Where Should I Start AWS Training?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to dominate the cloud market with low-cost deployments, services at scale, and continually evolving infrastructure and application solutions.The result is an IT marketplace that effectively assumes some prior AWS knowledge; hiring teams and C-suites now prioritize AWS experience and training when it comes to hiring cloud architects, engineers, and security professionals.

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If you’re at the beginning of your career in IT or are making the transition to more cloud-focused roles, this Amazon adoption trend begs the question: Where should you start your AWS training? What’s the best way to get the training you need, when you need it, and get on the path to Amazon Web Services certification?Here’s what you need to know.

The Amazon Effect

AWS retains the most significant market share¹ for public cloud providers. As one of the first large-scale, business-class cloud suppliers in the world, the company enjoyed initial success bolstered by the increasing democratization of technology and the rapid advancement of broadband networking services.Continued innovation of its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Cloud9 Developer environments helped drive further growth — today, AWS is used by many organizations to handle large-scale data storage or analysis tasks. And while downtime remains a potential problem for the sheer scale of AWS services, evolving cloud security best practices have helped Amazon earn a reputation for effectively safeguarding corporate information.For many businesses, however, the sheer scope — and often sprawl — of their AWS deployments create a shortfall of necessary cloud talent. Companies are now looking for trained and experienced IT staff to help bridge the gap between effective cloud use and critical cloud oversight.

Where to Start Your AWS Training

If you’re ready to get started with AWS training, you’ve got a few options.Amazon’s official AWS website² features several free tutorials that help cover the basics – they’re each 10 minutes long and address specific functions such as launching a virtual Linux machine, creating and querying a NoSQL table, or deploying a ReactJS app. More in-depth training is also available but at a cost.Online training providers can also help boost your Amazon Web Services knowledge. At Cybrary, we offer a host of free AWS training courses that are instructor-led, module-based, and let you dive into AWS topics whenever and wherever works best for you. We also offer multiple AWS assessments to help IT pros prepare for cloud certification exams.Some of our most popular options include:

• Intro to AWS – Learn the basics of AWS with a focus on the cloud computing service’s free tier, IAM features, S3 buckets, and EC2 instances.
• Cloud Architecture Foundations – AWS doesn’t operate in a vacuum; as noted above, organizations are now moving to multi-cloud environments that leverage a combination of Google, Microsoft, and Amazon products, in addition to smaller startup providers. Our Cloud Architecture Foundations course helps prepare IT pros for this diverse cloud future.
• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner – AWS certifications such as the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner are now in-demand as companies look to manage cloud deployments at scale. This course helps prepare students for the Cloud Practitioner exam with a focus on AWS architecture, fundamental services, security and compliance models, and key operating principles.
• AWS Practice Exams – From AWS CloudFormation to APIGEE, Redshift, and Data Engineering, we offer free testing options to help students assess their current knowledge and plan their certification path.

Potential Certification Paths

Organizations don’t have enough cloud expertise; according to a recent survey³, 71 percent of IT decision-makers said they’d lost revenue because they lack skilled cloud professionals. While many IT professionals have developed a working relationship with the cloud thanks to in-situ experience across server migrations and legacy end-of-life projects, companies are now looking for qualified IT pros who bring both critical skills and official certifications to the table.Organizations are also willing to pay for cloud-certified IT pros – many intermediate-level AWS qualifications are tied to positions that pay well over the six-figure mark. Key certifications include:

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner – This foundational certification appears most often in job requirements and is quickly becoming the de-facto industry standard for any Amazon deployment.
• AWS Certified Big Data – This specialty certification is ideal for IT pros with interest big data best practices and applying them at-scale to corporate cloud instances.
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Want to build AWS instances and develop new cloud architectures? This professional certification is a solid choice for experienced IT staff.
• AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – This associate certification can help carve out a path to management-level AWS oversight and admin.

Your Cloud Career

AWS remains the most critical player in corporate cloud deployments. Companies are looking to drive ROI and ensure IT compliance is now looking for trained and certified AWS professionals capable of implementing new AWS instances. Leveraging Amazon solutions alongside other cloud offerings and designing secure architectures that align with business goals.Want to jump-start your cloud career? Start with AWS training.  References:1. https://www.itprotoday.com/iaaspaas/cloud-market-share-aws-still-ahead-watch-google-grow2. https://aws.amazon.com/getting-started/3. https://www.infoworld.com/article/3246267/lack-of-cloud-skills-and-training-begin-to-take-a-toll.html