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Which AWS Certification Should You Take First?
PLUS: Google Launches New AI Project Astra
Lucy Wang
May 18, 2024
Sponsored by
In Today’s Cloudbites:
🎓 Which AWS Certification Should You Take First?
💻 Careers You Can Pursue with AWS Certification
☁️ Online Cloud Events to Look Forward to
🤫 PLUS: Google Launches New AI Project Astra
Read time: 7 minutes
Hi friends, welcome back to Cloudbites
Today, I’ll talk about the diverse paths for people of diverse career/educational backgrounds to achieve their first AWS certifications. I’ll also share some Cloud opportunities to help you explore your career prospects as well as Google’s new Project Astra.
CLOUD COMPUTING ☁️
🎓 Which AWS Certification Should You Take?
Preparing for your AWS certifications is an exciting journey, but it can also feel overwhelming, especially if you’re unsure of which one to take first.
Whether you're coming from a non-traditional background or already have tech experience, figuring out which AWS certification to pursue can be quite difficult.
That being said, here are three different paths that can help you choose the certification to kickstart your Cloud career.
#1 You’re From a Non-Traditional Background
If the idea of getting into Cloud seems scary because you came from a non-IT field like hospitality or healthcare, no need to worry.
AWS offers certification paths designed to accommodate diverse backgrounds. All you need to prepare is the eagerness to explore the Cloud.
You can start by taking the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam to validate your foundational knowledge of AWS Cloud and terminology. It covers the basics of AWS Cloud and serves as a starting point for beginners.
From there, you can apply for several entry-level Cloud jobs such as Cloud Sales Representative.
You can also branch out into more specialized areas based on your interests and career goals by taking additional AWS certifications.
#2 You Have a Background in Business
Transitioning from marketing or business into the Cloud can strategically boost your career opportunities, so if you’re interested, one certification to consider is the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.
This certification will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of AWS Cloud essentials to contribute effectively to Cloud initiatives in your organization.
But if you’re up for a challenge, the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate will make your resume stand out.
With a background in business, you’re more likely to have skills in understanding organizational needs and operations efficiency.
Your background will guide you to be a better communicator in the Cloud environment—both with the stakeholders and customers.
The Solutions Architect certification will enable you to design scalable and cost-effective solutions in the Cloud, aligning technology with business objectives.
#3 You’re Fluent in IT
For IT professionals, AWS certifications offer a natural progression to deepen your expertise in the Cloud ecosystem.
On that note, pursuing any Associate-level AWS Certification that aligns with your role or interests is a great start.
If you're interested in designing and deploying scalable Cloud solutions, I would recommend taking the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification.
Alternatively, if you’re focused on managing and optimizing Cloud environments for efficiency, the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate certification is worth considering.
Obtaining these certifications will align with your IT fluency, expertise, and interests, which could enhance your career prospects in the Cloud industry.
Whether you choose to specialize in Cloud architecture, operations, or other areas, AWS certifications provide a clear pathway to professional advancement.
💻 Careers You Can Pursue with AWS Certification
Having an AWS certification opens up many career opportunities in the Cloud industry ranging from cloud architecture to data analytics and beyond.
Here are some popular examples of careers you can pursue in the Cloud after being AWS-certified:
#1 Solutions Architect
As a Solutions Architect (SA), you are responsible for designing, developing, and managing cloud infrastructure and assets to aid the organization achieving its goals.
Roles of an SA usually entail collaborating with the DevOps teams to facilitate the seamless migration of applications to the Cloud.
By leveraging your expertise in cloud technologies and best practices, you build solutions that align with business requirements and industry standards.
You will also communicate with clients in this process to understand their wants and needs before coming up with the solution.
#2 Cloud DevOps Engineer
Being a Cloud DevOps Engineer means that your primary responsibility is the design, deployment, and continuous operation of large-scale global hybrid cloud computing environments.
You advocate for and implement end-to-end automated CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) DevOps pipelines to streamline software delivery and infrastructure management processes.
Your role entails collaborating with other teams, such as the development and operations teams, to ensure seamless integration of code changes and infrastructure updates.
By advocating for automation and best practices, Cloud DevOps Engineers drive efficiency and reliability throughout the deployment lifecycle.
#3 Cloud Data Engineer
Cloud Data Engineers specialize in automating the collection and processing of structured or semi-structured data within Cloud environments.
Their role involves designing and implementing robust data pipelines to efficiently ingest, transform, and load data from various sources.
Cloud Data Engineers are also responsible for monitoring the performance of these data pipelines to ensure reliability and scalability.
They leverage their expertise in cloud technologies and data engineering principles to optimize data workflows and improve overall system efficiency.
If you’re interested in learning more about other available roles in the Cloud, click the button:
☁️ Online Cloud Events to Look Forward to
#1 AWS – Cloud Career Exploration (May 23)
An online event consisting of training sessions, an employer panel, and a session with job search tips from recruiters.
Click here to register.
#2 AWS – Deep Dive into LLMs - with AWS! (April 29 - May 20)
Learn the diverse range of use cases that LLMs can address, from natural language processing to content generation and beyond.
Click here to access.
#3 Google – Google’s Data Cloud Innovation Live Webinar (May 21)
Learn about the latest innovations from Google’s Data Cloud for generative AI, including updates for BigQuery, Looker, and AlloyDB for PostgreSQL.
Click here to register.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 🤖
🤫 PLUS: Google Launches New AI Project Astra
Google’s latest Project Astra is crafting a next-generation AI assistant aimed at making daily tasks easier.
💡 Here’s what you should know about Project Astra:
It aims to revolutionize AI capabilities with advanced deep learning models enabling real-time analysis
Not only is it capable of responding to what it sees and hears (in code, images, and video formats), it is also capable of advanced reasoning and recall
If you’re interested in watching how Project Astra works at its current developing stage, click here to see the demo video.
Although the Project Astra is currently not accessible to the public, it is expected to be officially released closer to the end of the year.
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THAT’S A WRAP
Thanks for reading! 😊
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