As companies frequently move workloads to the public cloud, cloud computing has shifted from an agreeable-to-have to a core competency in the business. This shift needs a new set of skills to design, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud.
As the market leader and most experienced provider in the cloud computing space, AWS is considered a principle leader and point of recommendation for all of its competitors. AWS continues to lead in public cloud selection, and it currently gives eight certifications that cover both foundational and specialty cloud computing topics.
Why bother with an AWS certification? Here’s why it matters.
The Value of AWS Certification:
Getting AWS certified shows that you have some of the most in-demand (and useful) skills as approved by one of the most recognizable entities in cloud computing. In the enterprise, certification demonstrates a shared understanding of a platform, a shared terminology, and a certain level of cloud expertise that can speed up the time to value for cloud projects.
Even as businesses use multi-cloud strategies, this doesn’t reduce the importance of an AWS certification–actually the reverse. With more than one million customers, AWS is still the provider of choice for public cloud adoption, where 64% of enterprises and 68% of SMBs are running applications, according to the 2018 RightScale State of the Cloud Report. Continued strong financial performance, a constant stream of new services, and continued geographic extension including a dedicated intelligence community region announced in 2017 are an indication that there is still much more to come.
AWS certifications themselves stand out for their precision and thoroughness in assessing a candidate’s skills, with the importance of hands-on experience and best practices. If you are already working with AWS, preparing for certification can help strengthen your knowledge by clarifying fundamental concepts. If you are new to AWS, it can provide the foundational knowledge and skills you will need to work with AWS services and solutions down the road. For organizations looking for recruits, AWS certifications validate a candidate’s familiarity and knowledge of best practices in cloud architecture, management, and security.
In the enterprise, the core training materials used to prepare for AWS certifications are a valuable component in a company’s internal training path. As IT environments become more customized and requirements for new skills grow, an increasing number of companies are building their certification programs. Several of them are using vendor certification training paths in connection with internal training materials to stand up certification tracks specific to their business needs.
A Guide to AWS Certifications
AWS currently offers nine certifications: a foundational certification, three associate-level certifications, two professional-level certifications, and three specialty certifications.
Let’s take a closer look at some exam.
Associate-Level Certifications
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect - the Associate exam is intended for those with some experience in designing distributed applications. Candidates will want to be able to show their ability to design, manage, and implement applications using tools and services on the AWS platform.
Areas of Topics Covered:
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Design Resilient Architectures
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Design High-Performing Architectures
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Design Secure Applications and Architectures
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Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
AWS Certified Developer - Associate
The AWS Certified Developer - the Associate exam is all regarding developing and maintaining AWS-based applications. You will require to know how to write actual code that uses AWS software to access AWS applications from within your custom business applications.
Areas of Topics Covered:
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Deployment
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Security
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Development with AWS Services
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Refactoring
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Monitoring and Troubleshooting
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate
The AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - the Associate exam is the only certification that is wholly provided to system administrators. Passing this exam requires both technical expertise and conceptual knowledge of the operational perspectives of the AWS platform. Experience as a Linux or Windows administrator will be a plus.
Areas of Topics Covered:
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Monitoring and Metrics
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High Availability
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Analysis
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Deployment and Provisioning
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Data Management
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Security
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Networking
Professional-level Certifications
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional
A professional AWS architect is someone who can evaluate an organization’s demands and make architectural recommendations for completing and deploying applications on AWS. The AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional certification needs a high degree of technical skill and experience designing AWS-based applications.
Prerequisites:
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Status as AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate.
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Two years of hands-on experience designing and deploying cloud architecture on AWS and skilled practice knowledge of multi-application architectural design is recommended.
Areas of Topics Covered:
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High Availability and Business Continuity
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Costing
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Deployment Management
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Network Design
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Data Storage
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Security
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Scalability & Elasticity
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Cloud Migration & Hybrid Architecture
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional
The AWS DevOps Engineer certification is all concerning provisioning, operating, and managing applications on the AWS platform. This exam concentrates heavily on continuous delivery (CD) and automation of processes, two fundamental concepts of the DevOps movement.
Prerequisites:
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Status as AWS Certified Developer - Associate or AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate. Experience in provisioning and managing AWS-based applications, as well as a firm understanding of modern application development such as the agile development methodology, is recommended.
Areas of Topics Covered:
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Continuous Delivery and Process Automation
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Monitoring, Metrics, and Logging
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Security, Governance, and Validation
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High Availability and Elasticity
Recertification and Staying Up to Date
The number of new AWS features and services rises every year. To maintain expertise and knowledge of best practices for the most up to date AWS services, certification holders are expected to recertify every two years.
You may recertify by either passing the professional-level exam for the same certification or by moving the recertification exam for your existing certification.
Remember that certification is widely representative of your knowledge at a specific point in time. The real AWS Expert doesn’t wait until their certification expires - they make good habits to stay current and are controlled with learning.
Here are some suggestions for keeping your skills current:
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Keep Reading: Subscribe to AWS Release Notes newsletter, the Cloud Academy AWS blog posts, and others to receive the latest updates.
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Learn by Doing: Get hands-on practice experimenting with new services in Machine Learning and AI using Cloud Academy hands-on labs.
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Test Your Knowledge: Take AWS practice exams, regardless of whether you are sitting for the exam or not.