How To Become an AWS Developer

Last Updated on August 20, 2022

Amazon is more than a friendly face at a doorstep each day. Amazon has its very own dominant computing technology, and it seems to grow in popularity every day. AWS encapsulates several different disciplines, and Amazon is even offering technical certifications for those disciplines. The AWS Cloud Practitioner, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, AWS Certified Developer, AWS Certified SysOps Administrator, AWS Certified Advanced Networking, and AWS Certified Security are the current certifications being offered for the Amazon Web Services platform.

Let’s focus primarily on how to become an AWS Certified Developer (also known as the AWS Associate Certification) since it is the mid-range certification that offers the most opportunity with the least time and monetary investment. It’s the most bang-for-your-buck AWS certification. It’s also the point where you can expand into the more specialized technical certifications.

Who is right for the job?

AWS Developers are where the rubber meets the road. They are in charge of developing and setting up cloud services and being tasked with deployment and regular maintenance. They should also be able to provide guidance on scalability and health plans and implement security guidelines. The AWS Cloud Practitioner, which is required for the developer certification, should have a good understanding of what AWS Services are, but the developer has a deeper understanding and can put those skills to good use. The developer certification is also required to move forward in obtaining the higher level certs such as the AWS Certified Solutions Architect.

Another great thing about the AWS Developer certification is the short timeframe involved. The fundamentals of AWS training usually takes about 6 hours. Then the fundamentals and technical classes usually take an additional two to three days each. Most competent IT professionals will be able to obtain their certification within a week to 10 days. This is one of the fastest, most useful, and potentially most lucrative certifications in today’s cloud computing environment.

What are the prerequisites?

All AWS certification classes will include a fundamental overview of the basic terminology and concepts that make up Amazon’s cloud computing platform. A tour of the AWS management console, prescribed security measures, and available storage options are also outlined in the fundamentals training. Additionally, topics such as cloud cost savings, scalability, high availability, and security measures are discussed.

AWS technical essentials are required for IT professionals intending to pursue AWS development, architecture, or security careers. Prerequisites for AWS developer training includes a working knowledge of general IT principles. Knowledge of relational database structure, network administration, and enterprise server management is a plus.

What skills will I need to learn?

There’s a laundry list of IT skills to learn on the path to becoming an AWS developer. Luckily, the course and certification exam follow a path of beginner, intermediate, and advanced skills. In addition to basic AWS services, you’ll be exposed to developer services and DevOps tools like AWS Software Development Kit (SDK), Elastic Beanstalk, Simple Queue Service (SQS), Lambda, Snowball, Elastic Load Balancer (ELB),  Command Line Interface (CLI), Cloudwatch, Cloudformation, and Docker to name a few.  

What does each class look like?

AWS Application Development

Applications and technical concepts necessary for Amazon cloud computing will be covered in the second part of the training to become an AWS Developer. One such application is Amazon EBS, which is a block storage technology for storing persistent data. EBS runs on EC2, which is Amazon’s cloud computing service. Amazon S3 bucket creation is also included, another version of data storage that runs in AWS. All these technologies are managed through the AWS Management Console, and the navigation and use of this tool are described in depth. Additionally, instructions on using the AWS CLI command-line tool and the AWS programming SDK are contained in this second module of the training.

Course Overview – AWS Proficiency

After finishing the training to become an AWS Certified Developer, the student will have a firm grasp of AWS fundamentals, be fluent in cloud storage technologies, and be able to deploy a finished cloud application to AWS. The ability to publish Amazon Web Services for the application will also be a valuable skill. This will allow other developers to utilize API capabilities provided by the application.

Where can I apply?

There are tons of hiring resources available for AWS Certified professionals.  Careers in IT security, DevOps, automation, machine learning, and IT architecting can all use AWS certified developers. Amazon can hire you for one. Also, Upwork is another great employment marketplace for freelance AWS skills. Potential employers can view credentials and even read reviews submitted by past employers after you’ve gotten a few projects under your belt. Upwork is also a great place to view the qualifications of others with similar skill sets to gauge where to be in your career.

AWS Developers typically average around $100K/year for salaries depending on location. Amazon makes it easy to maintain a skill-set in the future as well. They constantly update and augment their certification programs with refresher courses offered to keep you on the cutting edge of the latest cloud computing technology.

Are you already a fan of Amazon’s growth, and you want to mimic that growth in your career? Reach out to ONLC today, and we’ll help you enroll in AWS Developer Certification training classes from the comfort of your own home.