The 11 AWS Certifications List And Exam Learning Path (2024 Updated)

As businesses gradually migrate workloads to the public cloud, cloud computing has progressed from a nice-to-have to a critical competence in the industry. A new set of skills is required to build, install, and run cloud computing applications.

AWS is regarded as a thought leader and a point of reference for all of its cloud computing competitors.

In 2022, AWS will continue to be the market leader in public cloud adoption, with an AWS certifications list of 11 certifications covering both foundational and specialized cloud computing topics.

Are you trying to figure out which AWS certification is ideal for you? and how do you get ready to become certified? If you answered yes, great! You’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a look at each certification to see which one is best for you.

What is the AWS certification?

When compared to other cloud providers, Amazon Web Services provides more services and features. Over 195 fully-featured services are available on Amazon Cloud, with over 40 of them not available from other cloud service providers.

The main benefit of AWS certification is that it helps you obtain more recognition for your technical skills and creates a brand image for your knowledge outside of working with AWS Services. Your certification preparation offers you a valuable opportunity to expand your exposure to AWS services.

Your knowledge of the technology is transformed into an industry-recognized credential with AWS Certification. AWS credentials represent a candidate’s technical abilities, design skills, and deployment and operation methodologies. They describe IT experts’ stability when it comes to implementing infrastructure on Amazon Web Services platforms.

What is the value of choosing the right AWS certification?

Choosing the proper AWS Certification can help you advance in your profession or take your present company to the next level. As a result, becoming AWS Certified demonstrates that you are a skilled professional in the cloud computing sector.

Getting certified is strongly advised if you want to continue in or move into the cloud computing industry. As a result, obtaining the AWS Certification, in particular, might help you stand out from the crowd. It not only assists you in finding a job within a business, but it also assists you in obtaining a well-paid position within any firm.

What are the different AWS certification levels?

AWS offers four levels of certification.

1. Practitioner: This is a recommended and optional step before pursuing the Associate level certifications, and it is considered the foundation level for starting your certification path with AWS.
2. Associate: These certificates need more experience than the Practitioner, and you should have some hands-on expertise in resource provisioning as well as problem-solving skills in AWS.
3. Professional: While you can start with the professional level credentials, it is advised that you start with the associate level certifications to have a foundational understanding of AWS before moving on to the more sophisticated professional level certifications. You must have a thorough understanding of many various aspects of how to run, optimize, and debug solutions on AWS before taking this level of certification.
4. Specialty: Specialty level certifications focus on a specific domain within AWS, such as ‘Security’ or ‘Databases,’ and so need extensive technical knowledge and experience in that area. In terms of difficulty, these are comparable to the Professional level certification.

Now we’ll go over the AWS certificates list and provide detailed information on each of them.

AWS certifications list and learning path

AWS now has 11 certifications available, including a foundational certification, three associate-level certificates, two professional-level certifications, and five specialty certifications.

1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
2. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
3. AWS Certified Developer – Associate
4. AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
5. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
6. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
7. AWS Certified Security – Specialty
8. AWS Certified Big Data– Specialty
9. AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty
10. AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty
11. AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder – Specialty.

Now let’s go through each certification with its exam format, duration, certification costs, language, and delivered methods. 

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner- Foundational

Certification overview

The AWS cloud practitioner certification provides you with a comprehensive understanding of AWS cloud principles like security, pricing, services, architecture, and support. This entry-level certification test is intended to assess a candidate’s comprehensive knowledge of the AWS cloud.

Topics covered

• The basics of AWS cloud technology and global infrastructure
• AWS cloud architecture principles
• AWS cloud value propositions and important AWS platform services, as well as their use cases
• Explain the characteristics of deploying and running on the AWS platform
• Access technical support and documentation
• Explain the fundamentals of the AWS platform’s security and compliance features
• Define account management, pricing models, and billing

Recommended knowledge

• We recommend that you have at least six months of experience in a managerial, technical, sales, finance, or purchasing role
• You should also be able to comprehend the basics of IT services and how they are used on the AWS cloud platform.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 90 minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $100
• Languages: English, Korean, Japanese, and simplified Chinese are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method: Online proctored tests or testing centers.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate

Certification overview

This certification provides a general introduction to the Amazon Web Services cloud, with an emphasis on the fundamental AWS services such as Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Identity and Access Management (IAM), EC2, and S3. Understanding how AWS addresses networking, data storage, security, and compute capabilities will be easier if you learn these services.

Topics covered

• AWS’s network technologies and how they function
• How to connect client interfaces to the AWS platform and how AWS-based apps work
• On the AWS platform, how to create reliable and secure applications
• Deploy hybrid systems, which include both on-premises and AWS components
• Design of highly available, scalable, and performant systems (needs familiarity with AWS infrastructure and concepts), AWS implementation and deployment, AWS-related data security measures, and cost optimization strategies are among the test domains.

Recommended knowledge

• Storage, database, compute, and networking services should all be familiar to you.
• You must determine which service fulfills the user’s needs.
• You should be able to manage and deploy services without difficulty.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 130 minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $150  (Mock/practice test: $20)
• Languages: English, Korean, Japanese, and simplified Chinese are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method: Only testing centers.

Maybe you care about the study guide for the AWS Solution Architect Associate Exam.

AWS Certified Developer Associate

Certification overview

You may believe that this qualification is only for developers; however, this is not the case. It refers to development, although it applies to anyone who uses AWS.

DynamoDB, Elastic Beanstalk, SNS, and SQS are among the AWS services covered in this certification. However, you must have a basic understanding of how to use these services in the AWS platform, as well as how to expose them to the outside world via SDKs and APIs.

Topics covered

• Mastering the AWS architecture and core services
• Hands-on experience including designing, building, deploying, debugging, and maintaining apps
• Good understanding of AWS services such as databases, notifications, workflow services, storage, and change management services.

Recommended knowledge

• Any of the high-level programming languages should be familiar to you
• To write the applications, you should be familiar with AWS CLIs, AWS services, and SDKs
• You have to be familiar with application lifecycle management
• You should be familiar with the AWS services and how to interface with them.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 130  minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $150 (Mock/practice test: $20)
• Languages: English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method:  Only testing centers.

AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate

Certification overview

This certification isn’t just for SysOps administrators; it’s for everybody who uses AWS. This certification will give you all you need to know about Cloudwatch and how to understand what’s going on in the AWS architecture.

The SysOps Admin Qualification is the most difficult of the Associate certificates, but after you’ve passed it, it’s the most valued certification among the AWS certifications.

Topics covered

• Using the AWS platform to deploy applications across distributed architectures
• Data transmission and reception across data centers and multi-VPC architectures
• Choosing the appropriate AWS services to meet an organization’s needs
• Provisioning, administering, and safeguarding systems in an AWS environment.

Recommended knowledge

• You should be familiar with AWS tenets, which include cloud architecture
• You must comprehend the relationship between network technologies and AWS
• Visualization tool
• The ability to translate architectural specifications.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 130  minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $150 (Mock/practice test: $20)
• Languages: English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method:  Only testing centers.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional

Certification overview

A certified AWS architect can assess a company’s needs and give architectural recommendations for implementing and delivering applications on AWS. The Certified Solutions Architect Professional credential requires a high level of technical expertise and experience developing AWS-based solutions.

Topics covered

• Best practices for architecting and developing scalable apps on AWS
• Choosing the correct AWS service for an application’s needs ensures that it is highly available, fault-tolerant, and dependable
• Migration of complicated application systems to Amazon Web Services (AWS) using a multi-tier architecture
• Understanding of cost-cutting strategies.

Recommended knowledge

• You must have at least two years of expertise in building and deploying cloud architecture using Amazon Web Services
• You must be able to assess the application’s requirements and give architectural recommendations for the implementation of creating and delivering apps on the AWS platform
• You must understand how to use the AWS well-architected framework’s five pillars
• You must be conversant with the scripting language.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 170  minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $300 (Mock/practice test: $50)
• Languages: English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method:  Only testing centers.

AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional

Certification overview

The DevOps Engineer certification covers provisioning, operating, and maintaining applications on the AWS platform. This test places a strong emphasis on continuous delivery (CD) and process automation, two key principles in the DevOps movement.

Maybe you care about how to become an AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional.

Topics covered

• On the AWS platform, you’ll learn how to set up a continuous delivery and management system
• How to create, maintain, and manage technologies for automating operational processes
• Implement highly scalable solutions on the Amazon Web Services platform.

Recommended knowledge

• You should be able to write code in any of the high-level programming languages available
• Recognize modern business processes, development, and methodology
• You should be familiar with operating systems administration.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 170  minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $300 (Mock/practice test: $50)
• Languages: English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method:  Only testing centers.

AWS Certified Security Specialty

Certification overview

The AWS Certified Security Specialty certification covers the topics that security professionals and teams need to grasp in order to master security foundations, best practices, and a comprehensive understanding of key AWS platform services. It’s designed to see how well you know AWS security topics like data encryption and protection, infrastructure security, incident response, identity, and access management, monitoring, and logging.

Topics covered

• Select the proper level of security for your deployments and the sensitivity of your data using a range of AWS services
• Select the most effective data security solutions, such as encryption methods
• Use logging and monitoring technologies to detect and analyze security vulnerabilities and weaknesses in your infrastructure
• AWS Identity and Access Management, AWS CloudTrail, Amazon Inspector, AWS Config, Amazon CloudWatch, AWS Trusted Advisor, Amazon Key Management Service, and Amazon GuardDuty are some of the AWS services available.

Recommended knowledge

• Workload security controls on the AWS platform
• Security solutions implementation.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 170 minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $300 (Mock/practice test: $40)
• Languages: English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method:  Only testing centers.

AWS Certified Big Data Speciality

Certification overview

The AWS Certified Data Analytics Specialty certification is for those who have a background in data analytics and have expertise in building and architecting big data solutions using AWS services. Its purpose is to verify a candidate’s ability to extract value from data utilizing AWS services.

Topics covered

• Developing best practices for using fundamental AWS big data services
• Data visualization, design, and maintenance
• AWS tools for data analysis automation
• Best practices for data analytics solutions in terms of security
• Kinesis, Athena, Quicksight, and Rekognition are among the AWS services covered.

Recommended knowledge

• You should have AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and Associative level certifications before attempting Big Data certification
• You should have a minimum of 5 years of hands-on data analytics expertise
• Learn how to create a scalable and cost-effective data processing architecture.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 170 minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $300 (Mock/practice test: $40)
• Languages: English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method:  Only testing centers.

AWS Certified Advanced Networking Speciality

Certification overview

The AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty certification verifies a candidate’s ability to accomplish challenging networking tasks on AWS and in hybrid IT networking architecture at scale. Candidates should have extensive networking capabilities on AWS, as well as experience architecting and deploying network solutions.

Topics covered

• You’ll learn how to use AWS to create and implement cloud-based solutions
• For all AWS services, how to create and maintain the network architecture
• Use the AWS infrastructure to implement key AWS big data services
• Learn how to use automated tools to perform data analysis.

Recommended knowledge

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and Associative level certifications are required
• You should have a minimum of 5 years of hands-on data analytics expertise
• Learn how to create a scalable and cost-effective data processing architecture
• Transitioning to IPv6 poses a number of issues
• CIDR and subnetting.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 170 minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $300 (Mock/practice test: $40)
• Languages: English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method:  Only testing centers.

AWS Certified Machine Learning Speciality

Certification overview

The AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty credential verifies your ability to design, develop, and manage machine learning solutions for a variety of business problems. This exam is for anyone who works in development or data science. Candidates should have one to two years of expertise in the AWS Cloud using machine learning and/or deep learning.

Topics covered

• You’ll learn how to choose and justify the best machine learning approach for a specific business problem
• To implement ML solutions, identify appropriate AWS services
• Design and execute ML systems that are cost-effective, scalable, secure, and dependable.

Recommended knowledge

• You should have at least one to two years of expertise designing and running machine learning and deep learning workloads on the AWS platform
• You must be able to articulate the institution underlying the basic ML algorithm
• You should be familiar with machine learning and deep learning frameworks.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 170 minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $300 (Mock/practice test: $50)
• Languages: English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method:  Only testing centers.

AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder -Speciality

Certification overview

The Alexa skill builder certification tests your technical knowledge of deploying, maintaining, and building Amazon Alexa skills. Anyone who works as an Alexa Skill builder is eligible to take this exam.

Topics covered

• You will discover the importance of having a choice
• Create a user-friendly environment
• To develop the skill, learn how to design the architecture
• You’ll learn how to create the skill, validate it, troubleshoot it, and test it
• You’ll discover how to handle skill operations and skill life cycles.

Recommended knowledge

• You should have at least six months of hands-on experience using the Alexa skills kit to design Alexa skills, including skills that use AWS cloud services.
• You should be able to program in any language.

Exam overview

• Format: Multiple choice questions
• Exam duration: 170 minutes
• The cost of the AWS exam is $300 (Mock/practice test: $40)
• Languages: English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean are all offered for the exam.
• Exam delivered method:  Only testing centers.

AWS recertification & staying up-to-date How to recertify AWS?

Every year, the number of new AWS features and services expands. Certification holders must recertify every three years to demonstrate continuous skill and understanding of best practices for the most current AWS services.

If you pass an Associate level certification, your Cloud Practitioner certification will be automatically renewed. Additionally, if you pass the Solutions Architect – Professional test, your Solutions Architect – Associate certification will be renewed. If you have the SysOps Administrator – Associate or Developer – Associate certifications, passing the DevOps Engineer – Professional exam will renew these associate levels as well. If you already have a Cloud Practitioner exam, passing any Associate or Professional certification will renew it.

You can try to visit our blog to get more about the way to renew the certification.

Keep in mind that certificates are a broad representation of your knowledge at a given period. The real AWS masters don’t wait until their certifications expire to keep up to date; instead, they develop healthy habits and are consumed with learning.

Why is AWS certification important?

The following are the main reasons why the AWS Certification is so important.

• Cloud is the future of business: AWS services are used by the vast majority of businesses. This is due to the fact that AWS services are faster, more advanced, and have superior features than competing technologies, and AWS provides these features in a single platform.
• Digital Badges: You will receive a digital badge after completing the AWS certification. You can use your success as an email signature to obtain admission to AWS-sponsored certification events, and you can share it on social media.
• Free practice exams: A practice exam ticket will help you prepare for your next AWS certification.
• Access to the AWS Certified Global Community: You can also join the AWS Certified Linkedin community. It allows you to communicate with your colleagues in order to learn more about the newest AWS certification upgrades, career possibilities, and other topics.
• Event recognition: After completing the AWS certification, you will be invited to regional receptions. At select AWS summit events, you can utilize your digital badges to get admission to AWS Certification Lounges.
• Demanded skills always earn more money: When compared to other cloud technologies such as Azure, Google Cloud, IBM, Oracle, and others, you can earn more money; however, this is dependent on your technical skills.
• AWS Certified store: You’ll be granted access to the AWS Certified Store.

Conclusion

The AWS certification is simple to obtain, and there are numerous examination locations across the world. To obtain the AWS certification, enroll in the test and pass it. Because AWS certifications are only valid for three years, you must keep up to current with the latest AWS changes. Visit our websites to get more information and a free AWS Practice Test. To download, visit our website for your IOS or Android device.

We have provided detailed information on the AWS certifications list and their pathways in this blog. We hope you now have a good understanding of the AWS certification process.