Tips to get accepted into AWS Community Builder Program
Tags: aws, awscommunitybuilder, cloud, community
Published: 2023-05-29 19:52:32

👉**_What is AWS Community Builder Program?_**

Since the beginning of my college life I always wanted to join some community where I could actually contribute and learn something. While joining college communities might still be helpful and fun, joining a global community is a whole new experience. The happiness of getting accepted in the community, the excitement of interacting with like-minded professionals from all across the globe and working together on projects, sharing thoughts, is unmatchable.
I have been exploring AWS for a while now and when I got to know that I could get the opportunity of being a part of its community, I knew I couldn't let it slip away.

Now you may want to know what's so different about this program that sets it apart from other communities? To answer your question, I'll start by talking about what the community builder program is centered around. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud platform featuring several services using which we can deploy our applications on cloud, utilizing additional features like Load Balancing, Auto Scaling, Security. AWS Community builder focuses on bringing together people who are AWS enthusiasts and are actively working towards learning about AWS, contributing to projects and sharing their knowledge by either speaking at events, writing blogs, etc.  

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👉**_Benefits:_**

There are several benefits to joining AWS Community Builder Program. First, I'll list the well known ones:
- Getting AWS Promotional Credits worth $500💸
- Opportunity to grow your network👥
- Connect with subject matter experts👩‍🏫👨‍🏫
- One year free subscription to Cloud Academy☁️
- Receiving awesome swags as a welcome kit from the AWS Community Builder Team😍💃


![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/le682s88ttb163t3kgc4.png)


There are certainly a lot of other benefits on joining the community. It doesn't matter in which category you are selected as a community builder, you can connect with other builders and get knowledge as well as contribute to other topics of your interest too. You can get discount vouchers to attend various AWS events like _AWS re:Invent, AWS re:Inforce, AWS Summits_. As a college student, I have been focusing on building my resume and thus also planning to give AWS Certification exams, the program also gives the opportunity to request for vouchers for the examination whenever we feel ready to take it. 
As a community builder you get to attend several virtual events conducted by professionals in the specific field, trust me this helps a lot especially when you are working on some entirely new concept and building a project. You are given a new perspective and learn how to use the specific service, in a way which even Google cannot educate you about!
The list does not end here! You also get to participate in exclusive hackathons and competitions conducted for Community Builders, with prizes upto $9000!! Random giveaways of you participating in surveys, giving reviews on the services that you have used are also conducted. I have connected with so many great people, it is truly amazing to discuss and share your thoughts with individuals who will motivate you to grow further.

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👉**_Application Process:_**

**My background:** 
I am Cloud Computing Enthusiast, former project intern at TRAIVIS, UK. I am also AWS Cloud Practitioner certified, AWS Community Builder. My interest in research has led me to publish research papers in IEEE Conferences in Machine learning domain.

The applications to this program are opened twice a year and its accepts a limited amount of people every year.
It's important to know your interests before applying to the program as there are several categories to choose from, which the builder will be assigned once been accepted. The categories are:

- Serverless
- Storage
- Containers
- Machine Learning
- Networking and Content Delivery
- Arm Development
- Data (Databases, Analytics, Blockchain)
- Developer Tools
- Game Tech
- Mobile and Web Apps
- Management, Governance and Migration
- Security, Identity & Compliance

_STEP 1._ Apply using the link:
⭐ https://aws.amazon.com/developer/community/community-builders 

_STEP 2._ Choose the category (3 based on priority) that you would like to apply from.

_STEP 3._ You will be prompted to write about why you are interested in the program. Be honest while sharing your story, keep in mind to include any certifications if done, as it might increase your chances of getting into the program.

_STEP 4:_ Share your social media profiles.

_STEP 5:_ Share links to your projects github repositories, technical blogs, events conducted.

_STEP 6:_ Fill out the survey related to the activities that you have participated in past year.

_Once you are accepted in the program, make sure to stay active by attending meetings, connecting with people, frequently checking the Slack workspace and sharing your knowledge by either writing blogs, conducting or speaking at events._

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👉**_Tips for your application to get accepted:_**

I'll be completely honest in this section. These are some of the points that play a crucial role in your application process, in my opinion:
- Having published one or preferably more than one technical write up on some platform is a necessity, if not a technical write up then maybe a video link of you speaking at some event about AWS. By technical write up I do not mean sharing your experience of how to clear a certain exam, but something that displays your knowledge of having worked on AWS services, Azure or GCP.
This is one of the most important requirement, don't be disheartened if this is something that you have not done yet. I encourage you to actively learn more about AWS and start sharing your knowledge. 

- Your cloud story (STEP 3), plays an important role too as it displays your perspective of participating in this community and your achievements and knowledge which could help to build a more diverse community. Please be honest while writing this answer.

- Try to add some links of your completed projects which demonstrates use of cloud platform like AWS, GCP or Azure. It increases your chances of getting into the program. 

- Do mention your completed certification in Cloud, it can be Azure or GCP too. This might not be sufficient but helps in building a stronger application.


I hope this blogs help you out, to get into the AWS Community Builder program. If you do not get accepted in your first attempt, don't be disheartened, but work on building a stronger application and apply again.
For further questions or help do feel free to reach me out on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashi-agarwal-93404b240/

If you'd like, follow me on github too😝. Here's the link:
https://github.com/rashi2911