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AWS Certification Path

How To Approach the AWS Certification and Land a High-Paying Position?

  • By Deepika
  • 11-Sep-2021

With a market share of 31%, Amazon Web Services is the industry leader in delivering cloud services to the global public cloud infrastructure market. IT professionals working with cloud technology can use this fact to further their careers and earn more money by showing current or potential employers that they have the skills and knowledge needed to work with AWS technology. Obtaining an AWS certification is an excellent way to achieve this.

Besides looking good on a CV, AWS certification is also a powerful medium for getting good compensation for jobs related to cloud technology. After earning AWS certification, 70% of professionals claimed a pay boost of up to 20%. According to a 2018 poll conducted in the United States and Canada, AWS certified professionals claimed to earn around $20,000 more per year than non-certified employees in similar positions.

Not just this, the hike in the salary of AWS certified experts still continues to rise. In 2021, the average compensation for an AWS Solutions Architect, the most common AWS certification, in the United States is $155,000. It’s no wonder that obtaining an AWS certification has become a popular choice among cloud IT professionals.

Types Of AWS Certifications and How to Get Certified

AWS presently offers 11 certification courses.

They can be segregated as follows:

Foundation

Individuals who demonstrate an overall grasp of the AWS Cloud are eligible for the Foundation certification. The course that falls under this category is the ‘AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner’.

Architecting

Architecting certification certify technical expertise for solution architects, solution design engineers, and anybody who designs AWS applications and systems. Courses under this category are ‘AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate’ and ‘AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional’.

Operations

SysOps administrators, systems administrators, and individuals in a DevOps role who develop automatable and repeatable deployments of apps, networks, and systems on the AWS platform are perfect candidates for Operations certification. The ‘AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate’ course falls under this certification.

Developer

Software developers who create cloud applications on AWS are applicable for Developer certification. The courses that come under this certification are ‘AWS Certified Developer – Associate’ and ‘AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional’.

Specialty

AWS specialists with proficiency in certain technical fields are suitable for Specialty certification. This certification is designed for professionals who have at least one associate-level AWS Certification, as well as solid expertise and real-world experience in a particular field. The courses that fall under this category are ‘AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty’, ‘AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty’, ‘AWS Certified Security – Specialty’, ‘AWS Certified Database – Specialty’, and ‘AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty’.

The different courses have been discussed below in detail.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Individuals who have the knowledge and ability to successfully grasp the concepts of AWS Cloud, regardless of specific technical responsibilities addressed by other AWS Certifications, should opt for this exam. Obtaining an Associate-level or Specialty certification by becoming an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is highly recommended.

AWS Certified Solutions – Architect

Individuals who work as solutions architects should take this exam. This exam verifies an examinee’s competence to build and deliver safe and resilient applications using AWS technology. It also certifies an examinee’s ability to create a solution based on client needs by using architectural design principles. This exam validates an individual’s capabilities to give implementation guidance to the organization based on best practices throughout all the stages of the project.

AWS Certified Solutions – Professional

This exam certifies an individual’s advanced technical skills and expertise in designing distributed AWS applications and systems. It is designed for those who work as solutions architects and have two or more years of expertise in managing and operating systems on Amazon Web Services.

AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate

This exam certifies technical knowledge of the AWS platform’s deployment, management, and operations. It is designed for systems administrators with at least one year of experience in a systems operations job.

AWS Certified Developer – Associate

This exam approves an individual’s technical knowledge regarding the AWS platform for creating and managing applications. It’s for those who work in development and have one or more years of hands-on experience in building and managing an AWS-based application.

AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional

This exam certifies technical knowledge concerning the AWS platform for deploying, running and managing distributed application systems. It’s for those who work as DevOps engineers with at least two years of experience in providing, operating and managing AWS systems.

AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty

This exam certifies an individual’s technical knowledge and expertise in designing and enforcing AWS services for data analysis. It’s for those who want to display their abilities to design, construct, protect, and manage efficient, cost-effective, and secure analytics systems on AWS.

AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty

This exam tests an individual’s advanced technical abilities and expertise in AWS and hybrid IT network architectures at scale concerning the design, implementation, and maintenance. It’s for people who want to create essential AWS services using the best practices of basic architecture.

AWS Certified Security – Specialty

Experienced cloud security professionals can show and certify their understanding regarding safeguarding the AWS platform with the help of this exam. It’s designed for those who work in security and have at least two years of hands-on experience in securing AWS workloads.

AWS Certified Database – Specialty

This exam has been designed to certify the expertise and experience of an individual in approving, designing and sustaining the AWS database with an intent to improve the performance and minimize the cost. This exam is most suitable for those who want to display their capabilities in approving, designing and keeping the optimal AWS database solution running in good condition.

AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty

This exam tests an individual’s ability to use the AWS Cloud to develop, train, optimize, and deploy machine learning models. Individuals who work in development or data science roles are eligible to take this exam.

AWS Certification Salary

Since the AWS certification program began in 2013, wages for professionals with AWS credentials have risen to the top among IT certification holders. Below given is a sampling of average US wages for jobs needing AWS certifications in the year 2020.

So, now that you have a vivid picture of the importance of AWS certification courses, their application in the professional arena, their high demand in the market, and the high pay packages that come with them, it must be clear that to land the most lucrative opportunities in the IT sector, an AWS certification is a must.

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