Are you a certified AWS Solutions Architect? Do you work in IT? If so, you have probably been asked this question, “What’s your salary?” We are going to do a short case study here to answer the question, how much does an AWS certified solutions architect make?
It’s hard to say what the average salary for an AWS Certified Solutions Architect is, because it depends on your experience, location, and other factors. But we can tell you that in general, they’re paid between $90k and $110k annually.
Salary for aws certified solutions architect
What is AWS Certification?
AWS Certification validates your AWS cloud skills that may help you get your next job or get. To get an AWS Certificate, you must take and pass a test provided by AWS. This article answers common questions about AWS Certification including What is AWS Certification? How to get AWS Certificate? And what types of AWS Certifications are available? Also find which AWS certification is right for you.
AWS cloud is the #1 cloud in the world and AWS certified developers and AWS certified architects are the most in-demand AWS certifications, today. If you’re new to cloud, check out What is Cloud Computing and here is a list of Top 10 Cloud Service Providers.
Who should get AWS Certification?
AWS Cloud is not just for developers or webmasters. It is for everyone involved in IT, from software developers to database administrators. If you’re a software architect, team lead, developer, system administrator, network engineer, DevOps engineer, enterprise architect, security engineer, or specialty software developer, AWS has a certification for you. The only AWS Certification is missing for is, the testers and QAs.
So, anyone who is interested in building a career in cloud filed, AWS certification is for you.
If you are a software developer, software architect, cloud developer, cloud architect, or DevOps engineer and looking to expand your horizon and add extra skills to your toolbelt, AWS Certification is for you. There is a high demand of AWS certified professionals and as a matter of fact, if you are AWS certified, you may end up fetching more salary compare to a non-certified professional.
AWS certified candidates are more likely to get called for an interview compare to the one who are not certified.
So, if you’re looking to change your job or trying to move up in your organization or trying to make more money or get a consulting gig, AWS Certification is going to help you.
AWS Certification Salary
AWS certified developers and AWS certified architects are one of the highest paying software professionals. If you look at the following numbers, the salary of the AWS Certified DevOps engineer is $124,190.
AWS Solutions Architect position is one of the most in-demand jobs in the industry. The average salary of the AWS Solutions Architect is $148,456.
As you may very well be aware, the salaries of software professionals vary based on a company, location, and number of years of experience. An AWS Software Architect may easily make more than $250k a year in a large city such as New York, Boston, and San Francisco.
AWS Certification Path
There are several AWS Certification paths depending on your skill set, area of expertise, and number of years of experience. The path to become an AWS certified professional is broken down into the following four categories,
- Professional
- Associate
- Fundamental
- Specialty
AWS Professional certification requires two years of experience designing, operating, and troubleshooting solutions using the AWS Cloud. This path has two certifications, AWS
Certified Solutions Architect Professional and AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional. Even though this certification requires just two years of experience, this is for professionals who have been building and deploying software applications for several years.
AWS Associate certification requires one year of experience of solving problems and implementing solutions using the AWS Cloud. This path has three certifications, AWS
Certified Solutions Architect Associate, AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate, and AWS Certified Developer Associate.
AWS Specialty certification is designed for specific technical specialty. This path has six certifications, AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty, AWS Certified Security Specialty, AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty, AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder Specialty, AWS Certified Data Analytics Specialty, and AWS Certified Database Specialty.
AWS Fundamental certification requires six months of fundamental AWS Cloud and industry knowledge. This path has one certification, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner only. This is the basic certification one will start with to understand cloud fundamentals. This is a good for students and cloud beginners.
Which AWS Certification is right for me?
AWS offers certifications for various IT fields, depending on number of years of experience, skills, roles, and expertise. The following table breaks down AWS Certifications based on the IT field and experience.
| IT Field | AWS Certification | Prerequisites |
| Architect | AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional | Two years of experience designing, operating, and troubleshooting solutions using the AWS Cloud. |
| Architect | AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate | One year implementing solutions using AWS Cloud. |
| Development | AWS Certified Developer Associate | One year implementing solutions using AWS Cloud. |
| DevOps | AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional | Two years of experience designing, operating, and troubleshooting solutions using the AWS Cloud. |
| Operations | AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate | One year implementing solutions using AWS Cloud. |
| Security | AWS Certified Security Specialty | Technical knowledge of IT security. |
| Data | AWS Certified Data Analytics Specialty AWS Certified Database Specialty | Technical knowledge of data analyst and databases. |
| Networking | AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty | Technical knowledge of IT networking and operations. |
| Emerging Tech | AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder Specialty | Technical knowledge of machine learning and Alexa skill development. |
| Cloud Beginner | AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | Six months of using AWS Cloud. |
How much AWS Certification cost?
How much does the AWS Certification cost? The cost of AWS Certification is between $100 to $300 depending on the certification. If you don’t pass a certification, you can try it multiple times but you will have to pay the certification cost every time you take the exam. The following table summarizes the cost of various AWS Certifications.
| AWS Certification | Cost ($US) |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | $100 |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate AWS Certified Developer – Associate | $150 |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional | $300 |
| AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder – Specialty AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty AWS Certified Data Analytics Specialty AWS Certified Database Specialty AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty AWS Certified Security Specialty | $300 |
How long AWS Certification last?
AWS Certification is valid for three years. After three years, you can get recertify. To recertify, there is 50% off voucher on regular price.
Which AWS Certification to take first?
Foundational certification is the first one to get started with AWS cloud. For every higher certification, you will need to clear the first certificate. After that, Associate as you can see from the above certificates paths.
Which AWS Certification should I get?
It depends on your area of expertise, years of experience, and interest. If you are a cloud architect, the Professional Solutions Architect certification is good for you. If you are machine learning engineer, you may want to look into machine learning certificate. You can see more about which certificate is good for you from the below paths and available certificates.
