

AWS specialty certifications

Amazon web services offers five different types of certifications:

AWS Database Certification – Specialty

• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer format 
• Duration: 180 minutes 
• $300 registration fee 

Demonstrate your ability to use multiple AWS database services to assist your organization’s business speed and growth, including developing, recommending, and maintaining AWS database services.

AWS recommended that you have at least five years of expertise with database technologies. Also at least two years of hands-on AWS experience, and some experience working with relational and non-relational databases before taking this certification.

AWS Advanced Networking – Specialty Certification

• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer format 
• 170 minutes in length 
• The fee is $300. 

This certification is excellent for those who work on complicated networking projects, particularly those that span scalable AWS systems. You must manage a network architecture for any service on the AWS platform and automate most networking chores to pass the exam.

AWS advises getting an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner or any associate certs before taking this test. Amazon web services also recommends five years of network management expertise and a thorough understanding of networking fundamentals and best practices relevant to the AWS platform.

AWS Security – Specialty Certification

• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer format 
• 170 minutes in length 
• The fee is $300. 

This AWS test focuses on advanced security techniques for the AWS Cloud platform. Candidates for this certification should be seasoned IT security specialists who can demonstrate an expert-level understanding of AWS data protection and encryption strategies. You must also show that you know how to use AWS tools to implement and manage cloud security.

Before completing this certification, AWS recommends that you have at least two years of hands-on experience protecting AWS workloads and a minimum of five years of IT security experience.

AWS Machine Learning – Specialty Certification

• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer format 
• Duration: 180 minutes 
• The fee is $300. 

This certification focuses on developing and deploying machine learning solutions to tackle real-world challenges. Expect to be asked to identify the best machine learning solution to a problem and explain why your choice is superior to others. You’ll also need to know which AWS services are necessary for implementing a machine-learning solution. You’ll also need to understand how to optimize your AWS services so that you can create scalable, dependable, and secure solutions.

According to AWS, candidates should work in development or data science jobs and have one to two years of experience utilizing machine learning or deep learning on the AWS Cloud before taking this exam.

Specialization in AWS Certified Data Analytics

• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer format 
• Duration: 180 minutes
• The fee is $300. 

This certification assesses your knowledge of AWS data lakes and analytics services. This involves using AWS to design, construct, secure, and maintain analytics applications. To understand how AWS data analytics services link securely, you’ll need to know how to define them. You’ll have to demonstrate how data analytics services fit into the data life cycle, including data collection, storage, processing, and visualization.

AWS requires at least five years of data analytics technology knowledge and two years of hands-on experience with the AWS Cloud for this certification.

Building your AWS Certification plan

For starting and turbocharging your cloud career, I advocate the following steps:

1. AWS Solutions Architect Associate
2. Amazon web services Associate Certified Developer is a developer that has earned cheval
3. AWS SysOps Administrator Associate
4. Amazon web services Certified DevOps Engineer  – Professional
5. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional 
6. Professional AWS Certified Solutions Architect

It’s worth noting that this path excludes the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification, which isn’t beneficial for someone in a technical position. People in specialized roles should start with the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam and work their way up.

This certification also covers topics covered in the Developer and SysOps Administrator exams. So it’s a wise investment for anyone planning to take all three. The knowledge you obtain while studying for the database, network, and security specialty certifications will aid you in passing the two professional-level certifications.

Preparing for AWS exams—today and in the future

The Amazon Web Services platform has always been a hub of innovation and continual, often lightning-fast change. While AWS can only do so much to reduce the impact of technical change on its examinations, it does adhere to some guidelines that will help you stay on track with your exam preparation:
The AWS platform has always been a hub of innovation and rapid development. While there’s only so much AWS can do to address the effect of technology change on its exams, it does adhere to some guidelines that will keep your exam prep reasonably focused:

Before permitting a new feature or service to appear on an exam, AWS requires that it be generally accessible (GA) for at least six months.

• AWS will outline in broad terms which “subject areas and objectives” you’ll discover on an exam in its exam guides, but it will not discuss specific features and services.
• AWS “rotates” questions in and out of its examinations regularly. However, each question must stay within the exam’s specified topic areas and objectives.

In terms of AWS test preparation, you’ll want to look into what’s available to help you prepare for each exam. However, in my experience, severe and thorough preparation for an Associate-level exam takes at least 120 hours, and Speciality- and Professional-level exams are considerably more difficult.

Many engineers, particularly the younger ones, become engrossed in their exam preparation and take two, three, or even four exams in a couple of months. I understand how you feel, but I strongly advise you to resist the impulse to binge test. Instead, wait at least three to six months between exams.

Take into account when you need to recertify: You may be in the zone right now, but what about three, six, or nine years from now? If you have many certifications expiring within a short amount of time, preparing to recertify while you have a family, a profession in mid-flight, and who knows what else is going on in your life could become an onerous burden. A little foresight now can pay off handsomely later on in your career.

Maintain your focus on your career objectives, meticulously plan and prepare for these examinations, and go forward with confidence that you’ve devised a winning—and lucrative—career-building approach.

Best wishes on your AWS certification path!

About Enteros

Enteros offers a patented database performance management SaaS platform. It proactively identifies root causes of complex business-impacting database scalability and performance issues across a growing number of RDBMS, NoSQL, and machine learning database platforms.