What are the Requirements for Obtaining an AWS Certification?

In recent times, AWS (Amazon Web Services) has dominated the cloud computing domain and has emerged as a robust and infallible provider of cloud services. As several businesses are switching their operations to cloud-based services, it becomes a must-have and core competency in an organization. Gartner’s Infrastructure & Platform Services Magic Quadrant declared AWS as a cloud leader for the 10th consecutive year. So, if you are working in a cloud computing domain, an AWS certification will help you improve your cloud computing skills. There are different AWS certifications, you need to select the right one relevant to your domain and experience.

If you have an AWS certification, you will be able to prove the most in-demand skills that are validated by none other than Amazon. According to RightScale’s cloud report 2018, 68% of SMBs and 64% of enterprises are switching to AWS to run their business. The continuous improvement of services, geographic expansion, and financial performance clearly shows that AWS is undoubtedly going to be in demand for a long time.

AWS currently offers 12 different certifications, and there are no set-in-stone steps to learn these certifications. However, we have discussed some straightforward steps that will help you plan to get an AWS certification.

1. First of all, you will have to enroll yourself in a training class to get an in-depth knowledge of AWS and cloud computing.
2. Study all the training guides and exams you can find and review them.
3. Study and practice as much as possible to reduce any mistakes you could make during the certification exam.
4. Schedule the certification exam once you are fully prepared for it.

You have to make sure that you have chosen the right certification exam based on your expertise, qualification, and experience. There are four levels of AWS certifications:

1. Foundational
2. Associate
3. Professional
4. Specialization

Now, we will discuss all the AWS certifications and their eligibility requirements:

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner – Foundational Certification

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is the entry-level, and one of the newest certifications offered by AWS. It was designed to test your knowledge of AWS Cloud. It doesn’t go deep on any specific services. Instead, it gives you a general overview of the structure of AWS. The areas that will be covered in the Cloud Practitioner certification exam are AWS cloud and its infrastructure, fundamental principles of AWS architecture, basic compliance and security measures, the shared responsibility model, identifying technical assistance and sources of documentation, bill defining, pricing models, and account management, key services and common use cases of AWS, the value proposition of AWS cloud, and operating & deploying principles.

This foundational certification is the best place for you to start if you are new to cloud computing. Also, it is recommended that you take this exam before you move on to associate or professional level certifications.

The eligibility requirements for this certification are:

• You should have basic knowledge of IT infrastructure and solutions, and their applications in the AWS platform.
• You should have at-least 6 months of working experience in AWS cloud in a sales, purchase, technical, financial, or managerial role.

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate

This associate-level certification gives you a broad overview of AWS and builds a strong foundation on which you can build anything related to AWS solution architect. If you already have experience in designing distributed applications, then a solution architect certificate examination is the best for you.

The topics that will be covered in this exam are networking technologies & their applications in AWS, working of AWS-based applications, creating applications on the AWS platform, connecting AWS platform to the client’s interfaces, deploying hybrid systems with AWS components and on-premises data center, designing highly scalable applications, deploying and implementing application on AWS and troubleshooting, data security practices, and disaster recovery techniques related to AWS.

The eligibility criteria for this certification exam are following:

• 1 year of experience working in AWS to solve problems and implement solutions, designing and developing applications on the AWS platform.
• Knowledge of at least one high-level programming language such as C, C++, Java, or Python. Apart from that, you should be able to identify the requirements of an application, defining best practices for securing the AWS applications and deploying hybrid systems with AWS.

• AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate

This certification exam is the only exam, which is entirely dedicated to the system administrators, but you can also do this if you execute things on AWS. SysOps administrator certification focuses on conceptual as well as technical knowledge of operational aspects of AWS.

The main areas covered in these certifications are deploying applications using AWS, transferring data between the AWS and the client, meeting the needs of a business by selecting the right AWS service, knowledge of provision, secure, and managing systems deployed in an AWS environment.

The eligibility criteria for this certification are:

• Minimum one year of working knowledge of operating and managing applications deployed on the AWS platform.
• You should be able to define and identify the best practices available on the AWS platform for the complete project lifecycle.

• AWS Certified Developer – Associate

The developer associate certification focuses on how to develop and maintain applications on the AWS platform. To get this certification, you must have the expertise in writing code that can access the AWS application from the custom business application using AWS.

The topics covered in this certification exam are- Understanding the core AWS services and basic architecture of the AWS platform, designing, implementing, deploying, and maintaining AWS-based applications, database management system, workflow services, notifications, and storage services.

You should satisfy the following eligibility criteria to earn this certification:

• Working knowledge of the AWS architecture, and servers.
• Knowledge of AWS platform for designing, and deploying cloud-based applications as well as applications built for Amazon SNS, SQS, SWS, DynamoDB, CloudFormation, and Elastic Beanstalk.
• Experience in designing and maintaining AWS-based cloud applications.

• AWS Certified Solution Architect – Professional

This professional solution architect certification is the pinnacle of general AWS expertise. With this certification, you would be able to take any AWS feature or service and make good use of it.

The areas included in this professional certification are practices implemented for architecting the AWS-based applications, application’s requirements by selecting the correct AWS service, and how to migrate different applications to the AWS platform.

The eligibility criteria for this certification are:

• Minimum 2 years of experience in designing and deploying AWS-based cloud architecture.
• Knowledge of one high-level programming language.
• Knowledge of designing and deploying AWS-based applications.

• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional

These professional DevOps Engineer certifications validate your skills to provision, operate, and manage AWS-based applications.

The certifications exam include modern continuous delivery methodologies and their implementation in the CD systems, setting up, and monitoring systems on AWS, implementation of scalable systems on AWS, and designing and managing tools required for enabling the automation of product operations.

For professional DevOps engineer certifications, you should fulfill the following eligibility requirements:

• At-least two years of working experience in provisioning, managing, and operating the applications deployed in the AWS platform.
• Knowledge of one high-level programming language.
• Experience in automation and testing using programming language and other development processes like Agile.

• AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty

With this certificate, you can validate your skills related to hybrid IT networking architecture, and the AWS platform to perform complicated tasks related to networking.

In this specialty certificate, the topics are how to design, develop, and deploy AWS-based cloud solutions, implementing core services, troubleshooting, optimizing networks, automating the tasks of AWS for network deployment, and implementing compliance and security designs.

The minimum eligibility criteria for this certificate are:

• At-least 5 years of working experience in architecting and implementing network solutions.
• Expertise in technologies used in AWS networking.

• AWS Certified Security – Specialty

This specialty certification validates your skills in security fundamentals, the best practices used, and a deep understanding of the key security services on the AWS platform.

The topics covered in this certification are how to use AWS services to get the desired security level depending on the deployment method and data sensitivity, identity & access management, virtual private cloud, CloudTrail, AWS configuration, and web application firewall.

The eligibility criteria for these certificates are:

• Minimum 5 years of working experience in IT security solutions.
• Minimum 2 years of working experience in securing AWS workloads and knowledge of using AWS workload.

• AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty

This specialty machine learning certification focuses on creating and implementing machine learning solutions for various business problems.

This certification includes selecting the best machine learning (ML) algorithm for a problem, designing & implementing ML solutions that are secure, scalable, cost-optimized, reliable, and identifying the right AWS solutions for creating and deploying ML models.

The minimum eligibility criteria for this certification are:

• Minimum 1 year of experience in AWS cloud for implementing ML and deep learning (DL) concepts.
• Knowledge of data science tools and techniques.

• AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder – Specialty

This specialty certificate validates your skills in creating, deploying, and testing Amazon Alexa. If you are working in the Alexa skill builder domain, this certification is best for you.

The concepts included in these certifications are the value of the voice, Alexa developer console, implementing security measures by following Alexa and AWS practices, and user experience design.

The eligibility requirement for this certification are:

• Minimum 6 months of working experience of Alexa Skills Kit to build Alexa skills.
• Knowledge of one high-level programming language.

• AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty

This specialty certificate is suitable for you if you are working in the field of data analytics, and working with AWS services to design and architect solutions for big data. It validates your skills in using AWS services to extract value from the data.

The concepts included in this certification are implementation of big data services of AWS by using best architectural practices, automating the process of data analysis using AWS tools, using best security practices for big data solutions, designing and maintaining big data, and other AWS services like Athena, Kinesis, Rekognition, and Quicksight.

You must satisfy the following eligibility criteria for these certifications:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in data analytics and big data.
• Knowledge of designing and developing robust, scalable, and cost-effective architecture for data processing.
• Knowledge of defining and architect big data services of AWS and how they are used in the lifecycle of a data science project.

• AWS Certified Database – Specialty

This specialty certification is the newest AWS certification, and it validates your skills in recommending, designing, and maintaining AWS database solutions for businesses’ unique database needs.

The certificate includes the understanding of deploying, migrating, managing, monitoring, and troubleshooting databases; workload-specific database design; and database security.

The eligibility requirement for this certification are:

• Minimum 5 years of experience with standard database technologies.
• At-least 2 years of hands-on experience with AWS and expertise working with on-prem and AWS cloud-based relational and NoSQL databases.

Conclusion

Finally, we have got a total of 12 AWS certifications, for now, spreading across multiple levels and domain areas, and minimum eligibility requirements for each certification. Getting AWS certification shows that you have some of the most in-demand skills that are validated by one of the most trusted names in the field of cloud computing. AWS certifications signify a solid understanding of the AWS platform and a particular level of cloud computing expertise that can improve overall productivity in an organization. So, if you are already working on a cloud computing platform, and want to get more expertise, you can enroll yourself for Amazon certification.