How long does it take to get AWS certified?

Six weeks is all that you need to prepare for an AWS certification. Here's how:

• Week 1: Certification selection and exam guide familiarization

• Weeks 2–4: Preparation for the exam

• Week 5: Hands-on practice using Cloud Labs

• Week 6: Practice with sample exam questions

Let me assure you that you are not the first to ask this question and will not be the last. This is one of the first questions that most people ask when they decide to start their journey of cloud certification. The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Some might need a few weeks of intense preparation, and others take several months, depending on the experience and time commitment. Nevertheless, it is crucial to dedicate enough time to studying and follow a clear roadmap or a certification prep course to stay on track.

Why AWS certification?#

Most organizations migrate from on-premises technology to the cloud to benefit from reduced costs, improved security, and better data insights and analytics. As a result, professionals who can efficiently plan, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud are needed.

AWS is one of the most widely used cloud platforms for building, deploying, and managing services and applications in the cloud. AWS provides multiple certifications that validate an individual’s skills and help them stand out in the job market. These certifications are necessary for anyone new to cloud computing or wanting higher IT industry credibility.

Getting an AWS certification can seem daunting and time-consuming, but today, we’ll try to reduce the fear of getting it by figuring out which certification you should get, giving you a good estimate of the time, and outlining the course of action you should follow to get you AWS certified. So, let’s get started!

Types of AWS certifications#

AWS offers a range of certifications that we can choose from according to our expertise and familiarity with AWS services. Let’s look at the main categories of AWS certifications.

Foundational level exams #

This category includes the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and AWS Certified AI Practitioner exams, covering the basics of AWS. It is for individuals who are new to the world of cloud computing and have little to no prior experience working with AWS services.

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner: This certification tests fundamental knowledge about AWS core services, pricing models, security, and compliance basics. It is ideal for individuals who want to understand the fundamentals of AWS and are working in roles like sales or marketing.

• AWS Certified AI Practitioner: This certification tests the fundamentals of machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and generative AI concepts and use cases. This is ideal for individuals who want to demonstrate their understanding of AI/ML solutions using different AWS services.

Associate level exams#

The foundational level exams help you grasp the basics of AWS, while the associate level exams help you learn how to implement theory into practical skills for real-life implementation. This exam requires an in-depth knowledge of a specific domain and has a higher difficulty level than the foundational level exams and is intended for individuals with at least one year of experience.

The following certifications are available in this category:

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate: This certification is for users who want to get a solutions architect role. It validates how well you develop cost-effective and performance-optimized solutions using AWS services to meet business requirements.

• AWS Certified Developer – Associate: This certification is for users in a developer role and validates how they develop, test, deploy, and debug AWS-based cloud applications. To get this certification, you must have a sound knowledge of programming and working with AWS services.

• AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate: This certification is for system administrators in a cloud operations role and examines how well they deploy, manage, and operate workloads on AWS.

• AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate: This exam is for individuals with at least 2–3 years of experience with data engineering and one year of experience working with cloud services. This certification examines how an individual implements data pipelines and monitors, troubleshoots, and optimizes cost and performance issues according to AWS best practices.

• AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate: This exam is for users with at least one year of experience working with AWS Sagemaker and other AWS ML services. It examines how a user builds, operationalizes, deploys, and maintains machine learning solutions using AWS services. This certificate is currently in beta.

Professional level exams#

After the foundational and associate level exams, we have the professional level exams, which require expert knowledge in the domain we are opting for and should be considered if you have at least two years of experience working with AWS services. Currently, two certifications fall into the professional level category:

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional: This exam is intended for users in the solutions architect role and examines their advanced technical skills and ability to evaluate complex cloud-based application requirements and make architectural recommendations.

• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional: This exam is intended for users in the DevOps engineer role and examines their expertise in provisioning, operating, and managing distributed systems and services on AWS.

Specialty level exams#

A specialty level exam requires in-depth expert knowledge about the chosen domain and two to five years of experience in the respective field. Three exams fall into this category:

• AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty: This certification should be chosen by individuals working as AWS networking specialists. It examines how to design and implement secure network architectures using AWS services.

• AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty: This certification should be chosen by individuals in AI or ML development or data science roles who examine how they develop ML-based solutions for business problems.

• AWS Certified Security – Specialty: This certification validates knowledge about securing AWS services and other products and is recommended for individuals who work in a security-related role.

Your timeline for AWS certification success#

Now that we have an overview of the different types of certifications we can get from AWS, let’s estimate how long it will take us to get one. To do this, let’s look at the steps we need to take to get a certification and the time each step takes.

Step 1: Choose the certification you want#

First, you must determine your current standing and select the best certification. This step could take some time as it involves motivating ourselves to start our adventure. If you’re just starting with cloud computing, it is recommended that you start with the Cloud Practitioner exam and then gradually get more certifications as you increase your skill level.

Step 2: Get to know the exam#

Once you’ve selected the certification you want, you should review the official exam guides provided by AWS and look at some practice exam questions. This will help you understand what is expected of you to get the certification and the questions you’ll face. This step shouldn’t take more than one or two days of your time. You should also start searching for the resources you want to study from during this time.

Week 1: Get familiar with the content and type of questions in the exam.

Step 3: Start preparing for the exam#

This has to be the most time-consuming step: preparing for the exam you have opted for. The time required to prepare for an exam varies from person to person and depends on the difficulty level of the exam and our experience with AWS. However, as you progress through the certification levels—from foundational to associate to professional/specialty—the preparation time tends to be constant.

The foundational level exams are beginner-friendly and can take 2–3 weeks to prepare. On the other hand, the associate level exams require prior knowledge and experience of working with AWS services.

Tip: If you have a foundational knowledge of AWS services, the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate SAA-C03 is the ideal starting point and forms the basics of many advanced certifications.

Weeks 2–4: Prepare for the exam using a well-structured and guided course.

Step 4: Do not underestimate the hands-on practice#

Although the foundational level and associate level certificate exams do not require hands-on practice, getting some hands-on experience to deepen your understanding of theoretical concepts about AWS services is highly recommended. Especially for associate-level exams, the questions are scenario-based, where you must integrate several services to build an effective solution.

Working on Cloud Labs will give you an edge in putting theory into practice. Educative offers a wide range of Cloud Labs with access to the AWS console and step-by-step instructions for deploying AWS solutions.

Week 5: Practice the integration of AWS services using Cloud Labs.

Step 5: Assess your skills#

Evaluating your knowledge with practice exams is critical to assessing your readiness for the exam. This will help you simulate the exam environment and determine areas for improvement in your preparation.

Week 6: Take practice exams to gauge your understanding of AWS services and cloud computing.

Step 6: Schedule the exam#

The final step, which somewhat terrifies us all, is scheduling an exam and going through it. However, once you have followed Steps 1–5, you should feel confident about the upcoming challenge. Schedule an exam on the date that suits you, and get ready to get your AWS certification.

Final word#

An AWS certification validates your knowledge and helps you stand out during job interviews. It might seem difficult to achieve, but once you start preparing for it, you realize that you just need a structured course that guides you through the preparation steps. You must devote fixed time according to your schedule, stay consistent, and not lose hope.