Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the leading platform for corporate cloud computing, and demand for AWS technicians is projected to grow quickly over the next decade.
Many companies from enterprise to small business are undergoing digital transformation and moving internal services to cloud architecture.
Cloud Solutions Architects are certified by Amazon Web Services for having specific skills and practical knowledge. Cloud Architects can often obtain an entry-level position, and gain experience, allowing them to level up certifications and positions within the job market.
What is an AWS Certified Cloud Solutions Architect?
An AWS Solutions Architect designs, builds, deploys, and maintains business applications and critical infrastructure inside the AWS Cloud. The AWS Solution Architect job description encompasses a dynamic range of tasks that include innovating and implementing cutting-edge solutions to meet evolving technological needs.
They have developed skills and expertise to help them design and build advanced cloud-based solutions and migrate existing workloads to the cloud.
What Does an AWS Cloud Solutions Architect Do?
The AWS Solution Architect roles and responsibilities extend beyond traditional boundaries, emphasizing a proactive approach to designing scalable and efficient cloud solutions. Some of the roles and responsibilities for an AWS Solutions Architect include:
- Architecting, building, and maintaining cost-efficient, scalable cloud environments for the organization.
- Understanding business objectives of the company and creating cloud-based solutions to facilitate those objectives.
- Moving archaic systems into the cloud for more efficiency within the organization – aka digital transformation.
- Keeping cloud environments secure and preventing downtime or security breaches.
- Determining the risk associated with third-party platforms or frameworks.
- Looking for ways to improve operations within company to digitize common tasks.
- Central to the roles and responsibilities of an AWS Solution Architect is the strategic evaluation of cloud applications, ensuring they align with the business's long-term goals and operational efficiency.
- Designing, building, maintaining internal cloud applications for the organization.
- Transferring data and internal processes to cloud architecture.
- Keeping data leakage and downtime to an absolute minimum.
- Keeping up to date on best practices in cloud computing and making improvements to the cloud infrastructure of their company or organization.
- A key part of the AWS Solution Architect job description involves a commitment to continuous education, ensuring knowledge of the latest cloud technologies and best practices.
- Communicating with internal teams, like Sales, Operations, and IT.
- Central to the AWS Solution Architect roles and responsibilities is the ability to bridge the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders, facilitating a collaborative environment for cloud solution development.
- Communicate with stakeholders and build applications to meet project needs.
- Making hardware and software recommendations for the organization, based on needs of the project and organization.
- The roles and responsibilities of an AWS Solution Architect also include evaluating and recommending the most effective cloud tools and services to meet the unque requirements of each project.
Skills and Characteristics
These are non-technical skills that will help an AWS Solutions Architect excel at their work.
Flexibility and Desire to Learn
The AWS Solution Architect job description calls for a high level of adaptability and foresight in navigating the evolving landscape of cloud computing. Solutions Architects must be able to adapt to shifting priorities. Finding the answer to a business problem means that you must constantly be learning about changing technology and best practices. Cloud computing and technology is a constantly changing field, so a thirst for learning and adaptability to emerging trends is a must for the Cloud Architect.
Time Management
Information technology projects are often time sensitive. Building infrastructure to meet deadlines requires superb time management.
Communication Skills
Effective communication is a cornerstone of the AWS Solution Architect roles and responsibilities, ensuring clear and productive dialogue with all project stakeholders. An AWS Solutions Architect must communicate with end users as well as internal or external stakeholders. Being able to manage the business concerns of the organization while designing and building systems that are user-friendly requires excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Problem Solving Aptitude
Solution Architects use software and hardware to solve business problems. Designing and building cloud infrastructure and applications requires not only knowledge of technology, but also business acumen.
Teamwork and People Skills
Information technology specialists must be able to collaborate with other in their department and other departments in the organization. Working together as a cohesive unit makes operations run smoother, determining the success of projects. Collaboration extends beyond departmental boundaries, a vital aspect of the roles and responsibilities of an AWS Solution Architect, to include working with cross-functional teams to achieve common goals.
Analytical Skills
Conducting analysis of the system, and being able to construct solutions to business objectives are invaluable skills. An AWS Solutions Architect must be able to examine the current system of the client, take the project requirements, and design a solution that is scalable and usable.
Decisiveness
An efficient Cloud Solutions Architect can present their proposed solutions to stakeholders with confidence, providing clear guidance for their decisions. The applications and infrastructure that Solutions Architects design and build are secure, scalable, cost-effective, and resilient. An AWS Architect communicates effectively and recommends robust solutions that meet project objectives.
Ready to start preparing for the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam? Campus, formerly known as MTI College, offers exclusive AWS Academy curriculum to get you ready for your exam. Learn more in Campus' online AWS Cloud Solutions Architect program.
What Experience do You Need to be an AWS Certified Solutions Architect?
You can get an entry-level position as an AWS Solutions Architect with the corresponding Associate certification. Senior positions as an AWS Solutions Architect normally require 2 to 5 years of hands-on experience designing and building cloud applications and an AWS Professional Solutions Architect certification.
How to Become an AWS Certified Solutions Architect
We’ve written a guide on how to become an AWS Certified Cloud Solutions Architect here. These are the basic steps you will need to follow to earn your certification.
1. Join an Approved AWS Training Program
Campus is one of a select group of educational institutions that are designated as an official Amazon AWS Academy. Additionally, Campus students get access to exclusive tools for training like AWS developed curriculum and custom learning labs set within the AWS console. Once you have completed your training program, it is time to take the certification exam.
2. Pass the AWS Solutions Architect – Associate Exam
The exam features a combination of two question formats: multiple choice and multiple response. The exam score ranges from 100 to 1000 marks, and the minimum passing score is 720.
3. Do AWS Cloud Projects to Gain Hands-On Experience
Entering the job market with an AWS certification and person side projects that you can show (without having to worry about NDAs) is a powerful combination that can give you a competitive edge.
Average Salary for Cloud Solutions Architect
Numbers here are what various job sites returned at the time of retrieval, and should be used only as approximations.
For reference, these are the average salaries and hourly wages as reported by Glassdoor, Payscale , Indeed for AWS Solutions Architects.
Job growth is anticipated to be robust. Gartner projected in 2020 that public cloud computing services would grow by 18.4% as more businesses moved operations to the cloud in a post-COVID world.
Are You Ready to Become an AWS Solutions Architect?
Campus is proud to be the first official AWS Academy in the Sacramento region and one of the first colleges to offer a full Associate Degree in cloud technology.
Ready to start preparing for the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam? Campus offers exclusive AWS Academy curriculum to get you ready for your exam. Learn more in Campus' online AWS Cloud Solutions Architect program.
For more information, or to talk to our Admissions department, call (916) 339-1500 or contact us here.