Top 5 Highest-Paying AWS Certifications

Cloud skills are rising in demand, according to Skillsoft’s annual IT Skills and Salary survey. For years, the findings have shown cloud computing as a top area of investment, with Amazon Web Services (AWS) often cited as a priority vendor. Because of this, AWS certifications often command high salaries for those professionals who’ve earned them.

Added to the mix is also the difficulty in hiring. Hiring managers tend to see some of the stiffest competition for talent when sourcing architects, engineers, or developers. Two-thirds of leaders say they’ve had three or more open spots on their team this past year, mostly because they struggle to attract or retain employees.

This makes it tough to build strong teams that have the skills to fully utilize the services that vendors like AWS have to offer, let alone innovate and advance.

Most leaders feel their team’s skills are at an intermediate stage — not experts but not novices either. For this reason, it makes AWS credentials all the more valuable to those hiring managers desperate for skilled workers who can aid their team’s initiatives.

But just how valuable?

In keeping with past years, we looked at the top-paying AWS certifications after collecting survey data from professionals around the world. We’ve updated this post to include salary information for the top-paying AWS certifications across more regions, including Europe and the Middle East, the Asia Pacific and Latin American regions.

Globally, 1,127 survey respondents reported having earned an AWS certification, with the most popular being its foundational credential, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner. Across all regions, the average certification holder reports making six figures — further evidence of the priority placed on cloud projects and skills.

We breakdown the highest-paying certifications worldwide below, also showing how compensation differs by region. Keep reading to learn more and see how to earn each credential.

AWS 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 cater to various skill sets and support one's career from junior to senior. 

They demonstrate proficiency in AWS technologies, enhance career prospects, and increase earning potential. Often, they're listed as job requirements. 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.

Are AWS certifications worth it? You bet they are. Here are the top benefits:

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

Ranking at the top of our list, 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.

Before Taking the Exam, Candidates Should Have:

• Five years of IT security experience, designing and implementing security solutions; at least two years of hands-on experience securing AWS workloads.
• Study the domains: threat detection and incident response; security logging and monitoring; infrastructure security, identity and access management; data protection; management and security governance.
• Understand the AWS shared responsibility model, its services and controls, and integrations with third-parties.

Recommended courses for this certification:

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

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, know AWS services and best practices. When studying for the exam, the domains focus on network design (30%); implementation (26%); management and operations (20%); and network security, compliance and governance (24%).

Before Taking the Exam, Candidates Should Have:

• Five years of hands-on experience developing network solutions.
• Experience with AWS, specifically its security and storage solutions.
• Proficiency in networking architectures, CIDR and sub-netting.

Recommended certification training:

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

World

US

EMEA

APAC

LATAM

$136,595

$156,547*

$101,691*

$86,879*

$103,333*

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 8% 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. 

Before Taking the Exam, Candidates Should Have:

• It’s best suited for those with at least one year of experience developing and architecting machine learning workloads in AWS.
• Experience with basic hyperparameter optimization, machine and deep learning frameworks, as well as best practices for model training, deployment, and operation.
• Proficiency in explaining how machine learning algorithms work.

Recommended courses for this certification:

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

World

US

EMEA

APAC

LATAM

$132,852

$174,137

$122,919

$74,390*

$75,008

Also ranked on this year’s overall top-paying IT certifications list, the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional commands high salaries given the output of these professionals.

Candidates chasing this certification must 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 tests cloud architect’s abilities to design new solutions and improve them over time, while migrating and modernizing workloads.

Before Taking the Exam, Candidates Should Have:

• Two or more years of experience using an array of AWS services to solve complex business problems with cloud solutions.
• Experience gathering information and working collaboratively to provision applications on AWS.
• AWS recommends being familiar with: AWS CLI, AWS APIs, AWS CloudFormation templates, the AWS Billing Console, the AWS Management Console, a scripting language, and Windows and Linux environments.
  
   

Recommended courses for this certification:

• Advanced Architecting on AWS
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional | Exam Prep (globalknowledge.com)

World

US

EMEA

APAC

LATAM

$124,659

$150,546

$112,192*

$70,797*

$85,250*

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

Those who’ve obtained the certification use DevOps practices to develop and maintain AWS applications. The prerequisite for this certification is the AWS Certified Developer – Associate.

Before Taking the Exam, Candidates Should Have:

• Two or more years of experience provisioning, operating, and managing AWS environments.
• Experience building and securing highly automated infrastructures, administering operating systems, and current development methods.
• Should be familiar with the software development lifecycle, programming and scripting.

Recommended courses:

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

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 can help.

Skillsoft’s Global Knowledge was recognized as an AWS Learning Partner of the Year in 2023, 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 2023. 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 1,127 respondents who reported having one or more AWS certifications. When reporting salary figures, Skillsoft looks for at least 50 survey responses before considering relevance, demand and other factors.

*The salaries reported for respondents in EMEA, APAC and LATAM largely fall below that threshold. They are presented for continuity but lack statistical relevance. Salaries are not normalized for cost-of-living or location.