An AWS certification is a structured way to prove you can actually build and operate on AWS, not just talk about it. It will not replace hands-on experience, but it gives hiring managers and clients an objective signal that your skills are current.
Certification Levels
AWS organizes its active certifications into four tiers, 11 exams total as of 2026:
- Foundational — Cloud Practitioner and AI Practitioner. Broad conceptual coverage, no deep technical prerequisite.
- Associate — Solutions Architect, Developer, CloudOps Engineer, Data Engineer, and Machine Learning Engineer. Expects roughly six months to a year of hands-on AWS work.
- Professional — Solutions Architect Professional, DevOps Engineer Professional, and Generative AI Developer Professional. Deep, scenario-based exams that assume real production experience.
- Specialty — narrower tracks including Security and Advanced Networking. AWS has retired several older specialty exams as newer Associate and Professional tracks absorbed those skills: Alexa Skill Builder, the original Data Analytics and Machine Learning specialties, SAP on AWS, and, as of April 2024, the Database specialty, with no direct one-to-one replacement announced for that last one specifically.
What Replaced the Retired Exams
If an older guide or job posting still references one of the retired specialty exams, most notably Database, the practical answer isn’t “wait for a replacement,” it’s that AWS folded that skill area into the broader Associate and Professional tracks instead. For database-focused work specifically, AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate is the closest currently active credential, though it’s framed around data engineering pipelines and infrastructure broadly rather than deep database administration the way the old Database specialty was. Worth checking directly against the current exam guide before assuming an older certification roadmap is still accurate, AWS has retired and renamed certifications at a steady pace over the last couple of years (SysOps Administrator becoming CloudOps Engineer is another example).
Cost and Exam Format
Foundational exams run about $100, Associate about $150, and Professional or Specialty about $300. Most exams run 65–75 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions, delivered online proctored or at a test center. Passing any exam earns a 50%-off voucher toward your next one, worth planning around if you’re working through more than one certification.
Choosing a Path
Start with Cloud Practitioner if you are new to cloud concepts generally. If you already work with AWS managed services or AWS database services day to day, an Associate-level exam matching your actual role (Solutions Architect for infrastructure design, Data Engineer for data pipelines) is a more useful next step than starting over at Foundational.
How to Prepare
Pair the official exam guide (it lists exactly what is covered) with hands-on labs, not just video courses. Practice exams are worth the time specifically because they surface gaps between what you think you know and what the exam actually tests. See Amazon Web Services training for course and lab options.
Once certified, the credential is only half the value; being able to talk through how you used those skills on a real project is what actually gets noticed in interviews.