AWS Certifications Path for 2021 | Contino

There are four levels of AWS certification. The most basic being 'Foundational', followed by 'Associate', and then 'Professional' and ' ... SkiptocontentMarkFaiers8April2021AWSCertificationsPathfor2021AnAWSCertificationisagreataccoladetoaddtoyourCVin2021.77%ofenterprisesareusingthepubliccloudinsomecapacityaccordingtoourrecentreport,andAWSleadsthepackintermsofservicesofferedandplatformmaturity.Bygettingcertified,you’renotonlyabletovalidateyourskillsbutyou’llalsogiveyourselfacompetitiveedgewhenitcomestoprogressinginyourcareer.Plus,you’llbearmedwiththeskillsandexperiencetotakeonsomeexcitingAWSprojectsatleadingbrands.AtContino,weknowathingortwoaboutAWSCertifications.Wecurrentlyhaveover200certificationsacrosstheorganisationandwe’realwaysaddingtothistotal.Inthisguide,wetakealookattheAWScertificationspath:whichcertificationsarerightforyou,whatexperienceyou’llneed,recommendedcoursesandstudyguides,costs,andmore.WhatIsAWSCertification?AWSCertificationallowsindividualstovalidatetheirtechnicalknowledgeandexpertiseoftheAWSCloud.CertificationincludesasetofindependentexamsthatcanbetakeneitheratavenuerunbyanAWSCertificationPartner,orevenfromyourownhome!Certificationexamscoverawiderangeofexperiencelevels,startingfromabsolutebeginnerallthewaythroughtoexpertlevelexamsthatwillchallengeeventhosewhohavebeenworkingwithAWSformanyyears.Theexamsalsotargetarangeofjobroles,fromdeveloper,throughtosecurityengineer,machinelearningengineerandmore.AfterpassingaCertificationexamyouareawardedabadgethatcanbesharedonyourLinkedInprofile,CV,oranywhereyouchoose.HowLongDoesAWSCertificationTake?HowlongittakestogetcertifiedreallydependsonbothyourcurrentmasteryoftheAWSCloud,andwhichCertificationyouaretargeting.ItisrecommendedthatevenpeopleworkingwithAWSonadailybasistakethetimetoreviewtheappropriatelearningmaterials,ortakeanonlinecoursetofillinanygapsintheirknowledge(AWShasgrowntosuchanextentthatnoonecanpossiblymastertheentireplatform!)PersonallyIfeelthatbetween3-5weeksisagoodamountoftimetoprepareforcertification,butstronglyadvisebecomingconfidentwiththelearningmaterialandtakeapracticeexambeforebookingtherealthing.WhyGetAWSCertified?AWSCertificationsrankconsistentlyamongthehighestpaidITcertificationsworldwideAWSisastrongleaderinthecloudservicesmarketITprofessionalswhogainedanewcertificationreceived,onaverage,a$13,000salaryincrease52%ofprofessionalsagreedthatcertificationimprovedthequalityoftheirwork61%ofdecision-makersbelievethatthedollarvalueeconomicbenefitofacertifiedteammemberexceeds$10,000peryear(sources:2020ITSkillsandSalaryReportfromGlobalKnowledge,GartnerSaysWorldwideIaaSPublicCloudServicesMarketGrew37.3%in2019,Ifyou’relookingforcloudservicescertification,thenAWS,withthelion’sshareofthecloudmarket,isoneofthebestplacestolook.BygainingAWScertification,youopenyourselfuptomorejobopportunities,bettersalary,andgreaterweightwithinyourrole.It’salsobeneficialforemployerstohavetheiremployeesgaincertification,equatingtorealdollarvalue-addfortheteamandbettercredentialstoshowcasewhencanvassingfornewclients.Finally,AWScertificationsareavalidationofaspecificskillsetandgiveyou,aswellasyouremployer,theconfidencetoutiliseAWSandallofthebenefitsitbrings.CareerProspectsAfterAWSCertificationAWScertificationisdesignedtogiveyouanedgeinyourcareer.Ifyou’reupagainstasimilarcandidatewhodoesn’thavecertification–foranewjob,apromotion,orapayrise–thenyouarelikelytobethewinnerinthecompetition.WhatanAWScertificationgenerallycan’tdoisgetyouajobinthegivenfieldifyoudon’thaverelevantworkexperiencetobackitup.Ifthisisthecase,workonpersonalprojectsthatcandemonstrateyourpracticalexperiencetohelpyoulandthatfirstrole.AWScertsgiveyouanadvantage–buttheyaren’tamagicbullet.It’syourexperience,background,andpersonalitythatwillhelpyougofurthestinyourcareer–althoughcertificationcancertainlygiveyouasalaryboostthatyouwouldn’thaveotherwise!HowtoChoosetheRightAWSCertificationWonderingwheretostartwhengainingyourAWScredentials?Thereareplentyofcertificationsavailabletopursue,howevertherightfitisdependentonwhatyourobjectivesare.Herearesomequestionstoaskyourselfbeforeyoupick:WhatexperiencedoyouhavewithAWSandinthefield?Whatareaareyoucurrentlyworkingin?Wheredoyourinterestslie?Wheredoyouwantyourcareertogo?Whatisyouremployerfocusingonnowandinthefuture?TherearefourlevelsofAWScertification. Themostbasicbeing‘Foundational’,followedby‘Associate’,andthen‘Professional’and‘Speciality’.ProfessionalandSpecialityexamsareroughlycomparableindifficultybutSpecialityexamsfocusmoredeeplyinaspecificarea,whereasProfessionalexamstendtobebroaderinscope.IfyouarerelativelynewtoAWS,thenchoosingtheAWSCertifiedCloudPractitionerisagoodchoiceforafirstcertificationanditalsotakessignificantlylesstimeandfinancialinvestmentthanhigherlevelcerts.EitherworkyourwayalongtheFoundational-Associate-Professional-Specialtypath,orjumpinatanypoint.Thechoiceisyours.AWSCertificationPrerequisitesAsaruleofthumb,youcancompleteFoundationalexamswithminimalpracticalexperience,Associateexamswith1+yearsexperience,Professionalexamswith2yearsexperience,andSpecialtyexamsgenerallywith5yearsexperience(althoughsomerequireless).Thevastmajorityofexamsdonothaveanyhardprerequisites,merelysuggestions.AWSCertificationsPathFoundationalAWSCertifiedCloudPractitionerBestfor:AdministratorsandthoselookingforanAWSintroExams:CLF-C01(AWSCertifiedCloudPractitioner)AWSCertificationCost:$100USD(PracticeExam:$20)Prerequisitecourses:NoneRecommendedpracticalexperience:6+monthsofAWScloudworkingexperienceStudyguides:UltimateAWSCertifiedCloudPractitioner-2020onUdemy​AWSCertifiedCloudPractitioneronACloudGuru​TheAWSCertifiedCloudPractitionerCertificationisperfectforpeoplejuststartingoutontheirAWSjourney,whowanttostartfromtheverybasicsandbuildupfromthere.ThecoursecoversAWScloudinfrastructure,principlesofarchitecture,keyservices,securityandcompliance,financialmanagement,plusdeployingandoperatingwithintheAWScloud.AssociateAWSCertifiedSysOpsAdministrator-AssociateBestfor:AdministratorsExams:SOA-C01(AWSCertifiedSysOpsAdministrator-Associate)AWSCertificationCost:$150USD(PracticeExam:$20)Prerequisitecourses:NoneRecommendedpracticalexperience:1+yearsofAWSexperienceindeployment,managementandoperationsStudyguides:UltimateAWSCertifiedSysOpsAdministratorAssociate2020onUdemy​AWSCertifiedSysOpsAdministrator-AssociateonACloudGuru​TheSysOpsAdministratorAssociatecertificationisdesignedspecificallyforAWSprofessionalswhoareoverseeingtheadministrationandoperationofthesecloudserviceswithintheplatform. Itassumessomepriorknowledgeofsystemadministration.Inattainingthiscertification,applicantsarerequiredtodemonstratetheirabilitytodeploy,manage,andoperateoptimisedsystemsonAWS.Italsorequiresknowledgeofdataflowsinandoutofthecloud,correctselectionofAWSservices,operationalbestpractices,costestimation,andon-premiseAWSmigration.AWSCertifiedSolutionsArchitect–AssociateBestfor:CloudArchitectsExams:SAA-C02(AWSCertifiedSolutionsArchitect-Associate)AWSCertificationCost:$150USD(PracticeExam:$20)Prerequisitecourses:NoneRecommendedpracticalexperience:1+yearsofAWSexperienceincreating“available,cost-efficient,fault-tolerant,andscalabledistributedsystems”Studyguides:AdrianCantrill’sAWSCertifiedSolutionsArchitect-Associate(SAA-C02)course​AnAWSCertifiedSolutionsArchitectissomeonewhoiscapableofarchitectingonAWS:creatingoptimisedAWSinfrastructurefororganisations.Ifyouarelookingtodemonstratethatyouareabletodesign,andnotjustmanage,AWSinfrastructure,thengainingthiscertificationisaworthwhileendeavour.ThisexamrequiresyoutobeabletoshowproficiencyindesigningarchitecturesandapplicationsconformanttothestandardssetoutintheAWSWell-Architectedwhitepapers.AWSCertifiedDeveloper-AssociateBestfor:DevelopersExams:DVA-C01(AWSCertifiedDeveloper-Associate)AWSCertificationCost:$150USD(PracticeExam:$20)Prerequisitecourses:NoneRecommendedpracticalexperience:1+yearsofexperienceincreatingandmaintainingAWSapplicationsRecommendedstudyguide:UltimateAWSCertifiedDeveloperAssociate2020onUdemy​Softwaredeveloperswhoarelookingtodemonstratetheirexpertiseindevelopingclosed-basedapplicationswithAmazonWebServicesshouldlooktotheAWSCertifiedDeveloperAssociatecourse.IngainingyourDeveloperAssociatecertificationyou’llneedtodemonstrateunderstandingoftheservicesAWSprovidesforhostingapplications,whatoptionsareavailablefordeployingapplicationstotheseservices,andhowcloudapplicationscanbedebugged.ProfessionalAWSCertifiedSolutionsArchitect-ProfessionalBestfor:CloudArchitectsExams:SAP-C01(AWSCertifiedSolutionsArchitect-Professional)AWSCertificationCost:$300USD(PracticeExam:$40)Prerequisitecourses:AWSCertifiedSolutionsArchitect–Associate(recommended)Recommendedpracticalexperience:2+yearsofcomprehensiveexperienceindesigningandoperatingAWSapplicationsRecommendedstudyguide:AWSCertifiedSolutionsArchitectProfessionalonUdemy​Ifyouarelookingtodemonstratebothdepthandbreadthofknowledgeacrossthedesign,deployment,andmanagementofAWScloudservices,thentheProfessionalSolutionsArchitectcertificationisforyou.TheProfessionallevelcertificationsrequirethat,aswellashavingknowledgeoftheavailableservicesinAWS,youareabletoweightheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofanumberofdifferentsolutionstoaproblemanddeterminewhichbestmeetstherequirements.TheSolutionsArchitectProfessionalcertificationcoversaverybroadrangeofAWSservicesandsowillprepareyouwellfordesigningalmostanythingontheAWSplatform.Thiscertificationisseenbymanyasthe‘GoldStandard’forthoseworkingwithAWSandisprobablythemostcovetedbyengineers.AWSCertifiedDevOpsEngineer-ProfessionalBestfor:DevOpsEngineersExams:DOP-C01(AWSCertifiedDevOpsEngineer-Professional)AWSCertificationCost:$300USD(PracticeExam:$40)Prerequisitecourses:AWSCertifiedDeveloper-AssociateorAWSCertifiedSolutionsArchitect–Associate(recommended)Recommendedpracticalexperience:2+yearsofexperienceinDevOpspracticeinAWSenvironmentsRecommendedstudyguide:AWSCertifiedDevOpsEngineerProfessional2020-HandsOnonUdemy​DevOpsisarolefordevelopersand/orsystemsengineerswhohaveexperienceinorchestratingandincreasingvelocityinthedevelopmentcycle.BecomingaProfessionalAWSCertifiedDevOpsEngineercanhelpcementyourstatusashighlyvaluableinyourfield.Todemonstrateyourabilitiesandpassthisexamyou’llneedtohaveadeepunderstandingofcontinuousintegrationanddeploymenttoolsinAWS,aswellashowtomonitoranddebugapplicationsandautomatesolutionswhenthingsgowrong.SpecialtyAWSCertifiedAdvancedNetworking-SpecialtyBestfor:NetworkEngineersExams:ANS-C00(AWSCertifiedAdvancedNetworking-Specialty)AWSCertificationCost:$300USDPrerequisitecourses:AWSCertifiedCloudPractitionerand/oranyAWSAssociate(recommended)Recommendedpracticalexperience:5yearshandsonexperiencewithnetworkconfigurationandmanagementRecommendedstudyguide:AWSCertifiedAdvancedNetworkingSpecialtytrainingatAWSLearningLibrary​TheAdvancedNetworkingAWSSpecialitycertificationisidealforpeoplewhohaveafocusonnetworkengineeringandwouldliketodemonstratetheirprowessinconfiguringvirtualnetworksandtheirassociatedappswithinAWS.It’salsoastrategiccertificationtograbforthoseinnetworksecurity.Here,you’llneedtobeabletodesignanddeployAWSsolutions(includingcoreservices)accordingtobestpractices,designandmanagenetworkinfrastructure,andusetoolstoautomatenetworkingacrosstheAWSimplementation.AWSCertifiedSecurity-SpecialtyBestfor:SecurityProfessionalsExams:SCS-C01(AWSCertifiedSecurity-Specialty)AWSCertificationCost:$300USD(PracticeExam:$40)Prerequisitecourses:NoneRecommendedpracticalexperience:2yearshandsonexperiencewithAWSsecurity,5yearsexperienceinsecuritysolutionsRecommendedstudyguide:TutorialsDojoStudyGuideeBook–AWSCertifiedSecuritySpecialty​SecurityprofessionalslookingtoaddAWScertificationtotheirlistofachievementscaninvestintheAWSCertifiedSecurity-Specialtycourse.Thiscertificationrequiresagreatdepthofpriorknowledgeandexperienceinsystemssecurity.TheexamcoversAWSdataclassificationsandprotections,encryption,secureinternetprotocols,securityservicesandfeatures,SecOpsandrisk,plusdecision-makingwhencost,security,anddeploymentareallweightedfactors.AWSCertifiedMachineLearning–SpecialtyBestfor:MachineLearningDevelopersExams:MLS-C01(AWSCertifiedMachineLearning-Specialty)AWSCertificationCost:$300USD(PracticeExam:$40)Prerequisitecourses:NoneRecommendedpracticalexperience:1+yearsexperienceindevelopingMachineLearningsolutionsonAWSRecommendedstudyguide:AWSCertifiedMachineLearningSpecialty2020-HandsOnonUdemy​AsAIandMachineLearning(ML)growasafield,theserolesaresomeofthemostin-demandacrossindustries,applicabletohelpgrowandinformanyorganisation.AddinganAWSMachineLearning–Specialtycertificationwillhelpdrivework-relatedopportunitiesevenfurther.Withinthisexamyou’lldemonstratethatyou’reabletoselectanappropriateMLapproachforagivenbusinessproblem,usethecorrectAWSMLsolutionsforaproblem,designandimplementscalable,cost-effective,andreliableMLsolutions.AWSCertifiedDataAnalytics-SpecialtyBestfor:BigDataEngineers&DataAnalyticsProfessionalsExams:DAS-C01(AWSCertifiedDataAnalytics-Specialty)AWSCertificationCost:$300USD(PracticeExam:$40)Prerequisitecourses:NoneRecommendedpracticalexperience:2yearsexperienceindevelopingdataanalyticssolutionsonAWS,5yearsindataanalyticsRecommendedstudyguide:AWSCertifiedDataAnalyticsSpecialty-HandsOnonUdemy​PreviouslyknownastheBigDataSpecialty,theAWSCertifiedDataAnalytics-SpecialtyisdesignedspecificallyforcareerdataengineersworkingwithbigdataworkloadsinAWS.WhiletheremaybesomeoverlapfromtheMLSpecialty,thisisfarmorefocuseddataofallshapesandtypes.Theexamwillrequireyoutoshowthatyou’reabletounderstandalltheAWSdataanalyticsservicesandhoweachoftheminteroperate,pluswheretheseservicesfitintothecollection,storage,processing,andvisualizationofdataworkloadsoverall.AWSCertifiedDatabase-SpecialtyBestfor:DatabaseEngineersExams:DBS-C01(AWSCertifiedDatabase-Specialty)AWSCertificationCost:$300USD(PracticeExam:$40)Prerequisitecourses:NoneRecommendedpracticalexperience:2yearsexperienceindevelopingdatabasesolutionsonAWS,5yearsindatabasingRecommendedstudyguide:AWSCertifiedDatabaseSpecialtytrainingatAWSLearningLibrary​DatabaseengineerswhoarelookingfortheirownAWScertificationcanlooknofurtherthantheAWSDatabase-Specialtycertification.Thiscoursedigsdeepintobothrelationalandnon-relationaldatabasetechnologiesandassociatedmechanismswithintheAWSecosystem.Intheexam,youcanexpecttobeabletodemonstrateyourunderstandingofthefeaturesandusecasesofeachoftheAWSdatabaseservices,plusbeabletorecommendanddesignthebestdatabaseservicearchitectureafterbeinggivenbusiness-levelorganisationproblems.BestWaytoPrepareforAWSCertificationExamsThereareplentyofdifferentwaystodotrainingforAWSexams,howeverthebestoneforyoupersonallywillalwaysbesubjective.Areyouabooklearner?Preferlecturevideos?In-personlearningmodules?PersonallyIlearnbestbygettinghands-onexperiencewiththevariousAWSservicescoveredincertificationexams. Ifyouarenotcareful,however,youcouldenduprackingupabigbill.Mynumberonetip,therefore,istocreateaLinuxAcademyaccount(currently$39/month)andusetheirCloudSandboxesfeature(alsoavailableforAzureandGCP),whichallowsyoutouseAWSserviceswithoutworryingaboutthebill!IalsoliketositapracticeexambeforeembarkingonacourseofstudyinordertoidentifytheareasIneedtofocuson.Thesearejusttipshoweverandwon’tnecessarilyworkforeveryone.Itisimportanttopickthewayyouliketolearn,andwhatgetsyouresults.Herearesomeotherrecommendedlearningmaterialsthathavebeenvettedbythosewho’vepreviouslysattheAWSexams:TheofficialAWSTrainingportal,foralargerangeofdifferentonlinelearningmodules,aswellfindaffiliatedin-person,orliveonline,classroomsessions.TutorialsDojo,forfreeexamguidesandAWSservicecheatsheets,aswellaspaidpracticeexamsStephaneMaarek’sUdemy-listedAWScertificationcoursesJonBonso’sUdemy-listedpracticecertificationexamsACloudGuru,forAWScertificationcoursesDofinED,anotherAWScertificationcourseproviderTheAWSmodulesonQuikLabs,whichincludeshands-onlabsBestofluck!MoreArticlesWhatIsUser-CentredDesignandHowCanitBoostYourData’sImpact?18March2021byCampbellPryorInternationalWomen'sDay:ChooseToChallenge5March2021byAngieFascianiHowtoPasstheCertifiedKubernetesSecuritySpecialistExam:KillerTipsandResourcesfrom3Engineers4March2021byJaroslavPantsjohaSign-up:InsightsDirectlytoYourInboxJointensofthousandsofyourpeersandsign-upforourbestcontentandindustrycommentary,curatedbyourexperts.