Standardize your team on AWS
From the CLF-C02 Cloud Practitioner baseline through the SAA-C03 architect and SCS-C03 security specialty paths, every AWS certification track comes with structured training and team admin reporting, with practice exams on the tracks that carry them. Build an AWS-fluent cloud team — and prove the capability coverage your auditors and leadership ask for.
AWS-credentialed team
Built for teams running production AWS workloads with audit-ready coverage proof.
Spotlight
The AWS certifications IT directors most often standardize their teams on. Each comes with team admin reporting included; the cards show which carry blueprint-weighted practice exams.
Demonstrate your understanding of the AWS Cloud and its services, including architecture, pricing, security, and more.
Exam investment: $100
Demonstrate your ability to design and deploy scalable, secure, and efficient cloud architectures on AWS.
Exam investment: $150
The AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate certification validates your ability to deploy, manage, and operate scalable, highly available, and secure systems on AWS.
Exam investment: $150
Demonstrate your skills in developing cloud-based applications and solutions on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Exam investment: $150
The AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification validates your skills and knowledge in designing and implementing secure applications and systems on the AWS platform.
Exam investment: $300
The AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty certification validates your skills and knowledge in designing and deploying scalable, secure, and highly available network architectures on AWS.
Exam investment: $300
AWS Certified AI Practitioner validates in-demand knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and generative AI concepts and use cases.
Exam investment: $100
The AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate certification validates your skills and knowledge in designing, building, and managing scalable and secure data processing systems on AWS.
Exam investment: $150
The AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate (MLA-C02) certification validates the ability to design, implement, deploy, and maintain machine learning solutions on AWS.
Exam investment: $150
AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional showcases advanced technical expertise in building and deploying production-ready AI solutions using AWS Services like Bedrock.
Exam investment: $300
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional validates advanced technical skills for individuals performing a solutions architect role.
Exam investment: $300
IT leaders measure AWS training value in operational terms — faster onboarding into cloud admin roles, defensible IAM and security configurations for audit reviews, and a shared AWS vocabulary across cloud, security, and dev teams. Those are the outcomes leadership cares about, not seat-time or completion percentages.
Role-based paths
Match AWS certs to the actual roles your team holds. Each path bundles the right certs plus the operational depth engineers need day-to-day.
The associate-level credentials for teams operating production AWS. SAA-C03 is the architect baseline every senior cloud engineer should hold; SOA-C03 covers CloudOps for the team running the workloads. CLF-C02 establishes the shared cloud vocabulary across the org.
Demonstrate your understanding of the AWS Cloud and its services, including architecture, pricing, security, and more.
Exam investment: $100
Demonstrate your ability to design and deploy scalable, secure, and efficient cloud architectures on AWS.
Exam investment: $150
The AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate certification validates your ability to deploy, manage, and operate scalable, highly available, and secure systems on AWS.
Exam investment: $150
The developer-associate track for teams shipping serverless and containerized applications on AWS. DVA-C02 covers SAM, CDK, Lambda, DynamoDB, and the patterns AWS-shop dev teams use day-to-day.
Demonstrate your skills in developing cloud-based applications and solutions on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Exam investment: $150
Defend the AWS stack with SCS-C03 (Security – Specialty). Covers GuardDuty, Security Hub, IAM hardening, encryption at rest/in transit, and incident response patterns auditors want to see documented.
The AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification validates your skills and knowledge in designing and implementing secure applications and systems on the AWS platform.
Exam investment: $300
ANS-C01 (Advanced Networking – Specialty) for teams running Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, hybrid VPN, and multi-account network topologies. Pairs with the SAA-C03 architect track for full network-architecture coverage.
The AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty certification validates your skills and knowledge in designing and deploying scalable, secure, and highly available network architectures on AWS.
Exam investment: $300
DEA-C01 covers the data engineering track (Glue, Redshift, EMR, MSK). AIF-C01 and MLA-C01 cover the AI/ML specialties for teams shipping generative AI and predictive ML workloads on AWS.
The AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate certification validates your skills and knowledge in designing, building, and managing scalable and secure data processing systems on AWS.
Exam investment: $150
AWS Certified AI Practitioner validates in-demand knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and generative AI concepts and use cases.
Exam investment: $100
Hands-on AWS practice
Human-led training is the point: engineers practice real skills with expert guidance, not just video playback.
Why CBT Nuggets
The platform features IT directors comparing training platforms ask about most often.
Team outcome
Cloud certification paths, from fundamentals through architect and security specialties, help managers assign the right training without building a plan from scratch.
What the team gets: Standardize cloud fundamentals, hands-on labs, and certification coverage across a growing engineering group.
Common questions IT directors ask when evaluating AWS training for their team.
It depends on what your team is shipping. For most IT teams, CLF-C02 (Cloud Practitioner) is the right shared baseline — short, conceptual, and prerequisite to every associate track. SAA-C03 (Solutions Architect – Associate) is the next step for the senior cloud bench; SOA-C03 (CloudOps Engineer) is the right track for the team actually running production. Most teams run all three programs in parallel against different role groups.
Foundational (CLF-C02) validates cloud vocabulary and conceptual fluency. Associates (SAA-C03, SOA-C03, DVA-C02, DEA-C01) prove role-level operational competency. Specialties (SCS-C03 Security, ANS-C01 Networking, MLA-C01 ML) prove depth in a specific domain — the credentials leadership expects on the engineer signing off on AWS security architecture or hybrid networking design.
The metrics that matter aren't seat-time. For AWS teams, start with onboarding velocity for new cloud hires, cert coverage by role (especially security and networking specialties on the senior bench), time-to-productivity on AWS admin tasks, and the audit-readiness of your IAM and security posture. CBT Nuggets gives managers the reporting surface to track completion and cert coverage while the training itself keeps engineers moving through the right AWS path.
Yes. Team reporting helps managers document assigned training, completion, and cert coverage for internal governance or audit conversations. Teams in regulated industries pair AWS cert paths (SCS-C03 Security, ANS-C01 Networking, plus the SAA-C03 architect track) with the broader CBT Nuggets platform features designed for team visibility, access control, and reporting.
AWS certifications expire after 3 years and most associates require a recert exam. CBT Nuggets helps managers keep refresh work organized through assigned training paths, progress visibility, and updated catalog content as AWS refreshes exam objectives (SAA-C02 → SAA-C03, SCS-C02 → SCS-C03). When AWS restructures a track, updated courses stay aligned with the same team training plan.
Yes. CLF-C02 (Cloud Practitioner) is designed as an on-ramp for engineers new to cloud computing — no prerequisites, conceptual rather than hands-on. From CLF, the natural progression is the associate-level cert that matches the engineer's role (SAA-C03 for architects, SOA-C03 for cloud admins, DVA-C02 for developers). Most teams budget 4–6 weeks for CLF and 2–3 months for associate-level prep from a cold start.
AWS recently renamed the SysOps Administrator Associate (SOA-C02) to CloudOps Engineer Associate (SOA-C03), reflecting the broader operational scope the cert now covers — observability, automation, and cost management on top of traditional sysadmin work. SOA-C03 is the active credential to standardize on; CBT Nuggets courses are aligned to the current exam objectives.
