AWS Certified Solutions Architect: A Comprehensive Guide to Cloud Architect Certification

Cloud computing has already taken over in many organizations. Meanwhile, other organizations are slowly transitioning towards cloud computing services. Organizations face a skill gap in the professionals who work for them. Continuous training and hands-on practice are required to upgrade the employees. 

Therefore, certifications like AWS can help validate tech professionals’ skills and abilities. Since AWS technology and its services are evolving, people must align regularly. Consider taking up AWS Cloud Architect to become a skilled professional in 2024. 

Since cloud computing is a new technology, it has become a new focus area for most organizations. Statistics suggest that 43% of global IT decision-makers agree that cloud computing remains a top investment priority for 2020. This was the scenario in 2020; imagine the scenario in the present. This is why companies invest their resources to upskill their employees in cloud computing certifications. Because in the future, they will provide a competitive advantage to the company. 

Not only that, it will impact their costs and overall performance as well. After earning the certifications, the employees perform effectively, improving their work quality, increasing engagement, and faster job performance. Read the rest of the article to know AWS certifications in detail.

AWS Certifications

The AWS  Certifications validate a professional who designs AWS-based applications. These applications are specially designed to meet the requirements that can only be fulfilled through the AWS platform. Since this is a skill-based certification, a candidate will be checked on his ability to design, manage, test, and deploy the AWS-based applications and infrastructures.   

Since the growth of cloud computing, the creation of cloud-based applications and solutions has occurred. AWS is one such cloud-based platform that facilitates cloud computing services. It is widely used by organizations that also demand skilled professionals. 

AWS helps design efficient solutions, manage teams better, and implement cloud initiatives. This, in turn, helps the organizations boost their productivity and reduce operational costs. Generally, AWS has different certifications for developers, solutions architects, DevOps, SysOps, administrators, etc. So, professionals can choose any certifications based on their career requirements and job roles. Here is the list of certifications that AWS provides:

  • AWS Cloud Architect Certification
  • AWS Developer Associate Certification
  • AWS Solutions Architect Certification
  • AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty
  • AWS SysOps Associate Certification
  • AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
  • AWS Data Analytics Certification
  • AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty

AWS-Cloud Architect Certification – Associate

The AWS-Cloud Architect Certification-Associate focuses on the capability of a professional to develop cost and performance-optimized solutions for the clients. The candidate would then be able to understand the architecture of AWS completely. It enables a professional to develop a skillset in a wide range of AWS services and technology. Generally, each certification has different criteria. However, Amazon web services conduct AWS-certified solutions architect-associate through exams and training hours. 

The rest of the article explains the details of preparing and getting certified in the AWS Solutions architect-associate certification.

Eligibility Criteria

A candidate must have at least one of the below criteria:

  • Experience in AWS technology
  • Hands-on experience of on-premises IT experience and their mapping on IT services.
  • Knowledge and experience in any of the cloud computing services.

Skills to gain

Qualifying for this certification will enable you to gain the below skillset:

  • The skills and knowledge to compute, network, storage, and database AWS services and deployment and management services.
  • Working on AWS workloads by deploying, managing, and operating workloads on AWS and implementing security controls and compliance requirements.
  • Learning about AWS management console and AWS command line interface(CLI). Understanding of  AWS well- architectured framework. AWS networking, security services, and AWS global infrastructure.
  • Identifying the correct AWS application and services according to the requirement. Define technical requirements for an AWS-based application.

Pre-requisite

This exam does not require strong programming skills as a pre-requisite. Although, it will be an advantage to have some basic programming skills as a candidate. Taking the training course will make it much easier for a beginner to understand such concepts without prior experience.

The professionals who can take up AWS certification or wish to be any of these are developers, solutions architects, SysOps, DevOps, administrators, etc. 

Training 

Prepare for the AWS exam with the help of resources that it provides. One of them is the AWS skill builder, which provides modules and free resources to prepare for the plan. Refer to its website for a more detailed list of available resources. 

Another way to get certification training is by taking courses from accredited partners. One of the best ed-tech platforms across the world is Simplilearn. The course features are briefly explained below:

This AWS solutions architect certification course will help you learn over 70 cloud computing services. It will align you with the latest AWS exam. All the best practices from Amazon will be covered here. Some critical skills covered are AWS solution planning, AWS architecture best practices, AWS cost estimation, and designing resilient AWS implementations. 

When you complete the training, you will receive three simulation tests. Also, there are industry-related projects with real-time labs. The courses offered have different plans based on self-paced learning and online cloud bootcamp. Choose what’s more suitable for you.

Examination 

Finally, you must enroll for the AWS-certified solutions architect-associate exam (SAA-C03). This exam consists of two formats of questions: multiple-choice questions and multiple-response questions. There will be 65 questions in total. The candidate will be allotted 130  minutes to complete the exam. The cost is 150 USD, which might add additional costs to your exam. The exam can be given through the Pearson VUE testing center or an online proctored exam.

Post Certification

AWS evolves with its platform’s latest tools and technologies, so professionals must recertify themselves to maintain their certification.

Bottom line

Getting certified and upgrading your skills will benefit your career, not just professionals but the entire organization. Therefore, investing your time and money in getting certified in AWS Certifications will be great. Take the training courses to learn the technology from scratch and proceed with the certification process.