Considering the AWS Professional Examinations? Tips to Avoid Failing.
Tags: certification, aws, realworldexperience, fail
Published: 2023-01-29 09:15:25

**It's 2023 and you would like to stand out in the Cloud Computing world. There are many ways one can stand out and climb the Corporate Ladder than just blazing through Certifications.**

Don't get me wrong, Studying for Certifications definitely does help you stand out, especially to HR Personnel trying to shortlist applicants for interviews. However, we need to be very conscious of how we spend our time and how to gain the most value from the certifications you already obtained before deciding to go Pro.

Considering you are reading this blog, most of the audience would have already completed all x3 Associate Certifications, each certification unique to its own Career Roadmap in the Cloud Engineering World. 

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/jhv6pmedxu2wfgzapmdh.JPG)

The Below Document **(Amazon Training Career Guidance PDF**) will help Guide you Through Various Roles vs Which AWS Certification you should aim for Ideally the type of experience you should possess before tackling the exam.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r5SRpvkCYnwCHuD4XAN3pw_ZdBRmmqHG/view?usp=share_link

All of the AWS Certifications are not easy wins, there is no way to rush through a Video Course and complete a few Practice Exams and expect to gain the most out of the Products and Services being delivered from the Program, this is why there is such a heavy shift in difficulty between the Associate and Professional Level Exams. It's designed so that you Lab the given Practice Test Questions hence (Timed vs Non-Timed Mode) random guesswork will give you false hope and will discredit you come the interview stage.

Remember when you do land your Job, the Title of Cloud Engineer / Solutions Architect / DevOps Engineer is a great accomplishment but you have to bear the responsibility of looking after Large, Enterprise Scale Client Environments and it takes Years of Experience to be well-versed and disciplined in said field. When anything goes wrong, a client suffers from a breach or has downtime your Reputation is at stake, besides having a huge deductible from your Salary if you are lucky to still be employed, finding another job will be almost impossible.

Hence the Title of the post. Rushing after every cert will devalue the Certification's purpose, your Associate Level Certs have a 3 Year expiration period to them, gain all the experience you can get, including involving yourself in Volunteer work. Following along Lab Guides such as Adrian Cantrill's free Youtube Webseries.
Gaining Hands on Experience is key and will unlock many doors for you, I have met and worked with people whom only have 1 or 2 Certs period, however they are in the Job and Performing well because they know what they doing.

https://github.com/acantril/learn-cantrill-io-labs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgqdkaTaC4M&list=PLTk5ZYSbd9MiiBmPitRUGWIgnq9nm--GZ


![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/3g0u379teihkqjwh9diu.JPG)

I recently signed up to his AWS Pro Courses thanks to these building my confidence. However, Pace yourself.
The Professional Level Courses are $300 per pop and it can be soul-crushing to fail and you can spend a lot of time trying to re-gear up for an exam that requires experience as per AWS at Least **2 Years Relevant Hands OnExperience**

In conclusion, respect yourself enough to know that your future goals have no time expiration date against it, build a strong foundation, Value your time, take breaks, be consistent and enjoy the journey, lasting relationships both personal and professional are made on the way to the peak of your Mountain, this is why we are Community Builders, when you reach the Peak, remember to reach out your hand and help the next Individual UP.

All the best on your Studies and Professional Year this 2023!