The certifications reflects that the candidate has the necessary skills which are in popular and additionally that it has been approved by one of the most reputed entities in cloud computing. But, is AWS certification worth? Any certification that gives you edge over the others and fills you with extensive knowledge and expertise within your domain is worth obtaining.

Lot of career aspirants think if gaining anAWS certification like the AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification is enough to get them a job. The short answer is that an AWS certification alone will not get anyone a job. There are several other attributes that play an essential part in kick-starting your AWS career.

So does that mean that certifications are not worth attaining? Absolutely not! Certifications are extremely useful – if not essential to getting a good IT job and AWS careers can be extremely rewarding. The thing is, it takes much more than the certification: You also need experience that’s relevant to the position you’re applying for and to be very “employable” (more on that shortly).

I think it’s also important to note that AWS certifications are almost prerequisites, rather than differentiators today. Unless you have several AWS certifications, this is usually the case. Everyone seems to have their AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certifications so that’s not going to make you stand out when applying for an AWS Solution Architect job but that is an important start. In fact, from an employer’s perspective, it will be expected that you have a couple of AWS certificate – and if you don’t you won’t get noticed.

Now before we look at top 10 reasons to get AWS certified, will quickly understand what makes AWS a market leader.

Why AWS is a Market Leader?

Besides having a tough competition from Google and Microsoft, AWS still maintains the top position mainly because of three reasons. 

• It has been in market since a very long time:  AWS came into existence in 2006. Hence, it has got more than a decade time to refine and mature its product.  Also it has successfully maintained a strong customer base.

• Free Testing for a year:  Amazon gives AWS free Tier offer to the customers. In this offer, customers can have a hands-on experience with the AWS cloud computing before they decide on the full cloud migration. And this offer is for the entire year, it means for 12 months users have access to AWS free tier services.

• Ahead of its competitors:  Its computing capacity is huge. It has presence globally. The cloud infrastructure of AWS is such that it can meet the needs of all types of businesses whether multinational or a small business.

Top Reasons to get AWS certified:

1. It is the Future : The benefits that it provides to the organizations is making it very popular and it is being adapted by many organizations globally. The arrival of new technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is making cloud technology more important. Hence, getting certified in cloud computing will soon become vital for the IT professionals.

2. It is a Market Leader: According to a market survey, Amazon Web Services has captured more than 50% of the IAAS market. Whereas the other competitor i.e. Microsoft has only 8% of the IAAS market which clearly indicates that AWS is a market leader. Therefore, learning AWS and gaining the knowledge about its core concepts will make you more employable. As, AWS is the most widely used platform in cloud computing.

3. It gives you a Competitive Advantage:  We are witnessing a constant and a continuous growth in cloud industry; hence many IT professionals are learning AWS to cope up with the new changes and of course to stay relevant.  Therefore, if you want to have a competitive edge over the other IT professionals then getting AWS certified is the smartest move.

4. Good Compensation:   The tremendous growth in its demand has made it is one of the highest paying certifications. The average salary for a certified developer ranges in between $1,00,000 to $1,20,000 per year. So, if you are looking for certifications that will not only make your future bright but can also give you bulging pockets then you must go for AWS certification.

5. It is Achievable:   With a proper preparation, you can achieve AWS certification.  You can go for AWS Solutions Architect training as this includes live instructor-led training, virtual training, digital training along with plenty of books and forums. However, the recommended AWS training is the one which has the combination of both the theory and the hands on experience. With all the available information and sample questions, one can easily get AWS certified.  

6. Expands your Career Path:  Once you get AWS certified then trust me the journey has just begun.  Because Amazon has launched AWS specialty track certification in the areas like networking and security. This will expand your expertise on the various areas by giving you the opportunity to learn new features of the platform. 

7. You can apply for Subject Matter Expert Program:  Individuals certified in AWS are eligible for Subject Matter Expert Program.  If you are a SME then you can attend workshops and even help in the process of exam development. This entire process gives you an in-depth understanding about AWS services and its features.  Of course, this will automatically add weightage to your resume. 

8. AWS Certification indicates that you are reliable and possess the required expertise:  Trust and credibility are the two factors that help in building and maintaining strong client relationships.  A client always wants to get assured that they are dealing with an expert. AWS certification indicates that you have undergone a strong training which is a must to work with the AWS technology. Hence, getting AWS certified will not only demonstrate that you have the required expertise but it will also assure all the potential customers and existing clients that they have the best thus making you an attractive hire.

9. You become a part of AWS Community:  AWS certified professionals become part of AWS community which gives them greater opportunities for networking. They get access to AWS certified LinkedIn community, they receive invitations for regional events.  Amazon also gives digital badges which will give you more visibility at a global level. 

10. Organizations want to hire AWS Certified:  Apart from the AWS rapid growth and the bright future what makes organizations hire more AWS certified? I.e. Eligibility for AWS partner program. Organization which has many AWS certified members they become eligible for different tiers of the AWS partner program.  This program enables the organization to achieve a designation of an AWS partner. This benefits the organization by giving them access to the resources and training which can improve their AWS services.