Tech certification are best when paired.

A month ago, I successfully passed the AWS (Amazon Web Services) Cloud Practitioner Certification Exam (CLF-C02) and I am currently working towards the next one, the AWS SAA-C03 (Solutions Architect Associate). It is one of the many certifications presented by Amazon designed to educate tech beginners and experts on cloud technology.

The Cloud Practitioner cert is known as an entry point for anyone new to certifications and new to the cloud. Being someone who has some experience working with cloud service providers such as AWS, Azure, and Digital Ocean, I will say passing this exam will not make you an expert or even an intermediate pro in cloud. However, just like how fries pair well with a burger to form a great meal, a credential like an AWS or Azure cert paired with an existing degree or job experience can make you stand out.

While I firmly believe the credential isn’t trivial to obtain and requires consistent effort over a couple weeks to months, I found it to be a simple yet fulfilling goal to fill my time, continue my education, and provide me with an insightful holistic view of how applications are designed, deployed, and served globally. So my advice is straight forward, if you want something low pressure, career developing, and potentially fun, a certification might be a side quest to try.

References

Amazon Web Services, Inc. (2026) AWS Certification, Amazon Web Services. Available at: https://aws.amazon.com/certification/.