What is AWS?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud infrastructure as a computing service provider (What is AWS (amazon.com)). In my words, AWS is like Airbnb but for your cloud computing needs. You rent the computing power you need, pay only for the usage, secure your luggage (data), and leave as you wish.
You rent the kind of house that you need (big or small) when you need it, and the location that you need, from Airbnb. Similarly, you rent the computing power from AWS based on your computing needs ( maybe for web hosting, data storage, running a docker, data analysis, and much more). You rent those AWS services when you need them. And you choose the location, known as regions, to host those services.
Why learn about AWS?
AWS is leading the pack
AWS holds almost 33% of the cloud computing market share compared to other cloud services providers like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) [based on the study from Canalys.] So, AWS is kind of everywhere.
The current demand for AWS
When you are learning about AWS, you are basically learning the cloud computing infrastructure and for the cloud computing-related jobs, AWS is the most asked skill in the job market. Almost 60% of cloud-related postings ask for AWS skills [AWS Careers: Why Choose AWS As Career Option? (simplilearn.com)]
The future demand for AWS
AWS provides tremendous benefits compared to owned data centers and companies around the world are migrating and adapting to this pay-for-use model. To meet the demand for cloud computing, cloud skills are going to grow, one of the job studies suggests it’s going to triple by 2025 [from amazon.com]
AWS Certfications
AWS offers different certifications and different career paths. You can explore all of those here [Explore all AWS Certification exams | Validate AWS Cloud Skills | AWS (amazon.com)]
I recommend taking AWS Cloud Practitioner (CCP) if you are a beginner in AWS technologies. If you already know about AWS then you can choose the one which suits your career.
In this post, I will go over the AWS CCP exam.
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CCP)
AWS offers a foundational course to share knowledge on what AWS is and what all major AWS services they provide. You can check what the AWS CCP exam covers here AWS-Certified-Cloud-Practitioner_Exam-Guide.pdf (awsstatic.com).
Why did I go for the AWS CCP exam?
- Understand what AWS is?
- Understand what all AWS services are provided?
- Gain confidence when I am talking about AWS technologies
- How cloud technologies are beneficial when compared to owned and managed data centers?
- Why AWS is becoming a must on most job applications?
And I am glad I went with the AWS CCP exam. The exam helped me gain basics of the cloud computing but also helped me in understanding how companies should architect cloud migration.
If I were to prepare for the exam again, I would follow the steps next. Here is how I would prepare for the exam in a month.
Prepare for AWS CCP in a month
AWS CCP is mostly theoretical and you need to cover plenty of topics. You need to remember various areas and services provided by AWS.
So here is how I would prepare for the exam again.
Yes, go ahead and schedule your exam after a month. That will motivate you to prepare for the exam. Once you schedule there is no going back, you will be AWS CCP certified after a month.
- The deadline will force you to prepare for the exam
- The deadline will make sure that you don’t drop the plan
AWS Skill Builder from Amazon is the best platform to learn AWS. It offers rich and high quality educational videos for FREE.
The AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials is 6 hours of course which you can finish in a week.
PROS
- Covers all the topics of the AWS CCP exam
- It is 6 hours long and can be finished in a week
- The videos are well-made and provide visual examples of AWS services
- If you are a visual person then you will definitely appreciate the videos
- the course offers actual questions which come in exam (I actually got 2-3 same questions in the exam)
CONS
- Not many but the course won’t cover practicals
- AWS CCP is mostly theoretical so above con would be me nitpicking
If you want more detailed course with lots of practicals, I recommend the course from Stephane Maarek. The course will cover in-depth knowledge of the exam and some more.
PROS
- Highly reviewed course on Udemy, (93K plus students have reviewed this course)
- The course covers good hands-on videos which you can follow too
- Covers all the topics and types of questions you will see in the exam
- You should be able to finish the course in 2 weeks
- The course is 15 hours long, it can feel overwhelming at times
- The course may take some time to finish (more than 2 weeks)
Once you have finished the courses above, you must practice for the exam.
You will find a lot of practice exams on the internet but I recommend you take this course on Udemy. 6 Practice Exams | AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C01 | Udemy.
PROS
- The exams are prepared by the same tutor Stephane Maarek ( of the above AWS CCP course)
- 6 exams in the course are enough to get you certified
- All the questions have review section, so if you get the questions wrong you can and you must review why
CONS
- Few question sets are hard (harder than what most reviewers have faced in the actual exam)
- You might not get more than 70% in the first attempt (but you must practice until you consistently get 90% on all those exams.)
If I were to prepare for the exam again, I would follow the above four steps in that order.
Conclusion
Cloud computing is the next big thing in IT. Gone are the days of installing and maintaining massive data centers onsite. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have made it stupidly easier for companies to lift and shift their entire services in weeks.
Cloud computing is here to stay for long and if you are in IT, you must learn the basics. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is your answer to start your journey.
I recently cleared the AWS CCP exam and would love to share how I prepared for the exam in a month.
- Schedule your exam
- Complete AWS CCP Essential course on the AWS Skill Builder website
- Complete the Ultimate AWS CCP course by Stephane Maarek on the Udemy
- Practice with the practice exam course on the Udemy
I certainly feel confident now when I speak about cloud computing and especially the AWS services provided by Amazon.
AWS CCP exam is the best and easiest way to start your AWS career journey. Share your tips and post your verification links when you complete your exam too.