Building AWS skills for an Expert Team
The Story Challenges of Scaling AWS Skills describes the AWS Expert Team approach to deliver value to customers. But how to build the necessary knowledge to form AWS Expert Teams?
Practical Experience
Hands-on experience is definitely a must-have but takes a long time to develop.
New joiners and people with less experience may not be able to be staffed on projects which require in-depth know-how and a lot of experience. Thus, developing the necessary hands-on experience is even harder for AWS Expert Teams than in teams which are not as specialized.
One option to gain more hands-on experience, especially for new joiners, are separate AWS accounts to experiment with AWS services, test solutions or to develop and deploy small learning projects.
Small learning projects, like for example setting up a birthday reminder for the Expert Team, can be developed and deployed in the dedicated training AWS accounts. They can even be re-used to gain experience with various services. For example one new joiner can develop the birthday reminder with a small EC2 instance, another new joiner or someone who wants to gain experience with the serverless ecosystem may refactor the application to leverage Lambda functions, AWS EventBridge and S3 buckets or DynamoDB.
Since AWS services outside the free tier cause costs, it is important to restrict those AWS accounts, especially if you are experimenting with services you are unfamiliar with. This can be done by leveraging so called SCPs. This blog post describes how to secure your AWS accounts Automatic SCP Pipeline for your LandingZone.
Theoretical Knowledge
Theoretical knowledge required to be able to work in an AWS Expert Team can be acquired with AWS trainings and certifications.
You can find trainings on all levels, for most topics directly on AWS training (https://www.aws.training/). The courses offered are either self-paced, instructor lead (on-site and virtual) and many of them are free of costs! Some of the courses include lab instructions which are a perfect use case for the training AWS accounts mentioned above.
If a topic you are interested in is not listed in AWS training, you can check out the various AWS partner-led trainings. In our experience trainings from AWS certified partners are a great way to gain in-depth theoretical knowledge. Especially if you are looking for courses to prepare you for AWS certifications.
AWS certifications are another great option to develop and improve theoretical knowledge required to be part of an AWS Expert Team. Further, AWS certifications are necessary for customers to build trust in the AWS experts.
Typically, AWS certifications are multiple choice exams and there are a lot of resources available to successfully prepare for them. From our experience Udemy and Whizlabs courses are a great way to prepare for the exams. Further, some courses offer hands-on lab instructions which you can complete in the dedicated training AWS accounts.
When selecting the right course for a certification or just to build experience, it comes down to personal preference. But since there are quite a lot of courses available (especially on a foundational or associate level) it is a good idea to gather which courses or instructors provide quality content and to communicate this within the AWS Expert Teams.
AWS Black Belt Accreditation
AWS Black Belt accreditations are a brilliant way to build theoretical and hands-on experience necessary for the AWS Expert Team.
AWS Black Belt accreditations are no multiple choice exams, they are a learning journey for a specialized context, for example migrations to AWS.
They consist of theoretical courses delivered by AWS partners and experts directly from AWS. The courses are not only presentations, but they also contain hands-on labs, and the presenters interact with the participants frequently. Further, there are multiple Q&A sessions with the partner and AWS experts. In our experience the experts are also happy to discuss architectures, approaches or problems related to customer needs.
Additionally, to gaining theoretical knowledge, the participants need to work on a real-world scenario and thus gather practical experience. Since the real-world scenario can be done as a team, this certification path is also a great way to integrate new joiners (with enough AWS experience) into the AWS Expert Team.
More information on the AWS Black Belt certification can be found here AWS Migration Blackbelt.
AWS Ambassador
The AWS Ambassador program is a community of AWS enthusiasts and experts who share their knowledge and experience with others. The program aims to recognize and support individuals who have a deep understanding of AWS services and can share their expertise with the community.
AWS Ambassadors are selected based on their expertise in using AWS services and their ability to contribute to the community through content creation, speaking engagements, and other activities. They are expected to share their knowledge and experience with the broader community through various channels, such as blogs, social media, conferences, and meetups.
AWS Ambassadors receive exclusive access to AWS resources, early access to new services, and opportunities to network with other experts in the field. They also receive recognition and support from AWS through various promotional activities and events.
More information can be found at: AWS Ambassador
AWS Community Builders
The AWS Community Builders program is a community of developers, enthusiasts, and experts who are passionate about AWS and are committed to sharing their knowledge and expertise with others. The program aims to recognize and support individuals who are actively involved in building and contributing to the AWS community.
AWS Community Builders are selected based on their contributions to the community, such as writing blog posts, creating tutorials, organizing meetups, and speaking at events. They are expected to share their expertise with others and help build a strong and vibrant community of AWS users.
AWS Community Builders receive exclusive access to AWS resources, such as training and certification programs, early access to new services, and opportunities to network with other experts in the field. They also receive recognition and support from AWS through various promotional activities and events.
More information can be found at: AWS Community Builder
Summary
From our experience combining practical experience with theoretical knowledge is necessary to form a successful AWS Expert Team. Further, if possible, try to participate in AWS Black Belt certifications, even if you do not pass the certification, the journey with all the theoretical knowledge is worth it.
If you targeting external visibility, the AWS Ambassador and the Community Builders programs are the correct choice. Further, both programs offer a great way for continuous learning for AWS Expert Teams.
About the Authors:
Johannes Zwickl
My name is Johannes Zwickl and I am an 3x certified AWS enthusiast and AWS Migration Blackbelt. I have been working in the AWS space for the past 2 years and have extensive knowledge of the AWS platform and its various services.
Sven Leiß
My name is Sven Leiss and I am an 5x certified AWS enthusiast and AWS Migration Blackbelt. I have been working in the AWS space for the past 7 years and have extensive knowledge of the AWS platform and its various services. I am passionate about helping customers get the most out of the cloud and have a great track record of successful implementations.
We have extensive experience in designing and implementing cloud architectures using AWS services such as EC2, S3, Lambda and more. Our team is well versed in DevOps and AWS cloud migration journeys.
If you are looking for experienced AWS experts, we would be more than happy to help. Feel free to contact us to discuss your cloud needs and see how we can help you get the most out of the AWS cloud.
