Amazon Web Services has been the market leader for Cloud offerings for over a decade. AWS currently offers almost 100 services, which range from storage and compute services to AI and Machine Learning-oriented services. AWS Experts and Engineers are in high demand in India and around the world due to the rapid growth of these services. It is high time we take a few minutes to talk about where individuals stand in IT careers and what steps should be taken to make a career with AWS.
CloudThat recently held an in-person seminar on “Plan your AWS Career” and received positive feedback. A webinar will also be held on December 6, 2017. Register to attend the webinar.
During the seminar, I received many questions and concerns. I am sharing these through this blog, along with a brief overview of the webinar.
As part of the seminar I had discussed the need for Cloud and how Cloud is the way forward in IT. I also discussed Cloud Market Trends as well as Job Market Trends. I then moved on to major providers and discussed a few of the most popular AWS services. Then, I went over the skills required to be an Architect or Developer, System Administrator, DevOps Engineer, and DevOps Engineer. I then spoke about the certifications that AWS offers, and opened the floor to questions.
Over the years, many people have asked similar questions in my Training Career. During the seminar, I realized that many IT professionals are still struggling to answer these questions. These are the answers to your questions –
Q1. Q1. I am a.NET developer with approximately 8 years of experience. What do I need to know to become an AWS developer?
A1. AWS SDK is the correct answer. AWS supports almost all high-level programming languages and scripting languages. Anyone who wants to develop applications using AWS services must master the SDK. A detailed knowledge of the SDK is not enough. One also needs to know the best practices and the intended services.
Q2. Q2. I am a storage administrator with over 10 years experience. Right now, my company is looking to migrate to the Cloud. What would my role be in this new technology scenario?
A2. Many IT organizations are currently undergoing Digitization and Cloud Transformation. Cloud is merely redefining the business model. The role of the IT organization would be the same, but with AWS Services. A Storage Admin would be a Storage Admin on AWS, working with EBS, EFS, and dealing with disk throughput. Many of the tools that were used before moving to AWS will still be valid. However, it is important to understand AWS’ capability matrix.
Q3. Q3. What certifications is AWS offering and how can it help a Windows Administrator?
A3. AWS certification is a mandatory credential that companies will look at. It demonstrates one’s ability to use AWS services. The AWS certificate covers a wide range of jobs, and is divided into SysOps, Developer, and Architect categories. A Windows Administrator might be responsible for managing Windows infrastructure on AWS, and automating it. To become a skilled System Administrator, SysOps Associate Certification and DevOps Professional Certificate would be ideal.
Q4. Q4. What are specialization certificates and who is eligible to receive them?
A4. AWS currently offers two specialization certificates viz. AWS Certified Big Data-Speciality and AWS Certified Advanced Networking-Speciality. These certifications are professional-level, so you need to be an associate-level certified in any of these tracks.
Q5. Q5.After completing the certification, will I be able to get a raise in my pay or when I move to another organization?
A5. A5.