How to Become an AWS DevOps Engineer?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) introduced certification programs in 2013. Now, after six years, the AWS certifications have become the appropriate tool for boosting the career of a cloud computing professional. Almost 89% of IT professionals had a minimum of one certification in 2018. The different AWS certifications help in improving your credentials for working in various roles on the AWS platform. In this article, we will get you through the journey of becoming an AWS DevOps Engineer.

AWS DevOps Engineer Certification Exam

The AWS DevOps engineer certification is a professional-level AWS certification. It is a reliable instrument to prove the cloud expertise and DevOps skills of an engineer. The DevOps certification exam is suited for individuals with two or more years of experience in design, operations, and troubleshooting solutions in AWS environments.

The following discussion would focus on the essential details about the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional certification. The discussion would outline the details about the certification exam, such as format, duration, and blueprint of the exam. Furthermore, the discussion would also cover the insights into the roles and responsibilities of AWS DevOps engineers along with DevOps engineer salary.

Also Read: How to become an AWS Cloud Architect?

Abilities Tested in AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Certification Exam

The professional level AWS DevOps certification exam helps to validate the following abilities:

• Implementation and management of continuous delivery systems and methodologies on AWS.
• Implementation and automation of security controls, compliance verification, and governance process.
• Definition and deployment of metrics, logging, and monitoring systems on AWS.
• Designing, management, and maintenance of tools for automation of operational processes.
• Implementation of highly scalable, self-healing and scalable systems on the AWS platform.

AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Exam Information

The next important detail to cover how to become an AWS DevOps Engineer refers to the exam information. You should have a clear idea of the crucial exam information such as the format, duration, and fees for the exam. The details of the AWS certified professional DevOps engineer are presented as follows:

• The exam duration for DevOps certification is three hours.
• You would get around 80 multiple choice and multiple selection questions in the examination. The questions in the examination are based on practical scenarios. For instance, you can find a long story regarding an e-commerce website and its issues. You will find a problem description for the story and four or five questions based on the story.
• The registration fees for this certification exam is 300 USD with applicable taxes.
• The AWS DevOps professional certification exam is available in English, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Japanese.

AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Exam Blueprint

Another important aspect of the process of how to become a DevOps engineer is the exam blueprint. You can study the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer exam blueprint in detail by accessing the official study guide available on the AWS official website.

• SDLC automation occupies the highest weight in the exam with 22% of questions.
• Configuration management and infrastructure as code have around 19% weight in the examination.
• Incident and event response comes next in the list at around 18% of total questions in the exam.
• The next important domain for the AWS professional DevOps engineer certification occupies 16% share of total questions. The domain deals with high availability, fault tolerance, and disaster recovery.
• The monitoring and logging domain accounts for 15% of the questions in the exam.
• Finally, you have to focus on the domain dealing with automation of policies and standards that has 10% of questions.

Once you gain some considerable experience as an AWS DevOps engineer, you can advance your career as an AWS Consultant. Check out the Best AWS Consultant Jobs you can get with your expertise.

Role and Responsibilities of an AWS DevOps Engineer

Now, let us outline the different AWS DevOps engineer roles and responsibilities. A clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities can prepare candidates better for their career after passing the examination. Let us discuss the roles that you would have to assume as a DevOps engineer.

• The first role relates to soft skills and effective communication. AWS DevOps engineers have to coordinate the work of other professionals working in similar roles. Their role is also vested in bringing various teams on the same page for effective management of their infrastructure responsibilities.
• The second important role of AWS DevOps engineers refers to expert collaboration. They have to work in unison with peers in development and IT teams for cloud development and deployment. Effective collaboration is mandatory for simplifying other processes such as assigning tenants or creating workflow processes.
• The third role of DevOps engineers relates to mentoring. They have to impart their expertise to software development and architecture teams constantly.
• Finally, an AWS DevOps engineer should also serve the role of a customer-focused professional. The customer-focused approach of a DevOps professional extends towards external as well as internal clients. External clients include end-users, while internal clients include project managers, QC personnel, project stakeholders, and software and application developers.

The description of AWS DevOps engineer roles and responsibilities would also include an outline of responsibilities:

• Deployment, automation, maintenance, and management of AWS cloud-based production system.
• Managing the development, releases, and configuration of production systems.
• Troubleshooting systems and resolving issues in different platform and application domains.
• Evaluation of new technology options and vendor offerings.
• Providing recommendations for architecture and process improvements.
• Pre-production acceptance testing and quality assurance testing for ensuring high quality of products and services.
• Implementation of top-notch cloud security solutions for providing critical system security.

Also Check: List of Best DevOps Certifications

Salary Estimates for AWS DevOps Engineers

Another important detail for this discussion is the estimate of AWS DevOps engineer salary. Information on the average estimate of salary for a DevOps engineer can motivate candidates to pursue the certification. Furthermore, you could also observe the profitability associated with pursuing a career as a DevOps engineer on the AWS platform. As per the Global Knowledge salary report, the average AWS DevOps engineer salary is $137,724 per annum.

Do not Underestimate the Preparation!

The most significant tool that can ensure your success in the AWS DevOps Engineer certification exam is preparation. You cannot just appear the exam by following the process of elimination or guessing. The results would not be that good! Therefore, you need to follow the guidelines mentioned below to clear the AWS certified professional DevOps engineer certification. As you all know, preparation and hard work are the keys to success in any examination or venture.

• The first step in your preparation for becoming an AWS DevOps Engineer is to obtain one AWS Associate level certification. You need to have either an AWS developer associate or AWS SysOps Administrator certificate. You can apply for the professional DevOps engineer certification exam even without these certifications. However, you shall show experience of at least two years in design, operations, and troubleshooting solutions on the AWS cloud.
• The next step would be to register for the exam with sufficient time to prepare for the examination. You can schedule your examination three months after the date of registration. Three months is a lot of time to prepare for the examination.
• Now, you need to visit the official website of AWS. Find out the exam guide and blueprint for AWS professional DevOps engineer certification. The exam guide and blueprint can show you the exact topics to cover for the examination.
• After registering for the examination, you need to enroll in a training course. While self-study is a proven method to achieve success in examinations, training courses give direction.
• The most crucial resource for your preparations to become AWS DevOps Engineer is AWS whitepapers. AWS whitepapers cover a wide range of topics related to the certification exam.
• Finally, you can rely on various recommended books to give your studies an additional boost. Another important factor to keep in mind is the selection of the right practice tests and sample questions. As you all know, success in an exam demands consistent practice. You will face many practical scenario-based questions in the certification exam. So, you have to practice with an AWS free-tier account and learn about practical deployments of AWS services.

Cloud Developer is the first step to become a DevOps Engineer. Check out our step by step guide on How to Become a Cloud Developer.

Bottom Line

So, the journey to becoming a professional DevOps engineer is not so difficult. Yes, it can be a little bit more tasking with the level of efforts required on your behalf. The discussion outlined different implications of becoming a DevOps Engineer on the AWS cloud platform. The most important highlights were the abilities tested in the exam and the exam information along with the exam blueprint.

The roles and responsibilities of AWS DevOps engineers was the next important concern in this discussion. The final and most important highlight in the discussion included recommendations for preparing effectively for the certification exam.

So, try out your luck and knowledge to build a career like many other happy AWS DevOps Engineers!