AWS Certified Solution Architect Associate, or the AWS Certified Solution Architect Professional?
Which one is right for me? Watch this video to find out more.
Hi, my name is Michael Gibbs and I'm the founder and CEO of Go Cloud Architects.
And we're an organization dedicated towards building high-performance cloud computing
and networking careers. I've been working in technology for over 25 years
and I've been helping others get their first tech job or get promoted in tech
for over two decades, and it's my favorite thing in the entire world.
Today we're going to talk about the AWS Certified Solution Architect Associate, and the AWS
Certified Solution Architect Professional, and these are two common certifications.
And the reason we're going to talk about them is these are certifications that
everybody wants to do and for good reason, they're two highly in demand certifications.
And while both of them are helpful, each one of these could help you at different points
in your career, or would be more appropriate for certain people in certain circumstances.
Since our focus at Go Cloud Architects is not necessarily certification,
we focus on building cloud architects, teaching cloud architect skills and most importantly,
getting people cloud hired, that's our world but certifications are still part of the process.
Certifications don't teach you the job, and certifications don't get you hired,
but they get you an interview. And without getting an interview, you can't get the job. So see,
certifications are a critical part of the getting hired process. Now once you get that interview,
it's up to you and your technical competency, your emotional intelligence, your soft skills,
your communication skills, your attitude, energy, enthusiasm and presentation skills
to get hired. But, we've got to get you that interview.
So let's talk about the first one, which is the AWS Certified Solution Architect Associate.
Now what is this exam from a hiring manager perspective, from a cloud architect perspective,
from people in the industry. This certification, the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate is
a basic intro to AWS Services, which is great. It's a great beginning to someone's career.
Now, if you already are a network engineer, or a network architect,
or have a data center background, and you desire a cloud architect, or a solutions architect job,
this is perfect because if you already know the Network and the Data Center, you know the Cloud,
and if you can design the systems in the Network and the Data Center, you can go straight to the
Cloud and this kind of certification, the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate
shows that all those things that you know and you've worked with for the last number of years,
you know how to apply them in the Cloud and it's perfect for you if you are experienced.
Now, who else is this exam perfect for, and the certification for? Let's say you're not a cloud
architect, or a solutions architect. Maybe you're a developer or a data scientist or
anyone else who uses the Cloud in your job. This is again a perfect certification for you because
you're using this to learn how the Cloud works. Remember, this is a basic intro to AWS services.
Now, let's pretend you're new, and you've not worked in tech before.
Well then this AWS Certified Solution Architect Associate is nowhere close to enough for you.
So if that is your case, you're going to have to build your resume and improve it.
Now, I want you to understand the concept of Associate Certifications
to we, hiring managers, and those of us that are experienced in the field,
they are a basic introduction to services. So they're not really enough to get your first job.
Now, if you're already hired, they're great because it's basically showing a new skill.
But, they're not enough if you don't have a tech background. So I'm going to strongly
advise you against one mistake we see a lot of people make. We see a lot of people
do multiple associate certifications. Since we view associate certifications as a basic intro,
if you do a basic architecture certification and a basic SISIP certification, and a basic
DevOps certification, in the end, all we see is basic intro to services.
So that's still not going to be enough for you if you are new.
If you are new and you don't have this kind of background or experience,
we have to make your resume look good. We have to pad that resume,
and we have to upgrade you to professional certifications. So let's talk about the AWS
Certified Solutions Architect Professional exam. Now we're moving into something substantial.
In our mind, this is entry-level. When you've completed this, pretty much speaking, you know
the AWS services, at least moderately. So this is the entry level where you're prepared to work.
At least from the knowledge of the AWS perspective. Now, when you have no experience,
this is your certification because it's going to make you stand out from the crowd.
When you really want to get higher, this is your certification because you want to
be better than the crowd. When you build and build your brand, this is your certification
because it separates you from everybody else. And while the rest of the world is getting a
bunch of associates certifications, you get the deeper ones. And this helps.
Now, let's talk about this exam. We view this as a medium difficulty exam.
Now here's why we say this. There are exams that we consider
very challenging. The CCIE for example, that's a tough exam. The CA up to Master,
that's a tough exam. And those are what we call the most challenging that are out there.
Of course, these are big exams. They're expensive exams. You've got to go take an exam. First, you
take a written exam that's at least as challenging as it is. And then you schedule a lab exam,
which is like an eight hour day that you've got to do stuff in front of proctors. And that's why
they are such challenging exams. So this is a medium difficult exam, but this is one that
will really boost your resume. It'll boost your resume. It'll make you stand out from the pack.
So because of that, we love this certification. Now, I just always to caution people on
certifications. Certification exams help build your resume. Certification exams teach you a
vendor services, and how do we use those vendor services. But, certification exams
alone do not get someone hired. What makes a cloud architect get hired is as following.
Knowledge of the network in the Data Center which is not covered in these exams.
Knowledge of architecture and system design, which is again, not covered in these exams.
Soft skills, great soft skills, lots of emotional intelligence, executive presence,
communication skills, ROI modeling skills, business acumen. These are the things that
create cloud architects, not certifications. But,
that almighty interview is so critical and these certifications can really help you get there.
So now you know which certifications to build your cloud architect, or your cloud engineer,
or your cloud computing career. It's always so nice to communicate with the cloud computing
community. I've been working in this industry before they called it a Cloud,
back when the first cloud was framed Relay, and the next cloud was ATM,
and the next cloud after that was the BGP RFC 2547 VPN, which the next cloud was VPLS,
to the private clouds, to the public clouds, what an exciting time it is for all of us in
the cloud computing community. I look forward to seeing you in another video very soon.
It was so nice having you join us for this video today.
Let me tell you about some free services we do for the cloud community.
Twice per week, we have a free, how to get your first cloud architect job webinar,
where we tell you all the things you need to do and know, to get your first cloud architect job.
In addition to that, once per week we actually have a free
question and answer session on live, on YouTube, where you can come and ask us any
questions you want about building your career related to cloud computing or networking,
and we'll answer them in real time for you, because we want to get you to your goals.
Several more times per week, we have guests from industry. Industry experts that I've
known for decades, that are movers and shakers, that have changed the world that can give you
information so you can build the best career. I invite them periodically. They are on my show.
If there's a chance to do some free training on our channel,
we'll do it live because we want you to all to have the best skills for the best career.
So please subscribe and hit the bell. I look forward to seeing you,
and I look forward to assisting you in your technology career.
Thank you so much. This is Michael Gibbs from Go Cloud Architects.