Hello zombies!
After spending three months studying, I managed to earn my first AWS certification – the AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Associate).
I want to spend a bit of time talking about the AWS certification process, certifications in general, and what a certification actually means.
The Certification Process
To become certified, you need to take a test. The test format consists of multiple choice questions, some with single answers and some with 2+ correct answers. There are questions where you pick the correct choice, and some where you pick the wrong choice, and others where you pick the best choice out of all equally valid choices. So the structure isn’t terrible, but it’s not as easy as some tests.
Often questions will be worded in negative ways, such as “which two solutions would be least likely to recommend”. Or they sneak the word “not” into the question. Interestingly, I found a lot of questions like that in practice tests I took, but not in the real test.
Anyway, once you are ready to take a test, you can login to the training website at https://aws.amazon.com/certification/ and choose a testing center near you, then you pick a date and finally a time. You’ll pay $150 for the privilege of taking the test. On the day of the test, when you arrive you present two forms of ID (driver’s license and credit card work for US), and then have to stash all your stuff (phone, keys, etc.) in a locker where it is stored. Then you’re escorted to a small cubicle with a computer and the proctor logs you into your test. You click the buttons to start, and you’re off.
The Test
My test consisted of 55 questions. All my practice tests were 60 questions, so maybe the format has changed. I got to question one, and my brain froze. I kept looking at the characters on the screen but my brain had briefly forgot English. I calmed down, remembering I had 80 minutes to take the test, and I was able to finally read the question and answers, and test panic disappeared.
I answered them one at a time, though would occasionally think back to something and go back to a previous question to re-read it (checking for “best” or “not” in the question), but generally kept moving forward through the test. A couple of the questions were ones I recognized from practice tests, but most weren’t, and then even for the ones I recognized, the answered were changed around a bit. So practice tests were good as study guides, but just memorizing practice tests wouldn’t help you pass, which IMHO is a good thing.
I got to the end, decided to go back and start again at question one to double check my work. I got as far as question 13 and decided I just couldn’t wait to know. I felt sorta good about the test, but I wasn’t certain, since the passing score will change (one test passes with a 70%, another test with different questions might fail with a 70%). Anyway, I decided to just submit my answers. I braced myself for the results.
And instead of results, you get to answer about 10 “feedback” questions on the test, the testing facility, how much work you’ve done related to the test, and other demographic questions. I was kinda annoyed by this, as I wanted my results, but I these answers help gauge good feedback.
I finally got to the last screen, and YAY I PASSED. No details, just an email explaining that the test feedback and score would be emailed to me soon. I then clicked Exit. I had the email within ten minutes, which told me my overall score and what score I got on each section. All good news.
The Value of Certification
What is the value of a certification anyway? Some people say certs aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. In my opinion, a cert is worth the value of what the certified individual invests in getting it, and why.
I can confirm that some certs aren’t worth a lot. I’m also Microsoft certified (or I was back in 2003 or so, I’ve long let it lapse). Microsoft .NET was a shiny new thing back in those days, and I was retraining myself after having spent some painful years as a VBA/Access/Oracle developer. I spent weeks studying video presentations at the time that I bought on DVDs with some retraining money I got from AT&T when I was laid off in one of their numerous downsizing efforts. I knew a lot about .NET, but wasn’t sure about the certification process, so I decided to go to a “certification camp” to fill in any gaps in my knowledge, and as a bonus, I could take the certification for free. All was covered under AT&T’s retraining, I just needed to take the week off from work. So I did.
This zombie flew to New Jersey and settled into a ski lodge that apparently doubled as a training center in summer months. I met about 30 other people who were there to be certified. They had classes in the daytime which helped frame and sort all the knowledge I had amassed on my own, but didn’t really teach me any new material. I passed all my tests at the end of the week without problem.
While I was there, I met a guy named Bob. Bob had recently been discharged from one of the military branches, Navy I think. Bob had never done programming professionally. Bob was good at taking tests though. Bob didn’t know .NET before he showed up at camp. He hadn’t done any studying of material prior to the camp. He showed up, took the tests and passed them as well. When I was departing for the airport, he was staying for another week to get his DBA certification.
For the Microsoft certification in question, I think the classes tended to teach “the test” more than “the material”. I think this gave certs a bad name for a while. Microsoft eventually revamped their program, and I would tend to think most of them may be worth something these days.
So again, I think you get out of the certification what you put into the certification. If you learn the material prior to certifying, you can get something valuable to show for it. If you learn the test and don’t study the material, you get something that is essentially worthless.
Having seen the structure of the AWS test, you couldn’t pass it just trying to learn the test. That’s a good thing.
Why I Got Certified
I decided to get certified because I had worked with various AWS components at a previous job, but didn’t really have the big picture on how everything fit. For me, the certification acted as a guide for me to organize things I had learned on my own and on the job into a structure that made sense. It let me understand the pieces of the AWS puzzle and the way they are organized. It also helped me identify gaps and missing pieces in my knowledge. I also did it because I believe in the products that AWS offer and think they are going to be the next exciting technology boom for at least five years. And yes, I did it to get a good job using AWS on a day to day basis.
My Microsoft certification didn’t land me jobs at places I would apply. But it did almost always get me a call back from the company and get me a phone interview. I think the AWS certification is a bit rarer than the Microsoft ones, and I think it is more likely to land me face-to-face interviews. I don’t think I know everything there is to know about AWS, but I know the big pieces, many components of those pieces, and generally how to structure them to create a solution.
More Certifications In The Future?
I think I will likely study for at least one or two more certification exams. AWS offers, as of today, 108 services, and that’s an awful lot of material. I have a good general understanding of these services with the Solutions Architect Associate certification, but most of the other exams focus on depth of knowledge, which I would like to develop. And having more certifications may lead to more job opportunities in the future, or add more value to any employer I’m with.
Speaking of jobs, I need to share this funny moment. After I completed my certification and the screen showed I passed, I clicked exit and let the testing proctor know I was done. He walked over to the computer to close the exam, but he could see my score on the screen. As I was gathering my jacket, cell phone, wallet and keys from the locker, he asked me whether I’d be interested in teaching classes on AWS material. I told him I wasn’t ready to do that at this time, but gave him a card and some pointers on where he could find material on the web to learn. I don’t feel like teaching is what I want to do at this time, but it was kinda nice to get a job offer five minutes after getting certified.
If you go the certification route, I hope job offers fall into your lap too.