What Jobs Can You Get with an AWS Certification?

Have you thought about learning AWS cloud to advance your career? You should. AWS (Amazon Web Services) jobs span freelance, work-from-home, and on-site positions and cover a range of roles, including AWS solution architect and AWS developer. 

Moving into one of these exciting roles does require one vital step: earning AWS certifications. Keep reading to learn which job opportunities can open up after completing AWS training and certifications.

AWS Cloud Practitioner Jobs

You may have heard advice from strangers online to skip the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification. However, even highly experienced tech veterans can benefit from this foundational certification, especially if you aren’t familiar with the AWS cloud delivery model. AWS Cloud Practitioner is good preparation for more advanced certifications, and it will definitely help with the following jobs: 

IT Support Specialist

Information technology is a broad field. An IT support specialist may be responsible for configuration, analysis, and troubleshooting across a wide range of platforms and IT environments.

Even if you are not a cloud professional, you may be called upon to use and administer the cloud in some way. Cloud proficiency is now being added to the job descriptions of what were traditional IT support roles. 

Cloud Project Manager

Planning, organizing, and implementing technical projects is no easy job. Cloud project managers sometimes become the most essential part of an IT team. They often deal with IT professionals across various technologies, so it helps when they know a little bit about many things. AWS Cloud Practitioner will give such persons a broad overview of cloud service delivery. 

Cloud Financial Analyst

In the cloud workforce, financial analysts combine their knowledge of both financial matters and cloud computing. Along with controlling finances, they may gather data and provide insights to senior management.

AWS Cloud Practitioner covers cost and billing issues in a way that doesn’t come up in associate, professional, or specialty certifications, so anyone dealing with cloud finances should consider pursuing this certification. 

Technical Account Manager

Customers often require dedicated guidance from account managers who understand and can clearly educate them on the technical products and services provided. They may work closely with sales and customer service personnel to ensure customer satisfaction.

As with the IT support role, account managers who work with technology are often tasked with supporting various platforms, and foundational knowledge of AWS can be helpful. 

Learn more about AWS training and certification from CBT Nuggets here.

AWS Associate and Professional Certification Jobs

The jobs discussed in this section could be performed at either the associate or professional level. In the actual work setting, these distinctions may not be clear at all. The point is that gaining the professional level exam will demonstrate greater proficiency. There are certification paths in AWS, but AWS no longer requires you to take exams in any particular order.

Cloud Solutions Architect

There are a lot of steps to complete before a cloud environment is fully operational and running smoothly. A cloud solutions architect converts a client's technical requirements into a workable cloud environment, leading the way for cloud adoption and migration of services.

The role requires a broad understanding of the cloud, including computing, networking, storage, and security. You might consider the cloud architect the anchor role in a cloud-focused IT team.

An AWS Solutions Architect is responsible for designing, building, and managing a cloud architecture. To land one of these jobs, obtaining the AWS Solutions Architect Association certification is not a bad idea – after knocking out AWS Cloud Practitioner. Many AWS Solutions Architect jobs are out there – and they pay well.

Have you ever wondered:  Is the AWS Solutions Architect – Associate Worth It?

Cloud Systems Administrator

A systems administrator is generally tasked with the more routine responsibilities of IT operations. In the cloud, that may involve the creation and management of virtual machines (EC2s), along with patching and troubleshooting duties similar to what on-premise systems administrators have always done.

Sysadmins have been around for a long time, supporting multi-user environments dealing with servers or specialized IT systems. The AWS Sysops Administrator also does multi-user support, but it could be related to any and all services in the AWS infrastructure. It’s more of an operations job rather than the design and build of the solutions architect.  

Software Development Engineer

Programmers and software specialists have good reasons to become AWS Developers. But even if you are new to development, you can work your way into AWS Developer jobs. An AWS Developer may work with Python or other traditional programming languages. Or the role may be more centered on the many development tools available on AWS, like AWS CodePipeline or AWS XRay. 

Cloud DevOps Engineer

DevOps is a new approach to the rollout of IT services that focuses on rapid delivery and improved collaboration. The professional-level AWS DevOps Engineer certification is a melding of cloud development and operations learned in the associate-level certifications.

See below the illustration of the AWS DevOps model:

AWS Specialty Certification Jobs

Of course, AWS certifications can prepare you for some more focused roles, as we discuss below.

Cloud Security Engineer

Every AWS user needs to know security. But working in a job dedicated to the security of IT resources requires a high level of awareness and expertise. Cybersecurity professionals should know about all the platforms and technologies they protect.

Pursuing the AWS Security – Specialty certification will qualify you to concentrate on IAM, encryption, incident prevention and response, and other important cloud cybersecurity issues.

Cloud Database Engineer

Databases may be relational, non-relational, hierarchical, or object-oriented. A database professional needs to know how different pieces of data relate to each other. AWS services include a variety of databases, such as DynamoDB, Redshift, Neptune, RDS, DocumentDB, and Elasticache.

The AWS Database Specialty will prepare you to deploy and administer these common services.

Data Analyst

Beyond the routine administration of data, analysts may work with information in a more complex and sophisticated way. They may be called upon to bridge the gap between data and executive-level decision-making.

The AWS Data Analytics Specialty used to be called Big Data. This certification teaches you how to use data lakes and analytics services to get insights from large amounts of data.

Network Engineer

To begin with, a network engineer must know how the internet works. Network engineers create, manage and troubleshoot links between network devices and distinct cloud networks.

IT professionals who come from switching and routing may want to pursue the AWS Advanced Networking – Specialty certification. It’s not uncommon for network engineers to work in both cloud and traditional LAN/WAN environments.

Check out this article to discover a path to senior network engineer. 

Machine Learning Engineer

Machine learning engineers are tech experts who design self-running programs that automate certain predictive objects or models. Anyone wanting to work with deep learning workloads on the cloud will want to pursue the AWS Machine Learning – Specialty. You will learn how to build, train, tune, and deploy machine learning models on AWS.

SAP on AWS Consultant

SAP is a German company, and the longer name in English has been translated as “Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing.” Experienced SAP professionals know it is a widely-used enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.

The AWS SAP on AWS – Specialty certification focuses on mastering both SAP and AWS.

Final Thoughts

Cloud computing is here to stay, and AWS has a huge cloud market share. There are many other AWS jobs out there, including cloud engineer, applications architect, test engineer, DevSecOps Engineer, and cloud security architect.

A solid grasp of AWS cloud computing is indispensable in today's IT landscape. Immerse yourself in our meticulously crafted Amazon Web Services cloud courses and pave your way to expertise. Not a CBT Nuggets subscriber? Create your account now.