AWS Certifications
AWS Certifications are the thanks to going if you’re looking to actually cement your status as an expert within the ecosystem and see a true boost in your earning potential. Associate-level exams cost $150, while Professional-level exams are $300 a pop; there are currently 11 different certification exams you'll increase your arsenal counting on your experience level and career path:
Certification |
Intended for |
|---|---|
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | Individuals with the talents required to point out an overall understanding of the AWS Cloud. Recommended for those looking to realize Specialty or Associate certification. |
| AWS Certified Developer—Associate | Individuals in a development role with 1+ years’ practical experience developing and maintaining an AWS-based app. |
| AWS Certified SysOps Administrator—Associate | Individuals working in a systems admin/operations role with 1-2 years experience deploying, managing, and operating in AWS. |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect—Associate | Individuals working in a solutions architect role with 1+ years’ experience creating cost-effective, fault-tolerant systems on AWS that have high availability and are highly scalable. |
| AWS Certified DevOps Engineer—Professional | Individuals in a DevOps engineer role possessing 2+ years’ practical experience provisioning, operating, and managing AWS environments. |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect—Professional | Individuals in a role with 1+ years of practical experience in AWS system management and operations. |
| AWS Certified Big Data—Specialty | Individuals running complex Big Data analyses possessing a minimum of two years experience using AWS. |
| AWS Certified Advanced Networking—Specialty | Individuals carrying out complex networking tasks. |
| AWS Certified Security—Specialty | Individuals in a security role with a minimum of two years’ practical experience securing AWS workloads. |
| AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder—Specialty | Individuals working in a role that requires you to build, test, and publish Amazon Alexa skills. |
| AWS Certified Machine Learning—Specialty | Individuals working in a Development or Data Science role; certifies your ability to design, implement, deploy, and maintain machine learning solutions. |
- Cloud practitioner: learn cloud fundamentals and best practices
- Architect: learn to design highly available systems
- Developer: learn to develop applications for the cloud
- Operations: learn to automate apps, networks, and systems
Additional paths are available for machine learning, storage, media services, specialty exams, and APN Partners.
Why should I get an AWS certification?
Here are just three reasons why getting AWS certified is worth the investment, both in terms of your time and money.
Increase your earning potential
AWS certification doesn’t just look good on your resume—it can significantly boost the type of salary or rate you command. consistent with our independent salary survey, 70% of AWS professionals interviewed reported a raise of up to twenty after passing their certification. A 2018 survey covering the US and Canada revealed a mean annual income of $113,932 for certified professionals, while those without certification earned approximately $20,000 less annually.
The training you get on the thanks to becoming certified is invaluable; you’re learning new skills, understanding the platform inside out, and discovering best practices which, in turn, make you more efficient and a greater asset to your team.
Showcase your dedication to the technology
Earning an AWS certification may be a way of showcasing your commitment to the industry and therefore the standard practices that form its foundations. By no means does AWS certification alone trump experience; if you’re an employer choosing a replacement hire, the 2 got to be considered carefully and in equal measure when you’re making that all-important offer. From this perspective, looking at a candidate’s certifications is a fast, effective way for hiring managers to gauge their technical knowledge and core competencies. It’s a signpost showing them that you’ve mastered a particular level of AWS knowledge.
“Experience often speaks louder than certifications,” says Shaun Hummel, author on CiscoNet Solutions, CCNA, and AWS Certification Training. “There are belongings you can only learn on the work. The purpose of a certification is to offer you a competitive advantage over similar applicants for both getting an employment interview and a suggestion. Any certification strengthens your resume and verifies you've got a minimum level of data .”
Simply put, certification is like getting your AWS driver's license. Just because you’ve passed your test with flying colors doesn’t necessarily mean you’re able to drive a 16-wheeler or take a Lamborghini out for a spin. “The job interviews are designed to filter candidates that say they need experience and really don't,” says Hummel. “For example, to what depth can you discuss a project you worked on that is similar to what they are hiring for. That counts for tons once you have done something similar, for instance, and know the problems, problems, [and] fixes for a deployment.
“In fact, having less experience isn't drag if your experience is directly aligned with the work requirements. If you've got the minimum amount of experience that creates you a viable candidate, having certifications may be a plus.”
Hiring practices will vary from one organization to a different, but all other things being equal, having one certification quite your competition might be the difference between bagging your dream job and receiving a rejection letter.
Boost your “curb appeal”
Partners are required to have certified staff to maintain their status, so bringing certified candidates on board is more of a priority to them than it would be to an AWS customer organization. Partners are more motivated to gather and surpass the number of certifications required to realize and maintain partner status, reaping all the rewards that accompany it.
According to Jim Burnham, Director of Business Development and Strategic Alliances at Six Nines, a Premier AWS Consulting Partner, certification is often integral to an employer’s partner and competency status within the broader AWS community: “one aspect of certification that candidates might not remember of is their employer’s got to maintain partner and competency status with AWS.”
“AWS Premier and Advanced partners need to maintain on staff certain numbers and levels of certified individuals. Business, Technical, and Cloud Practitioner certifications are relatively common and help a touch. On the opposite hand, Professional and Speciality certifications are far more difficult to get. We track very closely the amount of our staff with Pro and Specialty certifications. If we didn’t, then we’d risk losing our AWS qualifications. Therefore, we value highly Pro and Speciality certifications and offer incentives to our staff to accumulate and maintain the more demanding and difficult certifications.”
But does certification make or break a job offer? The short answer when it involves partner status is yes. “All other things being equal, we might have a preference for a candidate with a certification,” says Jim. “If the candidate had an AWS Professional or Speciality certification, we might have a really strong preference for that candidate.”
“Certifications aren't a solution, and most employers recognize that,” says Chris Coleman, President at Woz U, “but they provide the employer a transparent understanding of what they will expect from a candidate and the way to tailor their on-the-job professional development.
“When comparing certifications to experience, it can be difficult to provide a fair assessment. Certainly, there are self-taught engineers capable of performing the specified duties, and there also are certified developers equally capable. The certifications, however, express the candidate’s intent to the hiring manager.
“If you don’t possess a certification, it doesn’t cause you to unqualified. Similarly, if you do possess a certification, it doesn’t inherently make you the best candidate. What the certification does, however, is express to the hiring manager that your studies and interests are aligned with their desired skills.”
When it involves younger organizations, hiring professionals with certifications seems to be less of a priority, consistent with Ben Keating, designer, and developer at The American Spreadsheet Company. “For smaller business and startups, having AWS-certified talent on board becomes more of a point, as you'll likely jump in only as deep outside of certification training as you can within,” says Ben. “Potentially more so if you specialize in meetups and online communities, including IRC channels or other social platforms.”
Types of AWS certification training
Moving from an on-premise operation to a more cloud-focused approach means the tech community needs more people. Going from on-premise to the cloud changes things and that we need people there to form that change happen. There are three main ways to create your knowledge domain on all things AWS, namely:
Digital training
These online, on-demand courses empower anyone curious about AWS to find out about the newest services when and where it suits them. There are many options when it involves scrubbing up your AWS knowledge in your own time, at your own pace.
AWS itself publishes tons of training and education materials on its website, and there are a variety of third-party training providers who offer courses designed to assist you to land your certification, like Simpliv, EdX, and ACloudGuru. You’ll find many free online guides and resources to assist you to pass too, like this one for the answer Architect exam.
Classroom training
If you’re trying to find something a touch more formal, this could be the higher fit. Get either in-person or virtual training from instructors who teach your team during a hands-on learning environment.
Whether you’re fresh out of school, a self-taught sensation, or a seasoned expert, getting AWS certifications under your belt is that the thanks to going. You’ll increase your chances of nailing down that dream job, command higher salaries, and obtain that industry-recognized stamp of approval marking you out as an expert in your field.