What options are available?
AWS provides certification in four different levels, they are foundation, associate, professional, and specialty. We are going to discuss and encompass what are the roles, courses and exam details.
- First of all let’s go to Foundational-level AWS Certification, which is the most basic level of the AWS certification. After achieving the certification a candidate will be able to perform a string of duties on the AWS cloud. They should be able to explain its value and understand the AWS responsibility model. There are a number of core AWS services like computing, network, databases and storage which can be positioned and described by them. Candidates are recommended to have at least 6 months of experience working with AWS cloud in any role. The exam format for AWS foundation is MCQ type which also has multiple response type options. This a pass/fail type of exam wherein a candidate has to score a minimum number of 700 in order to pass. The salary for holding this certification is around $113, 932 per annum.
- Now coming to the Associate level, in the associate level, there are three designations available for a candidate, one is Solutions Architect, DevOps Associate, and the other one is SysOps Administrator-Associate. There are some recommended pre-requisites for this level, and for the Solutions Architect, it a year of hands-on experience in several aspects. Those are mostly based on the AWS systems, where one should know the designing and management of the system. It is expected from the candidates that they meet the basic requirements set by AWS such as building secure and reliable applications. The candidates are expected to understand the architectural structure of the AWS. They should have the idea of the global infrastructure of AWS. The average salary for associate level is around $130,000 per annum. This is also a multiple choice type exam with multiple answers also.
- The AWS Professional level is above the Foundation and Associate level in terms of ranking and difficulty. To pursue this certification, candidates need to first complete the Foundation and Associate level examinations. These individuals are expected to be highly skilled, they should be able to take responsibility of complex applications and their management. They are bestowed with the responsibility to design with and deploy applications, these applications are expected to support the small and big enterprises alike, that is they are expected to be highly scalable, reliable and available. They should be able to tolerate and bear the faults in the application if any. They should be familiar with AWS CLI, AWS APIs , the management console, the billing console and its CloudFormation templates. They should be able to take decisions in the time of emergency while also reducing the risk factor. The exam for obtaining this certification is also of multiple question type and comes with multiple responses, that is, one or more answers are correct among the given answers. The minimum passing mark for a certified solutions architect professional level is 750, the exam is a pass/fail basis.
- AWS specialty level is the most advanced level of certification that is provided by the AWS. It has several roles within it like, Advance Networking, Skill Builder, Security, Machine learning, Data Analytics, and Database. The candidates pursuing this exam must have very advanced level of knowledge on the operations and methodologies of the AWS. They are handed the responsibility to design and deploy tools that would be used in cloud based solutions. They should know to implement core AWS services which suit the best practices. It is expected from the candidates that they should know how to automate AWS networking tasks. The exam is based on Multiple Choice question type whilst also having multiple responses. There is no negative marking system which is huge relief for the candidates. The difficulty for Specialty level exam is the top most as it is considered to be the most advanced level of certification. The salary for this level is $150,000 per annum.
Individuals with these certifications are expected to be very hard working and committed to their work environment. These certifications hold a high value in the IT sector and can help you grab a job more easily than the non-certified candidates, as job recruiters often look for people holding certifications as it proves they are trained professionals.
