Everything You Need to Know About an AWS Solutions Architect Salary in 2021!

Introduction

Do you know AWS Solutions Architect is one of the most popular and lucrative cloud certifications in IT both in 2019 and 2020? AWS Solutions Architect– Associate validates a candidate’s expertise in designing and deploying scalable systems on the AWS platform. The reason for its popularity has not only been its feasibility but also the way Amazon has made its services scalable to everyone from the newest start-up to a Fortune 500 company. Throughout 2020 Q3, AWS generated $3.54 billion in operating income, up 56% and more than the $3.45 billion FactSet consensus. 

With 37%, the latest market share reports show that Amazon Web Service continues to outpace the market. As companies rapidly adopt AWS cloud services this has made AWS Solutions Architect profession the most sought out IT profession. Due to this AWS Solutions Architect-Associate have become an IT crowd favorite career option to pursue, according to the Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report 2020. There are some 1,264 companies around the globe that have an urgent requirement of the AWS Solutions Architect.

AWS offers Solutions Architect Certification at the Associate level as well as at the Professional level. The AWS Solutions Architect exam aims at testing an individual’s ability along with one or more years of hands-on experience in managing an organization’s cloud computing architecture and designing cost-efficient, fault-tolerant, and scalable distributed systems on the AWS platform.

On average, an AWS Solutions Architect salary at an Associate level is $149,446—ranking as the second highest-paying IT certification category in North America in 2020 and in our latest research we placed solutions architect at the first position among Highest Paying IT Jobs.

Why AWS Solutions Architect Certification?

Getting AWS Solutions Architect certified shows that you have some of the most in-demand (and profitable) skills validated by one of the most recognizable entities in cloud computing. Additionally, you get a chance to earn one of the highest paying IT certifications and have a lucrative career in cloud computing. 

Who is an AWS Solutions Architect?

The AWS Solutions Architect is someone who performs the Solutions Architect's role with one or more years of hands-on experience in managing an organization's cloud computing architecture and designing cost-efficient, fault-tolerant, and scalable distributed systems on the AWS platform.

AWS Solutions Architect Certification Enables You to Perform Roles Like:

• Be the keeper of the AWS Well-Architected Framework pillars, ensuring customers follow best practices, guidance, and recommendations to develop cloud solutions that are secure, resilient, efficient, and managed with operational excellence. 
• Designs Cloud-Native Application Architectures, ensure that solutions are designed using AWS native services and with customer user experience, scale/performance, security, and operability in mind.
• Deliver the infrastructure and operating environment for container-based microservices that meet the agreed high availability, performance, and security requirements.
• Deliver the projects with Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD) practices and its related toolsets (e.g., JIRA, GIT/BitBucket, Jenkins, Nexus, etc.)

6 Reasons You’re Getting Paid Less & 6 Tips to Better this Situation

Your salary whether entry-level or not depends on a variety of factors, both subjective and objective. Understanding what employers look at when hiring new employees will help you negotiate better when you’re offered a job. Additionally, what else do you need to do in order to achieve the promotion or high paycheck also helps you in your career growth. So here are 6 factors that affect your payscale and worry not we’re also providing you with tips on how to tackle these pesky factors: 

1. Your Level of Desired Skillsets

Apart from your educational degree and experience, there is a certain set of skills that is required by job recruiters in a Solutions Architect. These skills not only refer to your technical skills pertaining to your roles and responsibilities as an AWS developer or solution architect but also certain additional soft skills also ensure that you are paid above average salary or maybe stay ahead in terms of professional growth, in comparison to others in the competition. 

Tips: Pay equal attention to your tech skills as well soft skills such as command over communication skills, strong interpersonal skills and work on it if you lack any of them. There are both online and offline modes of improving your soft skills to better your overall personality. 

2. Your Specific Training & Certifications

Some jobs call for certification and if you don’t have one, it might negatively set you at the lower end of the pay range. If you have earned professional certification in your field that is very attractive to employers. The more training you have, the less training and supervising your employer will have to do. 

Tip: So reach out to e-learning platforms or offline training centres that will give you this extra edge by preparing you for several IT certifications & courses and will upgrade your skills to make you ready for an amazing career run.

3 . Your Professional Associations

In addition to a degree, the professional association makes you a more credible, valuable employee. Memberships in professional organizations or trade associations or if you have attended seminars, workshops, lunch-and-learns, and conferences related to the work you’ll be doing, that can have a positive effect on your pay.

Tip: Make sure you attend nearby seminars or workshops related to your field as that helps you not only be aware of trending topics of discussion in your field but also make you stand as someone who’s networking for a better future.

4. Where You Work

The location of where you work has a lot of influence on your pay scale. If your company is located in a large city or urban areas with high costs of living it will mean you need to earn higher salaries than while you were working for a company located in more affordable areas. For eg., a person making $75,000 working for a company in Silicon Valley might struggle to make ends meet, while a person doing the exact same work for $60,000 in New Orleans could live a very comfortable lifestyle.

Tip: This is something that you can control before applying to any job. Before accepting any job, try to find the cost-of-living of that particular city or area to determine the minimum salary you’ll need to be able to live comfortably.

5. Your Negotiation Skills

It’s very simple. You should be paid what you're worth. You should be paid an amount that is at par with industry standards and what others pay. However, not all of us are good at it, not when we apply for jobs or nor during performance review meetings. We should never be rude while negotiating the salary part but we should also know when to walk out if our deserving demands are not being paid.

Tip: Performance has a significant impact on pay, especially incentive pay, so always do your best during the interview or in the appraisal meeting and list your accomplishments and show how that brings value to the company’s goals and profits.

6. Poor Job Interview Skills

Even the smartest and most qualified job seekers need to prepare for their job interviews. Interview skills are learned, and there are no second chances to make a great first impression. So, there’s no denying that there are probably more candidates than job openings. That’s why you need to leave the best impression possible to improve your chances of getting an offer.

Tips: If you don’t know how to do that…. Relax there are several job consultancies that help you prepare well for the job interview right from writing a kickass resume to groom you for the interview. Reach out to them and impress your potential employees.

Which Top IT Giants are Hiring AWS Solutions Architect and How much an AWS Solutions Architect Salary is?

AWS Solutions Architect Salary in Top 10 Companies

• Microsoft: $142,431/year
• Amazon: $141,703/year
• IBM: ₹139,405/year
• Red Hat: $145,000/year
• Ericsson: $125,000/year
• Capgemini: $118,000/year
• Cognizant: $110,000/year
• Tata Consultancy Services Limited: ₹1,722,819/year

How much salary does an AWS Solution Architect Get?

Note that your salary grows with experience and expertise in your particular field. Also, with time as you continue to develop and upgrade your skills both tech and soft skills, you begin to perform your role with higher efficiency. Getting a certification in AWS Solutions Architect doesn’t guarantee you a job, it simply enhances your chances of getting promoted to higher job positions or enabling you to better your paycheck. Now, let’s discuss what an AWS Solutions Architect-Professional salary looks like based on job roles and what you get in which country.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect-Associate Salary

• As per PayScale, Indeed and Dice the average entry-level AWS Solutions Architect-Associate salary starts from US$113,147 per annum.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect-Professional Salary

• AWS Senior Solutions Architect’s salary is approximately US$128,708 per annum.

Further, you will learn about the salaries earned by AWS Certified Solutions Architects in some of the major organizations, according to the facts posted on LinkedIn, Dice, Global IT Knowledge.

What is an AWS Solutions Architect salary?

The range for the AWS Solutions Architect is starting from $75,000 to $159,000 based on top Job Portals across the globe. However, the average is somewhere close to $119,061. For an entry-level Solutions Architect Salary is $75,000 however with experience of  1 to 4 years of experience in the Industry you can rise up to earning more than $159,000 the average.

AWS Solutions Architect Average Salary: Based on Experience

Other than the experience level, the salary of an AWS Solutions Architect also depends on his/her certification type. As in whether he has obtained AWS Solution Architect-Associate or AWS Solution Architect-Professional. 

Associate Level

Based on our 2019 IT Skills and Salary Survey, an AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate salary in the United States and Canada is $130,883 per annum. 

Professional Level

Professional level is the next step after you’ve obtained your Solutions Architect-Associate level certifications. An AWS Solutions Architect-professional salary is $148,456 on average.

Please note that for both certifications you need to have prior knowledge of working with the AWS cloud platform. If you want to know more about the AWS Solutions Architect Certification path, read the following article to have a better understanding of the various aspects related to salary, career growth, and the kind of roles and responsibilities you perform as a Solutions Architect. So, now let us talk about the entry-level Solutions Architect salary as well as senior Solutions Architect salary: The average salary for those holding AWS Certified Solutions Architect– Associate Level is nearly $130,883. 

Once you have attained the Associate certificate, IT specialists should consider the Professional level as the next step as per annum an AWS Solutions Architect-Professional salary is $148,456.

AWS Solutions Architect Average Salary: Based on Employer

Let us now discuss how much the top employers pay employees with AWS solution architects- associate and AWS Solutions Architect-Professional certificates. Microsoft Corp has average pay of $142,431. Other companies that offer high salaries for these roles include Amazon.com Inc and International Business Machines (IBM) Corp, earning around $141,703 and $139,405, respectively

AWS Solutions Architect Average Salary: Based on Skill-set

There is a difference in salaries in terms of skill set as well. The average salary of a DevOps Engineer is somewhere around $99,604 per annum. On the other hand, a Solution Architect with some experience makes around $119,061 per annum. Other skills include Software Engineer – $110610 per year, Sr. Technical Architect– $132,762 per annum, System Architecture– $138,515  per annum, and IT Consultant – $125-$150,000 per annum.

AWS Solutions Architect Salary: Based on Location

Location is one of the major factors playing a pivotal role in AWS Solutions Architect's average salary. Across the globe, one can see a huge variation in the Salaries based on the location, as there are hundreds of factors that play a role in deciding the living standard, salary, or even demand of a particular skill set at a location. 

Let us talk about some of the major locations across the world which are the top favorites of most people.

Job Status based on Top Job Portals

Before applying to any job position, it’s an important step for you to know the availability of the particular job profile in real-time. And in order to give you the right insight, let us quickly have a look at the real-time numbers in terms of available jobs in Solutions Architect.

We have gathered the information from some of the top Job Portals from the US, India, UK, Australia, Canada, etc.

More than 2559 jobs are available in the US according to Glassdoor. 

There are a total of 6,515 job openings for Solutions Architect in India according to LinkedIn

Close to 5120 jobs are available in the United Kingdom for Solutions Architect according to LinkedIn. 

There are a total of 4,451 job openings for Solutions Architect in Australia according to Jora.

2,381 jobs are available in Canada for Solutions Architect according to LinkedIn. 

Salaries on Jobs related to Solutions Architect

AWS Architect is a huge domain of cloud computing and is not just limited to the roles and responsibilities of being a Solutions Architect. Since there are so many components in the AWS cloud platform that there are many job profiles that you can apply for based on your interest, skills, certifications, and experience. We’re listing a few of the job profiles related to Solutions Architect along with an average salary in the particular profession:

• Cloud Architect: $136,500
• Software Engineer:$107,250
• Software Developer: $100,006
• Test Engineer: $100,000
• Project Manager: $97,495
• Designer:$68,249
• Professor: $65,946
• Assistant Professor: $63,841
• Instructor: $39,006
• Machine Operator: $28,275

Conclusion

Now you have a clear picture of the career prospect of being an AWS Solution Architect, you can map your career path to your desired job. However, like all certifications, AWS Solutions Architect Certification can ensure you a lucrative and stable career only if you’ve got the required skill-sets and experience. 

As we know, AWS Solutions Architect Certification is one of the highest paying IT Certifications. However, AWS is constantly evolving and is coming up with newer updates and service additions every few years. It is thus very important for you to keep updating your skills through training courses that are available online. Why online? Well, because you can access the study materials and course guide from anywhere and can pursue this training material while you’re working or at home, college, or even while traveling. This training will not only prepare you well for your AWS Solutions Architect Certifications exam but will also ensure that you are ready to show how to work within AWS and understand its application to your potential employers or peers. 

Drop us a comment. if you want to know more about the AWS Solutions Architect, drop your doubts, queries, or anything you want to know more about its certification path or career path!

FAQs

Q1: What an AWS Solutions Architect's salary is?

The Salary of an AWS Solutions Architect might vary depending on various factors and hence there can be no fixed number when it comes to their Salary. You are advised to consider the factors to come down to any conclusion. Also, it is evident that the need for AWS Architect is ever-increasing due to many companies adopting AWS services so the market for jobs with this skill set seems ever-evolving and increasing. 

Q2: What does an AWS Solutions Architect do?

Here are the key areas that a solution architect is focused on:

• Utilizing technology to resolve business problems
• The look and feel of the application
• The framework or platform to use for creating the solution
• Determines risks that come with utilizing third-party frameworks or platforms
• Maintenance and future scalability

Q3. AWS Solutions Architect Salary as an entry-level professional? 

As per PayScale, the average entry-level AWS Solutions Architect salary is $113,147 per annum.

Q4. How to earn a top-paying AWS  Solutions Architect salary?

To earn one of the highest paying IT certifications you need to appear and clear the AWS Solutions Architect Certification offered by Amazon at both associate and professional levels. You must earn your associate-level certification before advancing to the professional level and have at least one year of working experience with AWS cloud.

Want to know all the details on how to prepare for your exam? Read this comprehensive AWS Solutions Architect Associate Certification Prep Guide which highlights all the important details about the exam, exam cost, format of the exam, and effective tips on how to ace the exam.

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