Journey to AWS Certification..

Why you should be AWS Certified ?

Having a certifications is always a perk while searching for a new job or want to get hike in current job career. But getting certification is not been only benefits you in monetary but it would really help you getting a good knowledge AWS and a confidence in yourself.

AWS provide lots of certification based on your domain and your skills in AWS. Here are the list.

Where to get started ?

If you are beginner and want to get started in AWS then you must be targeting to Cloud Practitioner and if you are somewhat experience AWS professional you must be targeting to Associate level of Certification like Solution Architect or Developer.

AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C01)

Its a entry level and fundamental Certifications. It involves basic knowledge and principles of cloud computing. It is independent of the roles you are currently working.

Exam Format

• Prerequisites: At least six months of general AWS cloud experience in any role (technical, managerial, sales, etc.) is recommended.
• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Length: 90 minutes
• Cost: 100 USD

Exam Content

• Understanding of basic AWS architectural principles
• The value proposition of the AWS cloud
• Key AWS services and their common use cases
• Basic security and compliance, the shared responsibility model for security
• Core deployment and operating principles
• User Guide

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C02)

Its a little bit advance than cloud practitioner exams it is the one which I recently got it cleared. Candidates will need to be able to demonstrate their ability to design, manage, and implement applications using tools and services on the AWS platform.  So you must need to get your hands dirty and well tried projects before going for this certification and must have an 1 year of experience. It includes questions with the services like IAM, S3, Cloudfront, Storage Gateway, Snowball, EC2, Cloudwatch, CLI, Lambda, Route 53, RDS, Dynamo DB, Redshift, ElastiCache, Aurora, VPC, SQS, SNS, Elastic Transcoder, Kinesis, API Gateway and so on.

Exam Format

• Format: Multiple-choice, multiple-answer
• Time: 130 minutes (based on the new exam)
• Cost: 150 USD

Exam Content

• Network technologies and how they work in AWS
• How AWS-based applications work and how client interfaces connect to the AWS platform
• How to build secure and reliable applications on the AWS platform
• Deploying hybrid systems – those with an on-premises data center and AWS components
• The exam domains include the design of highly available and scalable systems, (requires familiarity with AWS infrastructure and concepts), implementation and deployment in AWS, AWS-related data security practices, disaster recovery techniques, and troubleshooting
• User Guide

How do I Prepared ?

I started to work and learn AWS around November 2018. Its been around 2 year of AWS but after a long learning path and preparations I got my first AWS Certifications in Aug 2020.

I have been lucky to get work in AWS in a project which was just starting from scratch. and got exposure to set up whole lots of environment like Dev ,QA ,UAT and Prod. which helps to understand the knowledge about Key concept like designing , planning and services like VPC , Networking, Route53 ,Cloudfront

I officially started preparations of the certification in Dec 2019. Initially I started watching random videos of AWS on YouTube. Then I quickly created a self plan to get it under the Solution Architect. It includes.

• A Cloud Guru : Course was really excellent and the discussion forum is great to have practice questions , latest reviews of the exam , and doubt.
• FAQ: AWS documentation about the services is really good. it helps me to understand the services and clear all the doubt about it. I would highly recommend to go through FAQ sections of the key services like EC2, S3, SNS, EBS, VPC, etc.
• Udemy / Whiz Labs Practice Test Paper : Although having a knowledge about the service is great but how to apply and having scenario based understanding is really important which I got from solving most of the Practice test paper. I have solved a lots of practice paper from Udemy , Whiz labs

The day of the examinations I go through all the networking concepts VPC, Security Group. Subnets , EC2 , Load balancing etc.

Now I can proudly say that I am a AWS certified solution architect. : )

Whats coming Next ?

Now I have started working to get AWS Developer Associate.

AWS Certified Developer – Associate

The AWS Certified Developer – the Associate exam is all about developing and maintaining AWS-based applications. You will need to know how to write actual code that uses AWS software to access AWS applications from within your custom business applications.

Exam Format

• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer
• Time: 80 minutes
• Cost: 150 USD

Exam Content

• Understanding the basic AWS architecture and the core AWS services
• Hands-on experience designing, developing, deploying, and maintaining applications
• Working knowledge of applications that utilize key AWS services such as AWS databases, notifications, workflow services, and services for storage and change management services