The 9 Highest-Paying AWS Certifications and How to Earn Them in 2025

TLDR

Below, you’ll find the average global salary associated with each AWS certification, according to findings from the IT Skills and Salary survey:

1. AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty earn professionals on average $151,061 
2. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner earn professionals on average $105,419 
3. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional earn professionals on average $164,012 
4. AWS Certified Developer – Associate earn professionals on average $125,879 
5. AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty earn professionals on average $171,725 
6. AWS Certified Security - Specialty earn professionals on average $158,594 
7. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate earn professionals on average $99,410 
8. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional earn professionals on average $155,905 
9. AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate earn professionals on average $129,840

Cloud computing remains a top investment area for IT leaders this year, according to Skillsoft’s annual IT Skills and Salary survey. Likewise, AWS is a priority vendor for many worldwide. 

There’s also high demand for cloud professionals across the board, but the labor pool hasn’t kept up. Of the leaders who participated in the survey, they rated cloud computing as the third toughest area to hire for — behind cybersecurity and technical support.

Hiring managers tend to see some of the stiffest competition for talent when sourcing architects, engineers, or developers. Over half (56%) of leaders say they’ve had three or more open spots on their teams this past year, often because they struggle to attract talent with the right skills.

Without skilled talent, it’s tough to fully utilize the services that vendors like AWS have to offer, let alone innovate and advance. 

“Organizations need individuals with cloud skills to help transform their business, and there is a growing demand for IT professionals with AWS Cloud skills,” said Maureen Lonergan, vice president, AWS Training and Certification. “AWS Training and Certification, along with our AWS Training Partners like Skillsoft Global Knowledge aim to equip the builders of today and tomorrow with the knowledge they need to leverage the power of the AWS Cloud. AWS Training, designed by the experts at AWS, teaches in-demand cloud skills and best practices, and helps learners prepare for AWS Certification exams so they can advance their careers and transform their organizations.”

Because of the demand for skilled professionals and the prestige and trustworthiness that comes with AWS certifications, these credentials can earn professionals some of the highest salaries in the industry. 

In keeping with past years, we looked at the top-paying AWS certifications after collecting survey data from professionals around the world. Globally, 651 survey respondents reported having earned at least one AWS certification. 

Here, we share what the average annual earnings are associated with the certifications, go into detail about each and provide resources on how to earn them. 

AWS, or Amazon Web Services, certifications validate a professional's expertise in various aspects of cloud computing, including architecture, development, operations, and security. These certifications span different levels — foundational, associate, professional, and specialty — to support one's career from beginner to expert. 

They demonstrate proficiency in AWS technologies, enhance career prospects, and increase earning potential. Additionally, AWS certifications can help professionals close skill gaps, stay current with industry trends and best practices, as well as provide opportunities for networking and professional growth.

Like other providers, AWS organizes its certifications by career experience — as in, beginner, intermediate and expert. The respective certifications are meant to help validate knowledge of AWS services, concepts and best practices in relation to one’s role and commensurate with their experience. 

The different types of AWS certifications: 

Foundational: Foundational-level certifications are meant for those who are new to IT and cloud computing. In terms of hierarchy, these are the lowest level certifications from AWS, suitable for those early in their tech careers. 

The purpose of these certifications is to introduce AWS services and cloud computing concepts. For example, a newer foundational-level certification from AWS is its AI Practitioner credential, which affirms professionals’ knowledge of AI/ML and generative AI. 

Now, what’s the best certification for beginners or AWS newcomers? It’s the AWS Cloud Practitioner. Get the details on this one below. 

Associate: For those with some technical proficiency, associate-level certifications help validate knowledge of AWS services and the skills used to implement them. Among these is the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification, which validates a professional’s ability to design fault-tolerant architectures. 

Professional: For those who are further along in their careers, professional-level certifications offer more rigor. These validate a deeper understanding of AWS services and how to bring them together. Included among these are the Solutions Architect – Professional certification, which builds upon the prerequisite but tests candidates’ ability to deal with increasingly complex scenarios.

Specialty: The specialty certifications offered by AWS help professionals advance their skill set in specific technical areas, namely security, machine learning and networking. Candidates must have a higher degree of domain knowledge and career experience to pass these exams. 

As with any certification, there’s a cost associated. That cost often includes training, the exam fee, and the time spent. Thankfully, it’s all worth it when certifying with AWS. 

Consider the key findings from a report by Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget. The report shares the survey findings of 1,250 tech decision-makers on the benefits of AWS training and certifications. 

The findings: 

• 92% of decision-makers say AWS training boosts job satisfaction among employees, improves operational efficiency, closes skill gaps. 
• 92% also feel more confident in a job applicant’s abilities knowing they’ve taken AWS training.
• 91% say employing professionals who are trained on AWS helps their teams complete projects faster and leads to better outcomes.

Said differently, those who’ve taken AWS training and/or certified are more confident at work, more skilled in their roles, leading to higher job satisfaction and performance. 

Another report from the same group, which was commissioned by AWS, supports this but offers the point of view of 1,000 learners: 

“AWS Training has helped Learners increase their job security (82%,) organizational influence (77%), ability to focus on more interesting projects (74%), and earnings (69%).”

“Similarly, AWS Certifications have increased Learners’ job security (83%), organizational influence (79%), ability to change their focus area to something more interesting (75%), and earnings (74%).”

“90% of Learners credit AWS Training and Certification programs as a reason they were selected to work on special cloud projects at their organization in the past 24 months, thereby improving their job satisfaction. Notably, 66% said they had been selected for such projects more than once during this period.

Knowing this, it’s a bit less surprising to learn AWS certifications earn professionals some of the highest salaries in the industry, followed by many other career benefits: 

• Enhanced Career Opportunities – AWS certifications are highly regarded in the industry, leading to better job prospects.
• Increased Earning Potential – Certified professionals often command higher salaries due to their validated skills.
• Skill Validation – Certifications demonstrate proficiency and expertise in AWS technologies.
• Industry Recognition – Credentials from AWS enhance professional credibility and recognition.
• Access to Exclusive Resources – Certified individuals gain access to AWS communities, forums, and training materials for continuous learning.

Numerous factors may affect a professional’s compensation and job prospects, including the certifications they have. However, many other factors are at play too, like whether they’ve managed a team before, their soft skills, and work history. The list goes on. 

While certifications are an excellent investment in one’s abilities, it helps to understand that a single certification isn’t always responsible for a professional’s earning potential or their ability to land a job. 

Bearing this in mind, consider what the average AWS certification holder reported in the IT Skills and Salary survey:

The AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty certification is best suited for candidates with five or more years of professional experience whose focus at work is on developing complex networking solutions.

Those architects and engineers who plan to sit the exam should feel confident in their abilities to design hybrid and cloud-based solutions, and they should be familiar with AWS services and best practices. When studying for the exam, the domains focus on network design, network implementation, management and operations, and network security, compliance and governance.

The exam costs $300 USD, lasts 170 minutes, and presents 65 multiple-choice or multiple-response questions.

Recommended certification training:

• AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty Exam Global Knowledge
• Advanced Architecting on AWS | Course ​| Global Knowledge

For those early in their careers and interested in cloud computing, the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification is likely the best starting point. This credential helps validate you know the foundational ins and outs of AWS, including core services, its shared responsibility model, billing and more. 

No prior IT experience is required or recommended, per se, before sitting the exam. However, candidates should study the exam’s domains: cloud concepts, security and compliance, cloud technology and services, billing, pricing and support. 

The exam costs $100 USD, lasts 90 minutes, and presents 65 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions. 

Recommended certification training:

• AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials

The AWS Certified Developer – Associate certification proves a professional’s knowledge of current software development skills and practices, workflows and methodologies. It affirms skills that support developing, packaging and managing applications. 

Candidates should have at least one year of hands-on experience developing apps on AWS. They should also prepare for the following exam domains: development with AWS services, security, deployment, troubleshooting and optimization.

The exam costs $150 USD, lasts 130 minutes, and presents 65 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions.

Recommended certification training:

• Developing on AWS

The DevOps Engineer – Professional certification validates a candidate’s technical expertise in provisioning, operating, and managing distributed application systems on the AWS platform. 

Those who pursue this certification should have at least two years of relevant professional experience and know the software development lifecycle, programming and scripting. The exam covers these domains specifically: SDLC automation, configuration management and IaC, resilient cloud solutions, monitoring and logging, incident and event response, security and compliance.

The exam costs $300 USD, lasts 180 minutes, and presents 75 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions.

Recommended certification training:

• Developing on AWS
• AWS Exam Readiness Workshop: AWS Certified Developer – Associate

Globally, artificial intelligence and machine learning are priority areas of investment for tech leaders. That said, it’s also causing some tension. Most leaders say their team’s skills in this domain aren’t where they could be, with only 12% saying they employ highly skilled workers.

This certification should signal to employers they have the right talent to build and operationalize machine learning models using AWS. For candidates, it’s important to study these domains prior to sitting the exam: data engineering, exploratory data analysis, modeling and machine learning implementation. 

The exam costs $300 USD, lasts 180 minutes, and presents 65 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions.

Recommended certification training:

• Practical Data Science with Amazon SageMaker
• The Machine Learning Pipeline on AWS

Ranking at the top of our list of highest paying IT certifications, those with an AWS Certified Security – Specialty know how to secure data in the AWS Cloud, understand specialized data classifications, data encryption methods, and secure Internet protocols.

Candidates who plan to pursue this specialty certification benefit from starting with the Solutions Architect – Associate or Professional certification (see more below). They should also have at least five years of relevant professional experience, with two or more working with AWS workloads. The exam tests candidates on these domains: threat detection and incident response, security logging and monitoring, infrastructure security, identity and access management, data protection, management and security governance. 

The exam costs $300 USD, lasts 170 minutes, and presents 65 multiple-choice or multiple-response questions. 

Recommended certification training:

• AWS Security Essentials
• Architecting on AWS
• Security Engineering on AWS

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate validates an individual's ability to design and deploy scalable, robust, and fault-tolerant cloud-based architectures on AWS. 

AWS recommends candidates have at least one year of hands-on experience working with its services. Candidates should also have strong familiarity with the AWS Well-Architected Framework, and it helps to know the basics of programming, though deep coding experience isn’t required. The exam covers these domains: design secure architectures, design resilient architectures, design high-performing architectures, design cost-optimized architectures.

The exam costs $150 USD, lasts 130 minutes, and presents 65 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions. 

Recommended certification training:

• AWS Technical Essentials
• Architecting on AWS

After completing the associate-level certification, consider advancing onto the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional. Much like the prerequisite certification, the professional level validates a deeper level of knowledge in designing highly secure, cost-optimized architectures to meet more complex business challenges. 

As such, candidates who intend on sitting the exam should have two or more years of hands-on experience designing on AWS. They should have advanced knowledge of the Well-Architected Framework and know how to craft complex solutions by bringing together many of the services AWS offers. The exam covers these domains: designing solutions for organizational complexity, design for new solutions, continuous improvement for existing solutions, accelerate workload migration and modernization.

The exam costs $300 USD, lasts 180 minutes, and presents 75 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions.

Recommended certification training:

• Advanced Architecting on AWS
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional Exam Prep

The AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate certification is best suited to those earlier in their careers who want to validate their ability to manage AWS workloads. 

AWS recommends candidates have at least one year of relevant professional experience with AWS. Prior to testing, it’s important to be familiar with the six exam domains: monitoring, logging, and remediation; reliability and business continuity; deployment, provisioning, and automation; security and compliance; networking and content delivery; cost and performance optimization.

The exam costs $150 USD, lasts 130 minutes, and presents 65 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions. 

Recommended certification training:

• Cloud Operations on AWS

Earning an AWS certification can open doors for both individuals and the organizations they serve. Training for these credentials strengthens one’s understanding of the concepts and techniques, while also boosting their confidence, engagement and morale at work. Often, new certifications lead to promotions, raises and opportunities to work on coveted projects.

For those organizations prioritizing cloud-dependent initiatives, employing professionals with these credentials assures a reliable skill set and commitment to excellence. To help prepare for these certifications, Skillsoft and Global Knowledge can help.

Skillsoft’s Global Knowledge has been recognized as an AWS Learning Partner of the Year several years running, given the breadth and quality of instructor-led training offered to learners and organizations. Complementing live training is Codecademy’s interactive learning modules, helping people build programming skills that are necessary for several of the certifications listed earlier.

Find the training that best suits your needs to earn highly valuable AWS certifications.

This list of top-paying AWS certifications is based on survey responses from Skillsoft’s IT Skills and Salary Survey conducted from May to September 2024. The survey asks respondents about their current jobs and experience, certifications and salaries, and more. Respondents encounter multiple choice and multi-select, open-ended, rank choice, and other types of questions while taking the survey.

The survey is distributed to IT professionals around the world by technology providers, certification bodies, and Skillsoft.

The focus of this list is on 651 respondents who reported having at least one AWS certification. When reporting salary figures, Skillsoft looks for at least 50 survey responses before considering relevance, demand and other factors. Salaries are not normalized for cost of living or location.

*Fewer than 50 respondents; data is presented for continuity but lacks statistical relevance.