# Its AWS Time Baby

I've been working in AWS for over 2 years now, and I've always put off acquiring my official AWS certification. I've known it's a worthwhile goal and ever since I started working with cloud applications, I've *wanted* to do it. Nevertheless, I fall back to that famous sentiment, the well-worn axiom wielded by the slightly too busy: "I'll do it later".

Well, it's officially later, and I'm starting my AWS Solutions Architect exam prep today. I *was* going to schedule my AWS Cloud Practitioner exam but that's the foundational certification. It's aimed towards business/marketing majors and professionals from a "non-IT" background.

It's the base level of competency and I've already been operating in that capacity for the past 2+ years.

> Do you have 1-3 years of IT or STEM background? Start with: An Associate-level AWS Certification that aligns with your role or interests. Outcome: Validation of AWS Cloud knowledge and skills; confidence and credibility to build your cloud career.

Looking at the [Certification Paths](https://d1.awsstatic.com/training-and-certification/docs/AWS_certification_paths.pdf) recommended by AWS, It's recommended that individuals in my position skip the cloud practitioner certification and go straight to an associate-level cert like [Developer](https://d1.awsstatic.com/training-and-certification/docs-dev-associate/AWS-Certified-Developer-Associate_Exam-Guide.pdf) or [Solutions Architect](https://d1.awsstatic.com/training-and-certification/docs-sa-assoc/AWS-Certified-Solutions-Architect-Associate_Exam-Guide.pdf). I'd like to get both and also go for the DevOps professional-level cert (What AWS calls the pathway of the "Application Architect") but I'm pretty sure associate-level and higher exams cost over 200AUD so we'll see. At the very least, I need to decide which one to go for right now.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1702854691685/fb0999e7-1653-43a2-b1e4-c613ec8cdd1f.png align="center")

The Solutions Architect role looks to be almost exactly what I've been doing for the past 2 years. Just better. The Developer role, however, seems almost fundamental to getting a tech job but is also not quite as familiar to me.

For now, I'll begin the Solutions Architect exam prep. Solutions Architect will be the fastest to achieve and I can always do the developer one afterwards (if I have the time and funding). I'll be updating this blog as I go with my learnings and thoughts.