Your AWS Certification Roadmap: From beginner to pro with a 9x Certified Solutions Architect

Certificates are a great way to get you into the cloud industry, and there are many certifications out there, but the question is, in what order do I get them? Currently, there are 13 main AWS certifications, and this could be a head-scratcher for a beginner looking to enter the cloud industry.

In this blog post, we are going to explore the variations of AWS certifications and guide you on their importance and in which order to get them.

We have over 6 years of experience in the cloud industry, and with 9 AWS certifications, we have a good idea of which certifications affect your career.

So let us guide you into the cloud industry through the series of certifications that you will need.

Let us start with the easier certification you will take. If you are a complete beginner and want to gain a high level of understanding of cloud concepts, which is the Cloud Practitioner Certification.

This is the starting point for those who are new to cloud concepts. This is a great certification for those wanting to switch to the cloud from a different industry, and it establishes a high-level understanding of AWS services and the terminology. This certificate costs $100, and the exam duration is usually 90 minutes.

This is the next certificate to take that expands your technical understanding by focusing on the fundamentals of cloud technologies. While studying for this certificate, you will be learning

• Designing AWS solutions to meet business needs and requirements
• Design architectures that are secure, scalable and cost-optimised
• Review cloud infrastructure that is already there and recommend improvements

You also pick up some other skills, such as: navigating the AWS management console and the AWS command line interface, or CLI. This is the perfect certificate to deepen your understanding of AWS while also building confidence with other services. This usually costs $150, and the exam duration is 130 minutes.

Now. A quick disclaimer before we continue: if your goal is to get a job within the cloud industry, the first two certificates should pave the way for you, and I will not recommend focusing on anymore until then.

If you are struggling to get your first cloud job, we recommend building on your high-quality skills. Writing a great resume that stands out is one way, and working on your soft skills will greatly impact your chances of employability.

Check out https://cloudcareermentor.com and build the skills you need to make yourself employable.

For those who would like to take on more of a developer role, this certificate is geared towards YOU. Even if you are not a developer, it is still a good certification to take, as it does help you communicate with other developers easily by understanding how they work. Here are some of the things you will learn while studying for this certificate.

• Developing and optimising applications on AWS
• Packaging and deploying applications using CICD workflows
• Securing code and data
• Identifying and resolving issues with applications running in the cloud

This certificate usually costs $150, and you are given 130 minutes to complete the exam

One of the reasons we have this certificate as the 4th certificate is that it is harder than the previous certificate, so we do recommend you complete the Developer Associate Certification first to set you up to pass this certificate. We highly recommend that you DO NOT do these certifications until you have secured a job within the cloud industry with the two previously mentioned certificates. Here are some of the things you will learn while studying for this certification.

• Implementing logging and monitoring/troubleshooting issues
• Implementing architectural requirements, e.g. scalability, security, and high availability
• Implementing disaster recovery and business continuity practices
• Supporting AWS workloads based on the well-architected framework

This certificate will cost $150, and you will be given 130 minutes to complete the exam.

This will be the first professional certification that lets you dive deep into implementing technical cloud concepts. This is one that we would highly recommend. Studying for this certificate gives you a deeper understanding of:

• Implementation and management of CICD systems and methodologies in AWS
• Configuration and automation of security controls, compliance and governance process
• Identification and deployment monitoring, logging and metrics systems on AWS
• Implementation systems that are highly secure, scalable and available on AWS

This certificate will cost $300, and you will be given 180 minutes in the exam

This is one of the hardest of the AWS certifications. While the Solutions Architect Associate Certificate tests you on the solutions architecture at a high level, the Pro Certificate is one you will need to pay special attention to in terms of key terminology that is used in questions. Here is what you need to know for this certificate.

• Designing for organisational nuance and complexity
• Continuously improve existing solutions
• Handling cloud migrations and modernisation 

This certification, like the previous one, will cost you $300, and you will be given 180 minutes to complete the exam.

The million-dollar question: should you go after all 13 certifications? Our personal opinion is that it is great to have them all. You do become part of an elite club, as not many people have them all. 

You might also discover that after getting a number of certifications, you might want to take a break and hone in on other skills. For example, programming, communication, and other soft skills. 

If you want to have the edge over your competition, check out https://cloudcareermentor.com/#pricing to get everything you need to accelerate your career.

One thing to remember is that soft skills and a well-rounded skill set are equally important to your success.