Choosing the Right AWS Certification: My Experience

I have been interested in getting an AWS certification for a while now, but every time I researched which certification I should start with, I was immediately overwhelmed by the many options.

I wanted to be strategic with my time and investment, choosing a certification that offered the greatest impact without overlapping with duplicated or entry-level content. Here’s how I cut through the confusion and decided on the AWS Solutions Architect certification as my starting point.

💡 I am challenging myself to 100 Days of AWS. My daily updates and notes can be found here: https://100-days-of-aws.hashnode.space/

The Problem: Too Many Choices

AWS offers a wide range of certifications, each with a different focus. At first, it seemed like every certification covered something important, but there also appeared to be a lot of overlap.

I began to feel concerned about the potential for redundancy in my learning. With each exam also representing a financial investment, I wanted to ensure that I was pursuing certifications that would genuinely enhance my skill set.

AWS has a helpful PDF on which certifications to take based on your career path. As a software developer, they recommend the following:

However, the Architecture routes were also appealing. Despite some differences, they had a lot of overlap as well:

At this point I was leaning towards doing the Application Architect route, since it encompassed the Developer route with solution architecture. But I still had a few questions I didn’t feel like I had the ability to answer:

• The AI Practitioner sounds like a “nice to have” cert, but is this really one of the best certs to start with? Should I come back to this after gaining an associate level certification?

• Would taking the optional Cloud Practitioner certification be beneficial to start my journey? Since I have been working as a software developer for several years now and typically can pick up new things reasonable quickly.

• And the big question… What order should I take them in?

Finding Clarity: Helpful Resources

After some research, I found a few resources that really helped clarify things. One video, in particular, stood out because it broke down the different AWS certifications, explained what to consider when choosing your AWS path, and provided some recommendations.

I highly recommend checking out the video if you are considering your AWS certification path, but here is the TL;DR:

Why I Chose the Solutions Architect Path

Ultimately, I decided to begin with the AWS Solutions Architect Associate certification, opting to skip the foundational practitioner courses for now.

The course I have chosen to guide me through this certification will also cover the foundational topics. If I feel I need a bit more, I can always refer to Zero To Mastery’s Cloud Practitioner course for a knowledge boost.

Plus, I have the option to take both the Developer and Operations Associate courses with the same instructor, who has outlined which sections can be skipped if I've already covered them in another course.

Conclusion / My Advice

The right certification depends on your goals, so there is not really a one-size fits all model for selecting your certification path. But here are my recommendations:

• Firstly, consider you experience, knowledge and ability to pick up new things. If you are trying to switch careers and aren’t familiar with the cloud and web, maybe the fundamental practitioner course will be worthwhile.

• Secondly, checkout Adrian’s Which AWS certification should you do? video for a better understanding of the certifications and how they fit together.

• Consider your goals. For me, the priority is to learn something new and enhance my skillset, so I have a little more flexibility. However, if you’re looking to be competitive in your local job market, start with the certification that aligns most closely with the role requirements you’re seeing.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article! I hope you found it helpful and informative as you navigate your own AWS certification journey.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, please drop a comment about what you liked or found useful, and share a bit about your own experience.

Let’s learn from each other!