AWS Training and Certification Blog

Updated AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate: Registration now open

Did you know that we recently updated the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification exam? Registration is now open and the first day to take the new exam is August 30, 2022. This certification showcases your knowledge and skills of AWS technology across a wide range of AWS services. It demonstrates your ability to design and implement distributed systems on AWS, following the best practices laid out by the AWS Well-Architected Framework.

The updates to the exam account for the rapid pace of AWS innovations and focus on categories such as security, resiliency, high performance, and cost optimization, to maximize results for your organization and customers. Now, as part of your preparation for this exam, you can also take advantage of Exam Readiness Webinars, classroom-and-digital training, and free Official Practice Question Sets available today, in all exam languages.

If you are preparing for the current AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification exam, be sure to take it by August 29, 2022.

Keeping up with industry trends

Patrick Kuny, an AWS DevOps consultant, was part of the team updating the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam. When asked about the trends and needs in the industry that this update addresses, Kuny said, “There is more focus on the nature of distributed systems and understanding components in terms of designing a full-fledged system. By focusing on high performance, you’ll learn to make the right choices at the very start and design solutions that are efficient, scalable, and loosely coupled. The other trend is the increased focus on data and manipulation of data—enterprises have masses of data to interact with, transform, and load into scalable systems.”

Why earn this AWS Certification?

According to Global Knowledge, the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification is ranked among its top paying certifications in 2021, and job listings requiring this certification posted from April 2021 – March 2022 have increased by 35%.

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification not only enhances your career profile and potential for higher earnings, but it also increases your credibility and confidence when interacting with stakeholders and customers. AWS Certified individuals have the expertise to make the right recommendations, optimizing cost and performance, to meet the technical requirements of organizations and their customers.

John Culkin, a Senior Partner Solutions Architect at AWS who was on the committee to update this exam said, “The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification is my favorite exam and was in fact the first AWS Certification I earned. It’s a broad view of AWS and gets you excited about what’s possible to build. For anyone who wants to learn about building and architecting and putting all these services—these Lego pieces—into a solution that can benefit customers, this is a great way to start your cloud journey. Enterprises are demanding high-performing, resilient solutions. The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification makes you think about how you can use the new capabilities of the cloud to accomplish things in a much more efficient and effective manner than you could in on-premises.”

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification can help you build customer and stakeholder trust through increased expertise, efficiency, and innovation. In fact, during a recent Enterprise Strategy Group study, learners credit AWS Certifications with increasing their efficiency (80%) and effectiveness (82%). Additionally, 74% of learners said that earning AWS Certifications increased their earnings and 79% said they benefited from increased credibility and recognition.

Who is this certification for?

Preparing for and achieving the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification is a good starting point for those who have on-premises server/architecture experience or experience with other cloud services. If you are looking to grow and showcase your skills and knowledge in designing high-performing architectures on the AWS Cloud, this is the right certification for you. There are no prerequisites for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification exam, although we recommend you have one or more years of hands-on experience designing available, cost-efficient, fault-tolerant, and scalable distributed systems on AWS. This exam does not require practical coding experience, although familiarity with basic programming concepts would be an advantage.

Want to know how other fellow learners prepared for their certification? Check out the following blogs:

Next steps

If you have the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification under your belt but need to recertify, you can do so by either retaking the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam or by upgrading to the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional. Today, you can access free Official Practice Question Sets for this professional-level exam in all the exam languages.

To stay motivated while you’re preparing, join certified communities such as the AWS Certified Global Community and the AWS Certification Community on LinkedIn. Once you’ve earned your AWS Certification, don’t forget to share your AWS Certification digital badge on your social media profile and add it to your resume. Good luck!

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