Stepping into the Cloud ☁️
From sales to cloud: How I attained 3 AWS certifications with no IT experience.
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C01)
The first time I heard about cloud computing was back in December of 2021 after watching a viral Tik Tok video:
At this point in my 7-year career as a sales manager, I was passively looking for a potential career change. I had always been good with computers (I made a webpage when I was a kid about Pokémon), I love tech, and I was ready to be challenged to learn something new. It really felt like Tik Tok’s algorithm had it figured out. Following her advice, I started with AWS’s foundational certification, the Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C01). AWS has four categories of certifications: Foundational, Associate, Professional, and Specialty.
According to AWS:
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is intended for anyone who has basic knowledge of the AWS platform. Before taking this exam, we recommend you have:
- Six months of exposure to the AWS Cloud
- Basic understanding of IT services and their uses in the AWS Cloud platform
- Knowledge of core AWS services and use cases, billing and pricing models, security concepts, and how cloud impacts your business
However in my experience, anyone can take this exam. For individuals with no IT experience whatsoever, this may be a good place to start. Many will argue that it is possible to skip this certification and go straight for the associate-level Certified Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C02). And in hindsight, I’d have to agree. The CCP covers the basics of AWS services and the six pillars of AWS Well-Architected Framework. The exam is essentially an exercise in vocab — knowing which services are used for what purpose. For my studies, I used:
It took me about 3 weeks to finish reading the material, doing the labs, and completing the chapter quizzes. I went ahead and scheduled my at-home exam through Pearson Vue, and unfortunately ended up failing by 13 points (ugh!). After hitting the forums on Reddit, many people suggested purchasing practice exams by Jon Bonso on Udemy. I went through the practice exams a few times, rescheduled my test, and ended up passing in January of 2022. First AWS certification: ✅
AWS Certified Developer Associate
At this point, I had spent a lot of time scouring through the AWS Certifications thread on Reddit, picking up tips, advice, and resources for studying. I decided to enroll in Stephane Maarek’s course on Udemy. It was frequently mentioned, and highly-recommended by current and former students. Following along to guided instruction with video lessons and hands-on labs proved to be extremely helpful in thoroughly understanding the course material.
According to AWS:
AWS Certified Developer — Associate is intended for anyone with one or more years of hands-on experience developing and maintaining an AWS-based application. Before you take this exam, we recommend you have:
- In-depth knowledge of at least one high-level programming language
- Understanding of core AWS services, uses of the services, and basic AWS architecture best practices, including the AWS Shared Responsibility Model, application lifecycle management, and the use of containers in the development process
- Proficiency in developing, deploying, and debugging cloud-based applications using AWS and writing code for serverless applications
- Ability to identify key features of AWS services and use the AWS service APIs, AWS CLI, and SDKs to write applications
- Ability to apply a basic understanding of cloud-native applications to write code
- Ability to author, maintain, and debug code modules on AWS
In comparison to the CCP, the DVA dives much deeper into key AWS services and how to use them. It took me about 5 weeks to complete the course, and another week of going through the practice exams before I felt ready to take the test. Turns out I was ready, as I passed the exam on my first try in early April. I then went ahead and purchased Stephane’s Certified Solutions Architect Associate exam, and began studying for my 3rd certification.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate
Now having two AWS certifications under my belt, I wanted to keep the momentum going and dive straight into studying for the SAA. From the Reddit thread, there was some pretty heavy overlap between the Developer and Solutions Architect exam. In my experience, the primary distinction between these two is that the developer is much more oriented on how to use the various AWS services, while the solutions architect focuses more on when and why to use the services.
Per AWS recommendations:
AWS Certified Solutions Architect — Associate is intended for anyone with one or more years of hands-on experience designing available, cost-efficient, fault-tolerant, and scalable distributed systems on AWS. Before you take this exam, we recommend you have:
- One year of hands-on experience with AWS technology, including using compute, networking, storage, and database AWS services as well as AWS deployment and management services
- Experience deploying, managing, and operating workloads on AWS as well as implementing security controls and compliance requirements
- Familiarity with using both the AWS Management Console and the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI)
- Understanding of the AWS Well-Architected Framework, AWS networking, security services, and the AWS global infrastructure
- Ability to identify which AWS services meet a given technical requirement and to define technical requirements for an AWS-based application
After completing the course and practice exams, I scheduled my test and passed at the end of April, about 2 weeks after taking the developer exam. It is worth noting that AWS provides a 50% discount on the following exam after passing one.
All-in-all, it has been a challenging, yet interesting journey so far. It’s been a joy to flex academic muscles that hadn’t been used in a while, and see that they still work!
