Complete AWS Training & Certification Guide For Rewarding Career Ahead

Introduction

With the growth of Cloud computing in the last few years, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has become the world’s leading and most in-demand cloud platform. 

It currently dominates the market with a 33.8% share while its competitors Microsoft Azure, Google, and IBM together account for 30% worldwide. 

This excellent rate of adoption of AWS cloud services worldwide has led to a great demand for AWS-certified professionals.

Companies hiring candidates for AWS-related positions put a lot of emphasis on certifications. In fact, as per the Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Survey, “AWS cloud certification is one of the best-paying certification categories in the US with the average payout of $129,868 per year  for an AWS certified IT professional.”

Well! You’re considering getting AWS Certified, That’s good! Currently, Cloud Computing expertise is in great demand and most IT professionals are working on improving their skills and thereby AWS Certification course has become necessary for greater acumen!

Irrespective of whether you’re trying to take your career to a different level or trying to change your field, learning cloud computing skills and getting at the best cloud computing courses can help open some of the best life-changing career options. 

AWS certifications are therefore the perfect medium to boost your employability and salary range and also establish yourself as an expert in the industry. In this blog, we will talk about everything you need to know about AWS certifications and AWS career path:

• Top AWS certification exams 
• Career options in AWS 
• Future potential after AWS training 
• How to make a career with AWS
• How long does it take to get AWS certified
• How to prepare for the AWS exams 

So, without any further ado, let’s begin with the basic information about AWS developers and the top job roles available in the AWS segment. 

Who is an AWS Developer & Top Job Roles

AWS Developers work with application software or programs and work within the Amazon Web Services cloud-based platform. These cloud computing professionals rely on more than 200 features offered by the AWS platform to create the applications as per the business needs.

At present, cloud development has become the foundation for the newer world of software development and the career opportunities in the field continue to grow. Going for a Cloud Computing certification & training program is a big “Yes.” Let’s have a look at the top job roles that one can get post completion of AWS career path.

1. AWS Cloud Solutions Architect 

Average yearly salary: Approx $140,000-$150,000 

Directly connected with engineers and clients, AWS Cloud Solutions Architect supplies lead implementation efforts and technical architectures and makes sure that the interspersion of the latest technologies is being adopted. With the knowledge of cloud computing through the AWS Solutions Architect certification, one can gain industry-relevant skill-sets and be job-ready . 

2. Cloud Developer

Average yearly salary: Approx $115,000 

Cloud developers take care of the development of software applications and solutions. To become a cloud developer, one should have significant experience in software development and the AWS platform. Here, getting AWS Developer Associate certification is required to become a cloud developer. Read to know more about how to start a career in AWS as a developer? 

3. SysOps Administrator

Average yearly salary: Approx $96,000-$99,000 

Responsible for deploying, operating, and managing systems on the AWS platforms, an AWS Certified SysOps Administrator certification course gets the candidates sound knowledge of managing and deploying production operations in the AWS cloud. 

4. Cloud Network Specialist

Average yearly salary: $98,000-$117,000 

Cloud network specialists are responsible to work for designing, building, and maintaining cloud-native and hybrid networking infrastructures, including integrating the available networks with AWS cloud resources in a company.

These are the best job roles you can go for after AWS training. 

Why Should You Become AWS Certified?

After how long does it take to get AWS certified? The second most-asked question is if AWS certifications are worth it in 2022? Are you also wondering about the same? Well, the answer is yes, AWS training & certifications are worth it!

In the last few years, there has been a great rise in cloud computing. Companies from all industry verticals are moving their infrastructure to the cloud. It is mainly because the cloud enables companies and their employees to access information from any time and anywhere. 

If you are looking to start or move your career as a tech professional, then gaining Cloud Computing certification can provide a great boost to your career. Here are the top reasons why getting AWS training & certification is a great decision. 

1. In High Demand

Cloud skills have been in demand for the last few years (with LinkedIn listing cloud computing as one of — if not the — most in-demand hard skills for 6 years running). And, because AWS is the most popular public cloud, AWS certifications are in demand. 

• 82% of hiring managers believe that cloud certifications make a candidate more attractive.
• 87% of hiring managers value hands-on experience and certifications over a university degree when evaluating candidates during the hiring process.

2. High Salary Offering 

Another reason why you should go for AWS Certification is because of the excellent salary offering. Per year, AWS certifications pull in an average salary of over $100,000, and AWS certifications are among the top-paying certifications out there.

• According to Indeed, on average, cloud engineers earn $120,223 per year.
• As per the Paysa, AWS Cloud Support Engineers make an average of $155,000 per year, with the top percentile of earners making close to $200,000. Check more details on the salary of an AWS developer.

3. Future Prospect

The field of cloud computing will continue to flourish. Through AWS training and continuous practice, any of the job opportunities can become available to you once you qualify for the AWS certification exams. 

Business owners and industry experts have already realized that cloud computing is the future of technology. 

It is estimated that by the year 2023, nearly 83 percent of enterprise workloads will be transferred to the cloud.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is presently one of the most used cloud services providers in the industry, with Amazon reporting $10.8 million in sales in Q2 last year. With 29% growth in a single quarter, AWS shows no signs of slowing down. 

The rapid growth range shows that the demand for professionals in AWS will continue to increase.

While there are numerous advantages to AWS training and getting certified; the actual world value for many is very simple – certifications support leveling up your career with better jobs and salary increments. 

Of course, certifications alone cannot land you a dream job but it provides you with a comprehensive knowledge base that may help you land interviews, and get some jobs.  

So, instead of letting technology pass you by, now is the time to get AWS certified to futureproof your career. Below we have discussed different AWS training and certifications you can choose from.

Top AWS Certifications in 2022

AWS offers 11 certifications –  a foundational certification, three associate-level certifications, two professional-level certifications, and five specialty certifications. If you are planning to appear for the AWS certification exam, you have made a really good choice.  Being an AWS professional, you can make a production-ready system for your organization, which will be scalable, stable, and well-monitored. 

1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
2. AWS Certified Developer – Associate
3. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
4. AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
5. AWS Certified Security – Specialty
6. AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty
7. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional
8. AWS Certified Big Data - Specialty
9. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional

 Here is the complete overview of different AWS training & certifications.

Foundational Level Certification

Certification Name	Overview	Exam Price	Duration	Format
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner	It is an entry-level certification that validates a candidate’s basic understanding of the AWS cloud.	100 USD	90 Minutes	MCQs

Associate-Level Certifications

Certification Name	Overview	Exam Price	Duration	Format
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate	The exam is designed for those professionals having great expertise in designing distributed applications.	150 USD	130 Minutes	MCQs

Certification Name	Overview	Exam Price	Duration	Format
AWS Certified Developer – Associate	The exam is focused on developing and maintaining AWS-based applications.	150 USD	130 Minutes	MCQs

Certification Name	Overview	Exam Price	Duration	Format
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate	This is the only certification that is completely geared toward system administrators.	150 USD	180 Minutes	MCQs

Professional-Level Certifications

Certification Name	Overview	Exam Price	Duration	Format
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional	This exam is designed for those who can evaluate a company’s needs and make architectural recommendations to implement and deploy applications on AWS.	300 USD	180 Minutes	MCQs

Certification Name	Overview	Exam Price	Duration	Format
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional	It is focused on covering continuous delivery (CD), the automation processes, and the fundamental concepts of the DevOps movement.	150 USD	180 Minutes	MCQs

Specialty Certifications

Certification Name	Overview	Exam Price	Duration	Format
AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty	This certification is designed for those having experience in data analytics and AWS services.	300 USD	180 Minutes	MCQs

Certification Name	Overview	Exam Price	Duration	Format
AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty	It is designed to validate a candidate’s skills and experience in performing complex networking tasks on AWS and hybrid IT networking architecture.	300 USD	170 Minutes	MCQs

Certification Name	Overview	Exam Price	Duration	Format
AWS Certified Security – Specialty	The certification validates your AWS knowledge related to the security topics like data protection and encryption, infrastructure security, incident response, identity, and access management, monitoring, and logging.	300 USD	170 Minutes	MCQs

Certification Name	Overview	Exam Price	Duration	Format
AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty	This certification is designed to validate one’s ability in creating, implementing, and maintaining machine learning solutions for business issues.	300 USD	180 Minutes	MCQs

How Long Does it Take to Be AWS Certified?

Other than these, there are nine different stages of AWS certifications depending on the various levels of learning or expertise which are categorized in a total of 4 different role-based paths for the certification depending upon the level of expertise.

AWS Cloud Practitioner

The certification is for the aspirants looking to build and validate a fundamental level of understanding of the cloud. This is a foundational level course. In this level of AWS, you will learn the fundamentals of cloud computing, setting up of the AWS account, AWS management console,  S3 Services, etc. It takes at least one month to become certified at the practitioner level. 

How Long to Get AWS certified at this level?

It takes at least one month to become certified at the practitioner level. 

AWS Solutions Architect

What will you learn?

This certification is for individuals who are looking to learn to design highly available systems or applications on the AWS platform. The level of this course content is intermediate as well as advanced. You will learn, Identity Access Management, EC2, Database on AWS, Route53, Network Address Translation, HA Architecture, etc.

If you are all set to grow in your career as an AWS Solutions Architect, don’t forget to check the AWS-certified solution architect responsibilities. It takes at least 1.5 months to be certified.

AWS Developer

What will you learn?

This certification is for developers who want to learn how to build cloud-based applications on the AWS platform. This is an advanced-level course. You will learn AWS SDK and Access Management, and integrate AWS applications by using AWS Lambda, AWS API Gateway, Amazon SNS, etc. For a level of AWS Developer, it takes a minimum of 2-3 months to learn AWS SDK, Access Management, Integrate AWS applications by using AWS Lambda, AWS API Gateway, Amazon SNS, etc.

AWS DevOps

What will you learn?

This certification is for the tech-savvy individuals who want to give their 100% in a DevOps role. Want to know more about DevOps roles and responsibilities, get your answer here! The course content will allow you to learn how to create automated and repeated deployments of applications, networks, and systems on the AWS platform. This is an advanced-level course. You’ll  also learn the concepts like management of the AWS instance and permissions, security management, troubleshooting problems, EC2 configuration, etc.  It takes at least 3-4 months to be an AWS DevOps Engineer.

Finally, How Long Does it Take to Get AWS Certified?

AWS is a broad concept. “This is not something you can finish learning in just two hours, it’s experimental. IF you’ve a full-time job and other commitments, then investing 80 hrs of study normally takes approx. 2 months, but if you’re completely new to AWS, you must invest approx. 120 hrs. or 3 months to prepare. Start your preparation with the AWS fundamentals, and then move to the Solutions Architect – Associate Learning Path.

After you are clear about how long to learn AWS, now we will go through the career path in the cloud. 

Any prior experience with AWS is unlikely to affect the time it takes to learn AWS since you’ll have to determine various aspects required for the type of career you want to establish with AWS certification. 

It’ll take a couple of days or weeks to learn AWS at high speed, after that you can gain practical knowledge related to its core services in several weeks and then you can expect to undertake professional skills in AWS.

But having said that, you must 

• First understand the job role and responsibilities that you choose and what all services you’ll require.
• It's better to make a plan based on the respective exam
• Immediately start the preparation.

AWS Career Path: Advance Your Career with AWS Training

To get yourself prepared for AWS certification, the first step is to learn Cloud Computing concepts.

Awareness of Operating Systems

It is important to have an awareness of Operating Systems (like Windows, Linux, Mac) if you want to pursue the AWS certification exam. You need to understand how operating systems work and how they function at a high level. For AWS certification, Linux operating system is necessary to learn because in most the organizations that work with web applications and scalable environments make use of the Linux Operating System. Linux is also used for IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) platform. 

Awareness of Virtualization

After a clear understanding of Operating Systems, you have to attain awareness of virtualization. Virtualization is a strategy that runs multiple operating systems (which are called virtual machines) inside a single physical machine. Each virtual machine consists of an individual RAM, CPU, and Disk, and runs its operating system. 

Awareness of Networking

Networking is really important to learn when you are preparing for AWS certifications. You need to learn the basic concepts like the role and working of IP addresses, private and public networks, etc.

 

Apart from the core learning areas here are a few tips for you to begin your AWS journey. With the online AWS training, you can certainly increase your value in the eyes of the hiring managers. However, without having the right strategy, you may have to struggle in getting through the AWS career path. Below, is a simple roadmap to follow when you are looking to make a career with AWS training & certification. 

Be Clear with Your Goals 

A general question asked in interviews – where do you want to be in five years? 

Well, not just for interviews, but you should be clear with your goals before you begin preparing for AWS training & certification exams. Getting a firm understanding of why you want to become certified will create your path towards the goal. If you are clear on the positions where you want to reach in the future, you can look for those companies that have that position and what kind of certifications they are looking for in the candidates. 

Get Basic Knowledge of Cloud Technologies

After you know your goals, the next step is learning. This is what exactly affects how long to get AWS certified. If you are an experienced IT professional having led several cloud-based projects, you can directly give AWS exams a try. But make sure to revise the major aspects of cloud computing. 

If you are someone who is only starting to get a grasp on cloud computing, you need to work a lot on the learning part before taking an exam. 

Hands-on Experience 

Theoretical knowledge is just a part of learning. You need to get practical with AWS to pass the exam. 

Amazon offers free access to a limited number of features for a year. Here, you can try on different features and gain practical experience through a free private sandbox. Besides, you can also join an open-source project and work as a part of the team. 

Exam Preparation 

When you feel you have learned enough from AWS training, it’s time to begin your preparation for the exam. You can check whether you perfectly fit the exam criteria and do your preparation accordingly. 

After you are confident in passing the AWS training tests, do your registration on the AWS website and schedule an exam. Select the time slot whenever you can perform your best. 

Showcase Your Credentials 

AWS training certifications open doors for your career in the cloud but this is not the only thing you need to have. To go up on the career ladder, you also should showcase them in the correct way and accompany your certificate with a decent resume. 

When you have included the certificate do not forget to mention your soft skills. 

The Final Step – Interview,

In reality, your AWS training certificate is just a piece of paper that ensures an employer that you are worth their attention. The actual value is the theoretical and practical knowledge that you get along the way. 

The career path with the AWS training course is quite simple – decide your goals, begin learning, become certified, showcase it to employers and finally pass the cloud computing interview. 

Now, you are clear on how to get a job with AWS training certification. Next, we will discuss the in-demand skills for AWS.

AWS Certification Examination Tips

 

After reading the above description, I believe, you are now aware of the total period you are required to learn AWS concepts depending upon your area of interest and the complete career path. Now, the major thing is how can you stick to your plan so that you may find yourself prepared for the AWS certification exam and nail it on the first attempt. Here are some tips for the same:-

Read: How to Create Amazon Chatbot & Integrate with Facebook?

Resources to Learn AWS

Here are some amazing resources to get help on how to learn AWS through the best resource online like AWS Tutorial For Beginners, Introduction To AWS IAM, etc.

Focus on Dates

Make a goal after analyzing how long it takes to learn AWS for you to learn your AWS interest exam. Spare enough time for practical implementation so that you may not find yourself stuck at any point. If you are a working professional and preparing for your AWS exam with your job, then Friday is the perfect day you can boost your soul. Connect your weekends, too, with your study plan. Other than this, do thorough research about the AWS certification exams.

Involve in a Study Group

Teamwork is surely a fire way to keep you on track. Join AWS communities like the JanBask community or groups on social media to exercise the topics you have prepared. With each person taking a section, each making concise notes saves a lot of time. You can also conduct a mini quiz on each section you and your team are working on. 

Top Skills Required For AWS Jobs

If you are looking to pursue a career in cloud computing, you need to work on the latest cloud computing skills and more. Below, we have listed 5 must-have AWS skills that every candidate should highlight in his resume to stay ahead of the game:

1. Java, Python, C#: The first and foremost skill required for AWS professionals. He must be able to write codes in the programming language. He should have an official AWS SDK including Java, Python, or C#. AWS SDK refers to the software tools that use AWS resources for application creation and libraries. 

2. Cloud Technology: To master any cloud computing platform, whether it is AWS or Azure, having a fundamental grasp of cloud patterns and technologies is compulsory. You should first begin with a basic understanding of what cloud technology is and how it has been transforming the tech market lately. 

3. Data Storage: Another important skill to get a job after AWS training is having the knowledge of how to store data in the cloud. While working with AWS, you should be able to select when to employ which of the various data stores choices given. Thorough knowledge of data storage fundamentals is vital as you need to compare and analyze the price, different capabilities, and performance and then select the most suitable option. 

4. Networking: Since all activities on the cloud platforms include networking, it is not just an important part of Amazon cloud but the whole cloud technology. To begin, you must have a basic grasp of IP addresses and the differences between public and private networks. 

5. Operation System: It is vital for cloud professionals to have an inside-out knowledge of at least one operating system. Generally, businesses that work with online applications use Linux as their first choice for the operating system. Getting a deep understanding of Linux is most recommended for cloud professionals. 

6. Security: Since cloud computing is a shared technology, security has become a major concern for cloud users.  A lot of companies have their data on the cloud that are at risk of hacking. So, AWS professionals must be able to tackle the security issues and fix them instantly.  

These are top AWS skills to master, Virtualization, having an overview of Public and Private Cloud, databases, and good communication are other major skills to excel in your career with AWS training certification. 

Read: A Few Reasons Why AWS Training Certification can Change Your Life?

Finally Words

Just going through the services and features of AWS is not enough; you need to know AWS inside and out, use cases, a combination of different services, when to use the services, etc. Building a project is really beneficial to know how much you have known till the time. Maintain accountability in yourself

A period mentioned for how long it takes to get AWS certified above might seem long for a passionate AWS learner. Well, we have got you covered in this! If you are clear about your area of expertise or are still thinking about it, just talk to our career counselor to take guidance regarding the best learning path for the AWS certification exam. You can enroll yourself in our AWS Certification course as a starting point and adjust your learning strategy from there. 

Participate in mock tests or AWS quizzes to analyze your knowledge of AWS. Subscribe to the AWS blogs on the internet as much as you can. This way, you will surely pass your AWS certification exam on the first attempt. Next, we have added a few frequently asked questions on AWS training and certifications and how long to learn AWS with their answers. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Who should go for the AWS Certification Training?

Ans. AWS training is a perfect option for those working closely with databases and implementing DB solutions. Besides, they should have at least two years of experience in both AWS Cloud-based and on-premises relational and NoSQL databases.

How will the AWS Training & Certification help in my career?

Ans.Once you finish the online AWS training, you can work in designing and deploying scalable, highly available, and fault-tolerant systems on AWS and also be able to handle Ingress and Egress data to and from AWS. 

How to learn AWS from scratch?

Ans. To learn AWS from scratch, first, understand the basics of Cloud computing, and what is AWS then make sure to familiarize yourself with the core AWS services.

1. Choose the AWS certification you want to prepare for

AWS offers four major certifications- AWS Cloud Practitioner, Architect, Developer, and Operations. You have to choose one of them as per your interest. 

2. Register for the certification exam

Book for the exam only after at least one year of hands-on practice in AWS because you need to give yourself enough time for the preparation to make the period shorter for how long to learn AWS. Study for 2-3 hours every day or night. 

3. Choose your training platform

Ans. Choose a proper training platform to clarify your AWS concepts. You can either opt for an online training platform or choose an offline one. You can join a community to prepare for your exam. You may choose to join any platform for this like- online, classroom, social media, meetup, etc. Like-minded people will help you to stay on track and reach your goals.

How long does it take to learn AWS? 

Ans. For a level of AWS Operations, if you ask how long to learn AWS, it takes at least 3-4 months to learn the basic concepts such as management of the AWS instance and permissions, security management, troubleshooting problems, EC2 configuration, etc. 

What does it take to pass an AWS exam?

Ans. There are certain fixed scores to pass each AWS exam. For example, the passing score for Associate-level exams is 720; and it is 700 for the Foundational exam.

What is the validity period of the AWS Certifications?

Ans. The validity period for the online AWS training certifications is three years. 

Happy Learning!

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