AWS Certifications are divided into Core Certifications offered at Foundational, Associate, and Professional levels, so you can start at the right level and work your way up as you gain experience and Specialty Certifications which requires in-depth knowledge. Fall into two broad categories in certain IT fields. Not only are AWS Certification exams well-designed, rigorously tested, and kept up-to-date, AWS introduces new courses and certifications as needed, and individuals recertify every three years. is needed. This keeps your ever-present skills and knowledge relevant and up-to-date. To give you an overview of what AWS has to offer, this post describes nine AWS Certifications. Whether you’re just starting to build your cloud credentials, want to expand your skills and expertise in a particular area, or want to deepen your expertise, chances are you’ll find something that fits your needs.
As cloud computing becomes more important to nearly every enterprise, the need to design, deploy, and manage secure workloads in the cloud increases. AWS holds the largest share of the public cloud infrastructure market and also offers a comprehensive suite of industry-recognized certifications, making AWS Certifications an individual show of cloud reliability and competence. It makes sense to see it as a way of demonstrating as an employee how your company can demonstrate value to its customers.
Core AWS Certifications
The AWS Core Certification covers four roles (Architect, Operations, Developer, and Cloud Practitioner) and targets three skill levels (Fundamental, Associate, and Professional).
1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (Foundational)
Who should take this certification? The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam is an introductory certification designed to demonstrate an individual’s foundational knowledge of the AWS platform. This is a great way for a novice in a technical role to build her expertise and a great way for non-technical people to gain a solid understanding of her AWS Cloud. This exam is a recommended, optional step toward attaining an Associate level or Specialty certification.
Recommended Skills and Experience: AWS requires at least six months of experience using the AWS Cloud in any role, including technical, administrative, sales, purchasing, or finance, and an understanding of IT services and how they work with IT services. AWS recommends that you have a basic understanding of how AWS cloud platform.
Exam Details: Candidates can complete the $100 multiple-choice exam in 90 minutes. (The practice exam costs $20.)
2. AWS Certified Developer (Associate)
Who should take this certification? The AWS Certified Developer – Associate exam is intended for individuals in development roles who have at least one year of hands-on experience developing and maintaining AWS-based applications.
Recommended Skills and Experience: Candidates should have at least one year of experience programming and coding AWS software and applications. Additionally, candidates should have knowledge of best practices for using AWS workflows, notifications, and database services, as well as expertise in designing, developing, and managing AWS-based applications.
Exam Details: Candidates will have 130 minutes to complete the exam and it will cost them $150.
3. AWS Certified SysOps Administrator (Associate)
The AWS Certified SysOps Administrator- Associate is designed for system administrators in system operations roles who have at least one year of experience deploying, managing, and operating on AWS. This certification is for individuals who want to validate their technical expertise and knowledge in implementing, migrating, managing, and operating highly available and fault-tolerant systems on AWS.
Recommended Skills and Experience: Candidates should have at least one year of experience operating AWS-based applications. Additionally, knowledge of managing data centers, AWS services, and security systems is required.
Exam Details: Candidates will have 130 minutes to complete the exam and it will cost them $150.
4. AWS Solutions Architect (Associate)
The AWS Solutions Architect- Associate certification is for individuals who want to validate their skills and knowledge in developing and deploying secure and resilient applications on AWS technologies.
Recommended Skills and Experience: Candidates should have one year of hands-on experience designing scalable, cost-effective, and fail-safe systems on AWS. Additionally, candidates should have knowledge of networking technologies, client interfaces, security systems, and integration with the AWS platform.
Exam Details: Candidates will have 130 minutes to complete the exam and it will cost them $150.
5. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer (Professional)
The AWS Certified DevOps Engineer- Professional exam covers deploying, operating, and managing distributed application systems on the AWS platform. It is intended for individuals who wish to validate their technical expertise related to deploying, operating, and managing distributed application systems on the AWS platform.
Recommended Skills and Experience: Candidates should have a minimum of two years of experience in a DevOps Engineer role that deploys, operates, and manages AWS environments. In addition, candidates should have knowledge of designing and managing tools for automating production processes.
Exam Details: Candidates will have 180 minutes to complete the exam and it will cost them $300.
6. AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Professional)
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect- Professional exam validates advanced technical skills and experience with a focus on designing and deploying dynamically scalable, highly available, fault-tolerant, and reliable applications on AWS. increase.
Recommended Skills and Experience: Candidates should have at least two years of experience in best practices for architectural design and deployment of cloud architectures on AWS. Additionally, the candidate should have knowledge of cost optimization strategies, selection of appropriate AWS services, and migration of complex application systems to her AWS.
Exam Details: Candidates will have 180 minutes to complete the exam and it will cost them $300.
Specialty AWS Certifications
AWS Specialty Certifications delve deep into specific IT areas, including security and big data, to validate your advanced knowledge and expertise.
7. AWS Certified Data Analytics (Specialty)
The AWS Certified Data Analytics- Specialty designation is for individuals who want to validate their technical expertise in designing and implementing AWS services to derive value from their data. This exam is for anyone doing complex big data analytics.
Recommended Skills and Experience: Candidates should have at least 5 years of experience performing data analysis using AWS tools. In addition, candidates should have knowledge of big data design and maintenance, and best practices for securing big data solutions.
Exam Details: Candidates will have 170 minutes to complete the exam and it will cost them $300.
8. AWS Certified Advanced Networking (Specialty)
The AWS Certified Advanced Networking- Specialty certification validates advanced technical skills and experience designing and implementing AWS and hybrid IT network architectures at scale.
Recommended Skills and Experience: Candidates should have at least 5 years of experience designing and implementing network solutions. Additionally, candidates should have knowledge of AWS networking concepts and the architecture, development, and deployment of AWS-based cloud solutions. Knowledge of security implementation and network optimization is also required. AWS requires that the candidate possesses his AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner or current Associate level certification (AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, AWS Certified Developer – Associate, or AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate).
Exam Details: Candidates have 170 minutes to complete the exam and the cost is $300.
9. AWS Certified Security (Specialty)
The AWS Certified Security- Specialty certification allows experienced security professionals to prove their knowledge and skills in securing the AWS platform. This certification is intended for someone looking to validate her AWS knowledge across a variety of security topics including risk assessment, infrastructure security, privacy and encryption, identity and access management, incident response, logging, and monitoring.
Recommended Skills and Experience: AWS recommends that candidates hold an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner or current Associate level certification (AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, AWS Certified Developer – Associate, or AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate). It is recommended that you have the Candidate must have at least 5 years of IT security experience in designing and implementing security solutions, knowledge of security management of workloads on AWS, and at least 2 years of her securing her AWS workloads.
Exam Details: Candidates have 170 minutes to complete the exam and the cost is $300.
Bonus AWS Certification
In addition to constantly updating courses, AWS regularly introduces new courses and certifications. Here are two of his offers that caught our eye for their timeliness and relevance:
AWS Certified Database Certification: The new AWS Certified Database – Specialty certification, designed for individuals working in database-centric roles, provides a complete understanding of a wide range of AWS database services and how to accelerate the use of database technologies to drive business transformation. I certify that I understand the organization. New exams will be available in April 2020.
Architecting Serverless Solutions: Architecting Serverless Solutions is a new 3-hour advanced digital course that teaches you how to combine AWS Lambda and Amazon API Gateway in event-driven patterns to run scalable and secure serverless applications.
Wrapping Up
AWS Certifications help build foundational, intermediate, and advanced knowledge appropriate for various cloud technology domains and roles. It also proves that your skills are up to date and cloud computing is validated by one of the world’s most recognized organizations. AWS Certification can help advance your career and connect you with companies looking for qualified cloud professionals. Overall, AWS Certifications help demonstrate an organization’s knowledge, skills, and commitment to prospects and customers. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding training and certification, please let us know. If you’re interested in a more casual way to keep up with discussions around security, development, operations, and compliance, subscribe to our blog and watch the Your System Called — Threat Stack podcast.
