AWS is the popular cloud platform and houses a collection of cloud computing services that have opened up hot career prospects in the world of cloud computing.

Now, there are five different AWS Certifications and each of them opens the floodgates to enhanced career opportunities.

Now in today’s session, we will talk about the different Certifications and how it’s going to help you in your career.

Now, before we get started, let’s have a look at today’s agenda. So first, we will talk about the different AWS Certifications learning path and also the benefits of AWS Certifications.

We will also have a look at the different job prospects and finally, we will discuss some of the important types of AWS Certifications that you must know about.

AWS Certifications learning path

Now first talking about the AWS Certifications learning path, there are various role based learning paths for AWS Certifications, and it just helps in building cloud skills and advanced towards AWS certification with the right path for you.

Now here we have some of the role based learning paths and these learning paths are there in the amazon official website as well.

1. Cloud practitioner learning path

So first, we have the cloud practitioner learning path. Now this learning path is built for individuals who wants to build and validate overall understanding of the AWS cloud.

This is useful for individuals in technical managerial sales, purchasing, or financial roles who work with the AWS cloud, and then we have the architect learning path.

2. Architect learning path

Now this particular learning path is designed for solutions architects solution, designing genius, and anyone who wants to learn how to design applications and systems on AWS, not just that it will help you build technical skills as you progress along the path towards the AWS certification.

3. Developer learning path

Now this one is designed for software developers who wants to learn how to develop cloud applications on AWS, Also, it helps in building technical skills.

4. Operations learning path

And finally we have the operations learning path. Now, this particular learning path is designed for sis ops administrators and systems administrators, and those in a DevOps role.

So you can learn how to create automatable and repeatable deployments of applications, networks and systems on the AWS platform.

So these were the different role-based learning paths for AWS certification. Now let’s move on and understand the different benefits of these Certifications.

Benefits of AWS Certification

Talking about some of the benefits, the best part of these Certifications is that you can learn at your own pace. Now you can select any on demand training that’s relevant to your role, solution, area and level of expertise.

And then finish this particular examination, Take your own time and do it at your own pace. Not just that you will also be trained with an AWS expert.

It helps in building technical skills from an accredited instructor through in person or virtual courses. And also you can pick your learning path and build your cloud skills and advance towards the AWS certification.

And finally, you can also validate your AWS cloud skills and enhance your credibility with an industry recognized credential.

These are just some of the benefits out of the many and it will definitely help you boost your career and add to your resume and help you stand out of the crowd.

 AWS Job Prospects

 Now according to Forbes, AWS certified Solution Architect associate is the number one certification program. In the global survey 2019 Solutions Architect with a median salary of $139,000, is the highest paying certification.

Additionally, all the AWS Certifications will help you with salaries in excess of hundred thousand dollars.

Now, globally, there are more than three lakh 80,000 cloud computing jobs in the IT industry it says, without computing pervading into almost every business vertical, the need for qualified and certified cloud professionals is ever growing.

AWS is currently leading the pack with most companies have invested in or planning to invest in AWS tools and services.

Now, this is definitely a clear sign that good times are in store for you if you commit yourself to AWS. So now that you’ve understood the different benefits, and also how to look at the job prospects of AWS Certifications, so let’s understand the different types of AWS Certifications and get into the details.

Different Types Of AWS Certifications

AWS Certifications provide some of the most in demand skills as validated 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.

AWS continues to lead in public cloud adoption, and it currently offers various Certifications that cover both foundational and specialty cloud computing topics.

Not just that AWS allows you to containerize its sort of Certifications into three blocks. 

 1. AWS Certified solutions architect

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate exam is designed for those with some experience in designing distributed applications, candidates will need to be able to demonstrate their ability to design, manage and implement applications using tools and services on the AWS platform.

Now, this exam was updated in February 2018 to include more AWS services and best practices. Talking about some of the exam details. The format of this exam includes multiple-choice questions and multiple answers.

And the time allotted for this exam is 130 minutes based on the new exam rules. Also, the cost of this examination is around 150 USD.

Now let’s understand some of the areas covered with this examination. So it will cover the network technologies and how they work in AWS, and also how AWS-based applications work and how client interfaces connect to the AWS platform, and also how to build secure and reliable applications on the AWS platform.

And then deploying the hybrid systems with an on-premises data center and AWS components. And finally, the exam domains include the design of highly available and scalable systems implementation and deployment in AWS, AWS related data security practices, disaster recovery techniques, and troubleshooting.

2. AWS Certified Developer

AWS certified developer associate exam is all about developing and maintaining AWS based applications. You will need to know how to write actual code that uses AWS software to access AWS applications from within your custom business applications.

Now talking about the exam details, the format is similar to the previous one, you have multiple choice questions and multiple answers, but the time allocated for this one is 18 minutes and the cost is around 150 USD.

Now the areas covered in this particular examination include the understanding of the basic AWS architecture and the core AWS services.

Also, you will have had hands-on experience designing, developing, deploying, and maintaining applications.

And finally working knowledge of applications that utilize key AWS services, such as AWS databases, notifications, workflow services, and add services for storage and change management services.

3. AWS Certified SysOps Administrator

AWS certified sysops administrator associate exam is the only certification that is fully geared towards system administrators. passing this exam requires both technical expertise and conceptual knowledge of the operational aspects of the AWS platform.

Now previous experience as a Linux or Windows administrator will definitely be a plus. The exam details remain the same with multiple choice questions and multiple answers and the time allocated is 80 minutes and the cost is 150 USD.

Now, the areas covered in this particular examination include deploying applications to the AWS platform, sending and receiving data between data centers, and AWS, selecting the appropriate AWS services to meet an organization’s needs and finally, provisioning, managing and securing systems in an AWS environment.

So these were the important associate level examinations that you must go for while you are starting your career in AWS.

Professional-level Certifications

Now, once you have cleared these associate level examinations, it’s time for the professional level. Now talking about the professional level Certifications, First, we have the

1. AWS Certified Solutions Architect professional

A Professional AWS architect is someone who can evaluate the requirements of the organization and make architectural recommendations for implementing and deploying applications on AWS.

The Certified Solutions Architect professional certification requires a high degree of technical skill and experience designing AWS based applications.

Now for this particular examination, you need to have some prerequisites, like you need to have the status as AWS Certified Solutions Architect associate.

So once you clear the associate level examination only then you can go for the professional level. Also, you should have two years of hands on experience designing and deploying cloud architecture on AWS add best practice knowledge of multi application architectural design.

Talking about the exam details, it’s the same where you have multiple choice questions and multiple answers, but the time allocated here is 170 minutes.

And the cost for this particular examination is around 300 USD. Now, the areas covered in the professional level examination includes the best practices for architecting, the designing applications on AWS, and then selecting the right AWS service for the requirements of an application, migration of complex application systems to AWS And finally, knowledge of cost optimization strategies.

2. AWS certified DevOps engineer

DevOps engineer certification is all about provisioning, operating and managing applications on the AWS platform.

This exam focuses heavily on continuous delivery, and the automation of processes, two fundamental concepts of the DevOps movement.

Talking about the prerequisites, you need to have a status of AWS certified developer associate or AWS certified sysops administrator associate.

Only after you have cleared any of these two examinations, you can go for the AWS certified DevOps engineer professional, you also must have experience in provisioning and managing AWS based applications as well as a form understanding of modern application development, such as the Agile development methodology.

Now talking about the exam details, the format is the same, which is the multiple choice questions and multiple answers, time is 170 minutes and cost is around 300 USD.

Now, the areas covered in this examination includes the basics of modern CD methodologies, how to implement CD systems, and set up monitoring and logging systems on AWS and how to implement highly available and scalable systems on AWS, also how to design and manage tools that enable automation of production operations.

Conclusion

So these were some of the important Certifications that you needed to know about while starting your career in AWS.

Now, once you get through all of these Certifications, you will definitely be an expert in this technology. And with this, we have come to the end of today’s session and I hope you have understood the different types of AWS Certifications available and also how it’s going to help you boost your career.

Now, don’t worry Forget to let us know about your opinion in the comment section below. Till then thank you and happy learning. I hope you have enjoyed reading this article.