I'm curious about how significant AWS certifications are in advancing a career in DevOps. From your experiences, do these certifications truly matter for growth, or are they more of a 'nice to have' compared to gaining hands-on experience with real systems and projects? I'm especially interested in real-world insights rather than marketing perspectives.
5 Answers
In my view, real-world experience far outweighs the value of certifications. While some companies, especially consultancies, might look for certs, they often mean less when it comes to actual work performance.
If you're looking to work for an AWS partner company, certifications become more critical since they often need a certain number of certified employees to maintain their status. However, many roles just require practical experience over certifications.
Exactly, and let’s be real, the certifications can be quite hard to pass. They also provide a broad overview of services that is useful when implementing solutions.
Certifications can be a good starting point for your career. However, after you gain a few years of experience, they tend to lose their significance in the eyes of employers.
To be honest, certifications can sometimes come off as superficial unless backed by experience. Many employers will consider experience over certs and might only request basic certs like the architect one. If you're a beginner with an associate cert, that's great, but if you've got solid experience, you probably won't need them as much.
+1 to the thought that certifications are a solid way to show hiring managers you at least know your basics. I learned a lot while preparing for my AWS exams, as it pushed me to dig into the documentation and explore things I wouldn't have otherwise.
Absolutely! If you're trying to get your foot in the door, certs can help you stand out. It's not that they prove you know everything, but they do show that you have some motivation and interest in the field.