How I become an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

 

Dear David: I'm happy to hear that you passed the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner test. Why did you initially decide to take the test?

Thanks! Every person working in modern technology should be adjusting to the paradigm change brought on by cloud computing. It's a competitive need to have at least a fundamental cloud certification on your LinkedIn given AWS' dominance in the cloud industry and the speedy post-pandemic uptake of cloud services by enterprises redefining service delivery.

For prospective practitioners, this may open up important employment market doors. In a very extreme instance, I am aware of a career-changer who obtained the AWS Security Specialty certification and was subsequently hired for a cybersecurity position solely based on that (and a strong interview, of course). 

Due to the sophisticated, serverless tools of the cloud, I for one have grown interested in security, and I view this as a logical step from my traditional IT experience.

What is this certification all about?

An expert in the AWS cloud systems as a whole is known as an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner. Although I came across a sizable number of questions and subjects relating to security during the study process, this certification is regarded as a fundamental one and does not concentrate in fields like security. My on-the-job struggles with Elastic Compute 2 (EC2) and Amazon Virtual Private Clouds—which made up the majority of my experience—were far from the only topics covered; these included topics like systems migration and cloud data metrics, which called for some careful research.

Who should pursue this certification?

Consider becoming an AWS certified professional if you are interested in working professionally with cutting-edge cloud computing technologies or if you currently do so in your present position. I've seen AWS certificates being earned by a wide range of IT workers, from those in my discipline of cybersecurity to those in software engineering. I strongly advise exposing oneself to cloud technologies for those who are new to IT or cybersecurity to be the best equipped to cope with the highly abstracted infrastructure of the current day.

How to prepare for the exam?

I just studied from the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Guide: CLF-C01 Exam 1st Edition for the exam because it came with an incredibly good digital test question bank and virtual flashcards. The best strategy to pass the majority of certifications is to read the whole book and respond to the chapter-ending questions. However, you will need to treat the process seriously and regularly commit a significant amount of your spare time to it.

Others I am aware of who took the PassYourCert course and passed the test. For me, access to high-quality practice questions from PassYourCert is essential to the study process since they will highlight any areas that need more attention. The book had been on my shelf (and in my memory) for a long, but I had only truly prepared for this exam for a few weeks.

Overall costs, and what material is covered?

With a $100 coupon and a $32.49 study guide, the cost of the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam was fairly reasonable. Another plus is that AWS does not mandate a minimum degree of work experience to be eligible for the test, allowing any committed career switcher to pursue a unique certification as long as they are prepared to study for it. Vendor-specific certifications can, of course, occasionally seem like marketing for their different product suites.

The market for cloud service providers (CSPs) is now dominated by AWS, but if you anticipate utilizing Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform (GCP) in its place or already do so for work, you might also want to consider being certified in those platforms. I don't think I'll ever use all the AWS tools I learned about, like Redshift and Athena, but I had to read a lot of stuff to be able to comprehend how AWS works as a whole. From a security standpoint, it reiterated several ideas about EC2 and CloudWatch that I thought to be pertinent to the classes I'm teaching.

What was the test-taking experience like?

Testing facilities like Pearson Vue have started to provide virtual certification tests since the outbreak. I had to make an appointment with Pearson Vue to prepare for my exam, then I had to practice using their downloadable program. Proctors go through a lengthy procedure as they use a camera to visually evaluate your space. By testing protocol, they also requested me to remove my sleeves and empty my pockets (no Aces today!). Even with different schools, these methods have pretty much always been the standard in any remote testing I've done. Taking this evaluation from home is advantageous, despite the disadvantages of emptying the space.

In the end, what do you get out of it?

AWS offers a digital badge that may be shown on LinkedIn. This can attract hiring algorithms that are looking for job applicants with a certain degree of cloud-related knowledge, or it can just make your profile more interesting to visitors and recruiters who are browsing profiles. Additionally, having certificates on your CV might help you qualify for jobs. Although I don't support knowledge-based certificates as a yardstick for measuring competence or proficiency, they can help demonstrate expertise with a particular tool, system, or framework. Because of the strict study habits needed to pass certification exams, you're likely to pick up some useful new industry knowledge during the process. When coupled with actual work experience, certificates present a convincing picture of a qualified professional who takes the standards set by their period seriously.

What I’ll be studying next

The AWS Security Specialty certification, which covers critical security topics including Amazon GuardDuty, CloudTrail, and CloudWatch, is my next goal. If you're thinking about being certified, look over the AWS certifications overview and create a plan of action with your mentor.