AWS Certification: Choosing the right learning path to boost your salary and advance your career

• Amazon Web Services certifications are titles granted to professionals who complete exams.
• There are different AWS paths focused on developers, networks and systems, data analytics, and more.
• The most general path is the Cloud Practitioner path.

According to Amazon, "AWS Certification helps learners build credibility and confidence by validating their cloud expertise with an industry-recognized credential and helps organizations identify skilled professionals to lead cloud initiatives using AWS." That's a mouthful — let's unpack what it means.

What is AWS certification?

An AWS certification is a title granted to people who successfully complete an exam that they can then use on business cards, email footers, letterhead, and anywhere else. AWS is short for Amazon Web Service, and Amazon's examinations involve specific areas of AWS which are called paths.

These paths include the Cloud Practitioner Path, which is the most general certification; the Architect Path, which is ideal for people who want to create applications on AWS; the Operations Path, which is a good choice for those who want to work with AWS networks and systems; the Developer Path, which leads toward software development and applications; and several others, such as the Data Analytics path and the Security path.

Only you can answer the question of the best AWS certification for your career, but there are some clues for you to follow, of course. Consider the jobs you hope to secure in the future and then work backward to see which path would logically lead to more opportunities. 

How much does it cost to get AWS certified?

There is a range of prices depending on which test you'll be taking. For example, the Cloud Practitioner exam is $100, while associate-level exams cost $150. And professional-level and Specialty exams are $300. 

You can also learn AWS for free. In the words of Amazon Web Services itself: "AWS Educate provides hundreds of hours of free, self-paced training, resources, and labs specifically designed for the new-to-the-cloud learner." There will still be the fees when you go for your actual certification, of course.

If you are going after competitive IT jobs, then an AWS certification may well be worth the expense, time, and effort. While these certifications alone will not get you hired — only demonstrated ability and experience will do that — one may be the difference between you and an equally suitable applicant who has not completed an AWS certification.

Is an AWS certificate hard to get?

In a word, yes. With lots of study and practice, competent IT workers will pass these exams and get certified, but the preparation can be grueling, and the actual tests are a challenge. That's because they are not matters of rote memorization; rather, the tests are more problem-focused, wherein conditions are presented to you that simulate real-world scenarios you must tackle under tight time constraints. The more you prep, the better it will go.

While AWS will often require programming, it does not require coding. While of course, a solid grounding in coding will help you immensely with AWS (and the rest of your IT work), it is not a necessity for AWS certification or using the actual AWS cloud computing platform.

How long does an AWS certification last?

Your AWS certification will be valid for three years. After that, you need to be recertified. Amazon claims "recertification helps strengthen the overall value of your AWS Certification and shows individuals and employers that your credential covers the latest AWS knowledge, skills, and best practices." Still, we also suspect they may like charging you to take another test.