I started 2025 by reviewing my resume, thinking about my career and technologies that I have worked throughout the years. I tried to look at it from a recruiter’s perspective, if I apply for a job, does my resume stand out?
Fortunately I have been lucky to work on projects with a wide range of technologies, which have helped me to learn and get experience with new frameworks, libraries and platforms along the way, but I realized apart from the knowledge and experience I have, which I can confidently demonstrate during interviews. I am missing something that would make my profile and resume stand out in the eyes of recruiters.
Also, for sometime I’ve been looking into certifications to do but I hadn’t taken them into serious consideration. But I think I should now.
Although I know these certifications don’t guarantee a job, they surely help you stand out from the crowd and a good way to let recruiters know that your skills are recognized by industry leaders.
After reviewing some certifications and discussing it with friends I decided to pursue AWS certifications. As I have good experience in AWS and been using AWS services for long time on many projects.
There are many AWS certifications, each with different certification paths for various industries. I decided on the Software
Development Engineer path. However, the first few certifications are common across all paths like AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification and AWS AI Practitioner Certification. So I am now starting to prepare for my first certification AWS Cloud Practitioner.
AWS Cloud Practitioner covers the basics of AWS. It is not very technical but rather theoretical and covers how AWS and its services work in a nutshell.
I already have some knowledge about how to prepare for the certification exam, but after refreshing my knowledge on Youtube I found that there are 4 preparation classes that are free on aws.training. You can take these classes virtually or onsite on AWS Skill Builder centers. These classes will provide all the material you need to prepare for the exam.
After the classes, there are mock tests available that you can take to assess whether you are ready.
I will be sharing my journey of each class here and recording my experience to stay consistent and motivated throughout the journey.