Amazon AWS Certified Developer - Associate Certification

The AWS Certified Developer - Associate is one of the certifications under the associate level issued by Amazon. In particular, this designation verifies your knowledge of fundamental AWS services, their implementations, and core AWS best practices for architecture, as well as your ability to design, deploy, and debug cloud-based apps making use of AWS.

Designation Outline

As said above, the Amazon AWS Certified Developer - Associate is designed to assess your knowledge and skills in cloud application deployment, growth, and debugging using AWS. Moreover, the certification is intended for individuals who have good knowledge of the programming language and APIs. Obtaining such a certificate demonstrates that you have some of the most in-demand and valuable skills, as recognized by one of the most well-known names in cloud computing. Still, the process of earning such a developer designation isn’t a piece of cake as you have to clear the DVA-C01 evaluation.

Intended Audience

Individuals who work in a development capacity having at least one year of practical experience designing and maintaining AWS-based applications are qualified to take the actual certification exam. In addition, if you have some hands-on experience in developing and understanding the AWS framework, you can also consider taking DVA-C01. In fact, this certification test is for developers who want to improve their knowledge of databases, containers, and full-stack creation. Consequently, the AWS Certified Developer - Associate validation can enhance your knowledge in terms of web app authentication, computing such as running applications on virtual servers & serverless apps, implementing caching for scaling and efficiency, and so on, and storage including different types of storage, etc. You'll also learn about continuous integration, development, and delivery, among other aspects of software engineering. Thus, if you want to advance as a developer taking the DVA-C01 evaluation is a great start.

Amazon DVA-C01 Overview

In particular, this test has 65 questions of multiple-response and multiple-choice format and can be taken in any authorized testing center or as an online proctored test. The exam duration is 130 minutes and will cost you USD 150. Besides, the actual evaluation is available in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean, and you need to hit the cut score of 720 points to claim your designation. Listed below are the knowledge and experience that candidates should have before taking the official DVA-C01 exam:

• A thorough understanding of at least one advanced-level programming language is needed.
• Recognizing the main AWS services, their uses, and the best practices for AWS architecture.
• Comprehension of using AWS to design, deploy, and debug varied cloud-based apps.
• Knowing how to write applications using AWS APIs for services, SDKs, and AWS CLI.
• Capacity to recognize main features of AWS.
• The AWS shared accountability model should be well-understood.
• Control of the application lifecycle is something that you should be aware of.
• Expertise in using a pipeline for CI/CD to install apps based on AWS.
• Forte to interact with or use AWS resources.
• Ability to write code with a sound understanding of how cloud-native apps work.
• Writing code that adheres to AWS security guidelines.
• On AWS, you should be able to write, support, and debug modules used for codes.
• Competency in writing a serverless application code.
• Recognizing how containers are used in the production process.

Skills Addressed by DVA-C01

In general, the Amazon AWS Certified Developer - Associate test has 5 main domains as listed below so you are required to have a clear understanding of all the exam objectives and their functionalities before taking the final DVA-C01 test. Thus, you need to master the following:

Deployment of AWS (22%)

Under such a category candidates need to develop the succeeding skills:

• Use current CI/CD pipelines, procedures, and patterns to deploy written code in AWS.
• Make use of Elastic Beanstalk to deploy applications.
• Prepare the AWS deployment kit for the program.
• Deploy applications that don't need a server.

Security of AWS (26%)

This extensive area, in particular, details how to:

• Make secure calls to AWS.
• Using AWS utilities, implement encryption.
• Put into practice authentication & authorization for the program.

AWS Services for Development (30%)

If you want to come victorious in test DVA-C01, you’ll have to have a grip on the following fortes:

• Write serverless application codes.
• Convert functional criteria into a specification for an application.
• Incorporate the application's architecture into the code.
• Use APIs, SDKs, and the AWS CLI to write code that interacts with AWS.

Refactoring of AWS Services (10%)

This topic will equip you with the relevant skills to:

• Optimize the app to make the most of the AWS services and functionality.
• Move the actual app code that runs on AWS.

Troubleshooting and Monitoring (12%)

Finally, the last domain will address the acumen how to:

• Create code which can be tracked.
• Conduct a root cause analysis on any defects discovered during research or development.

Career Opportunities and Salary

Currently, AWS-based cloud applications are in high demand and one of the highest-paying career paths in the IT industry. What’s more, AWS is the world's leading cloud network provider, and many of the world's most prestigious companies use it. On top of these, the paycheque that comes with AWS designations is also impressive. Thus, according to Payscale, the average AWS Certified Developer – Associate salary is more than $101k. What concerns the positions that one can claim once getting certified, they abound to explore. For instance, you can become a Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, Software Developer, Data Engineer, Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer, and many more. Speaking of annual salaries that these specialists can get, a Software Engineer can make $90k per annum while a Senior Software Engineer is entitled to ask for as much as $121k yearly as Payscale renders. Then, the same remuneration provider mentions that a Software Developer will get $81k per year, and finally, a Data Engineer and Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer will receive $93k and $101k as median wages, respectively.

Certification to Go for Next?

Once you’ve put the AWS Certified Developer - Associate under your belt, you can propel in your career by procuring the AWS professional-tier designation, known as the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional.