If you’re pursuing a career in cloud computing, earning an AWS certification is one of the most effective ways to validate your skills and open the door to cloud roles. Amazon Web Services (AWS) remains the leading cloud provider, and their certifications are globally recognized by employers.

However, not all AWS certifications are created equal. With multiple certification paths and varying levels of complexity, it’s important to understand how these certifications compare in difficulty.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through all current AWS certifications, ranked from the easiest to the most challenging. You’ll also get guidance on where to start based on your experience and career goals.

Understanding the AWS Certification Framework

AWS certifications are organized into four main tiers:

• Foundational – Easiest. Ideal for beginners with no prior cloud experience. Focus on basic AWS Cloud understanding.
  
• Associate – Moderate. Requires basic technical knowledge and some hands-on AWS experience. Focus on role-specific technical expertise.
  
• Specialty – Challenging. Best suited for experienced professionals. Focus on deep technical knowledge in a specific domain.
  
• Professional – Most difficult. Requires expert-level skills. Focus on advanced design and architecture skills.

AWS Certs in Order of Difficulty

Let’s break down the AWS certifications in order of difficulty.

1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02)

• Difficulty: Easiest
  The Cloud Practitioner certification provides a high-level overview of AWS services, pricing models, and basic architecture.
  
• Ideal for: Those new to cloud computing. It’s often the first step for career changers or non-technical professionals looking to understand the AWS ecosystem
  
• Recommended Experience: No experience necessary
  
• Best For: Business professionals, entry-level IT roles
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

2. AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01)

• Difficulty: Easiest
  The AWS Certified AI Practitioner is designed to help individuals build a basic understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning within the AWS ecosystem
  
• Ideal for: Business professionals, early-career tech learners, or anyone curious about AI on AWS
  
• Recommended Experience: No experience necessary
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

Associate-Level Certifications

These certifications are a significant step up in difficulty from the foundational level, requiring a stronger understanding of AWS services and architecture.

3. AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03)

• Difficulty: Moderate
  The most popular AWS certification, this exam covers designing cost-optimized, secure, and scalable architectures on AWS.
  
• Ideal for: Intermediate learners – such as aspiring cloud architects
  
• Recommended Experience: 6 to 12 months of hands-on AWS experience
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

4. AWS Certified Developer Associate (DVA-C02)

• Difficulty: Moderate
  This certification is suitable for Intermediate learners with a development background
  
• Ideal For: Cloud developers, software engineers
  
• Recommended Experience: 1+ years experience with AWS and development tools
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

5. AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer Associate (MLA-C01)

• Difficulty: Challenging
  This certification is suitable for Intermediate to advanced learners. It validates your ability to implement ML solutions using AWS tools like SageMaker and Lambda.
  
• Ideal For: Aspiring Machine learning engineers, data scientists, and developers working with ML models on AWS
  
• Recommended Experience: Prior hands-on experience building ML solutions on AWS, familiarity with services like SageMaker, Lambda, S3, and foundational ML principles
  
• Training Resources: Digital Cloud Training’s AWS Machine Learning training material will fully prepare you for this exam
  

6. AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate (SOA-C02)

• Difficulty: Challenging
  Often considered one of the most difficult Associate-level exams due to its focus on operations, monitoring, and troubleshooting.
  
• Ideal For: Systems administrators, DevOps engineers
  
• Recommended Experience: Strong knowledge of AWS management and automation tools
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

7. AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate (DEA-C01)

• Difficulty: Challenging
  The most challenging of the Associate-level certifications. This certification requires strong skills in data processing, pipeline management, and AWS analytics tools.
  
• Ideal For: Data engineers, analysts
  
• Recommended Experience: Hands-on experience with AWS Glue, Athena, Redshift, and Lake Formation
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

Specialty Certifications

Specialty certification exams are designed for professionals with deep knowledge in specific technical areas.

8. AWS Certified Security Specialty (SCS-C02)

• Difficulty: Very Challenging
  Covers advanced topics such as incident response, logging, identity and access management, and encryption.
  
• Ideal for: Security professionals working with compliance and incident response
  
• Recommended Experience: 2+ years of hands-on experience implementing security best practices
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

9. AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty (MLS-C01)

• Difficulty: Very Challenging
  Tests both machine learning concepts and AWS tools like SageMaker
  
• Ideal for: Professionals in data science or AI development
  
• Recommended Experience: Extensive hands-on ML and AWS experience
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

10. AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty (ANS-C01)

• Difficulty: Expert – the most challenging AWS Specialty Certification
  Requires a deep understanding of hybrid networking, network security, routing, and interconnectivity.
  
• Ideal for: Cloud professionals with a deep networking background
  
• Recommended Experience: Expert-level understanding of hybrid networking and VPC design
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

Professional-Level Certifications

The professional-level certification exams require deep, hands-on AWS knowledge and the ability to design and manage complex cloud environments.

11. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional (DOP-C02)

• Difficulty: Very Challenging
  Covers continuous integration, delivery, monitoring, and automation at scale.
  
• Ideal for: DevOps engineers, cloud engineers
  
• Recommended Experience: Strong background in infrastructure automation and AWS operations
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

12. AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional (SAP-C02)

• Difficulty: Expert – the most challenging AWS Certification
  This exam validates your ability to design complex, multi-tiered AWS architectures
  
• Ideal for: Experienced architects and consultants
  
• Recommended Experience: 2+ years of experience designing AWS-based applications
  
• Training Resources: Check out the popular training materials from Digital Cloud Training that will successfully prepare you for your exam
  

Key Factors that Influence AWS Certification Difficulty

Several factors contribute to how challenging each AWS certification feels:

• Scope vs. Depth: Some exams test broad knowledge (e.g., Cloud Practitioner), while others go deep into specific domains (e.g., Advanced Networking Specialty).
  
• Hands-On Experience: AWS strongly emphasizes real-world application. The more hands-on experience you have using AWS services in real environments, the better prepared you’ll be.
  
• Scenario-Based Questions: Many exams feature long, scenario-based questions that test your ability to choose the best solution based on specific business or technical requirements.
  
• Time Management: More advanced exams often include complex, multi-step questions that can be time-consuming. Managing your time effectively is key to completing all questions without rushing through critical thinking.
  
• Conceptual Application: Success depends on understanding the “why” and “how,” not just memorizing service names.
  

Getting certified is just the start

At Digital Cloud Training, we believe that AWS certifications are valuable stepping stones, but they’re not the final destination and need to be matched with real-world experience.

While certifications are a great way to demonstrate your cloud knowledge, they won’t land you a job.

To truly stand out to employers, you need to back up your certifications with practical, real-world experience. Today’s hiring managers are looking for candidates who can apply their skills to solve real challenges – not just pass exams.

Start building job-ready, hands-on experience

If your goal is to land a high-paying cloud role, hands-on experience is key. Our Cloud Mastery Bootcamp is a comprehensive training program designed to help you build real-world skills and prepare you for high-paying cloud roles.

With the Cloud Mastery Bootcamp, you’ll get:

• Expert-led live training with industry experts
  
• Real-world projects to build and apply your cloud skills
  
• Live coaching and career guidance to accelerate your career growth
  
• Professional portfolio to showcase your expertise to future employers
  

Explore the Cloud Mastery Bootcamp today and start building the skills that will set you apart and get you hired.

Frequently asked questions

1. How long should I study for an AWS certification exam?
Study time depends on your background and the certification level. For foundational exams, 2-4 weeks of focused study should be sufficient. Associate-level exams typically require 6-8 weeks, while Professional or Specialty certifications can take 2-3 months or even more. The key is consistency – follow a structured study plan, combine theory with hands-on practice, and adjust based on your progress.

2. What’s the best way to get hands-on AWS experience?
The best way to build hands-on AWS skills is by working through practical, real-world projects. Reading documentation and watching tutorials is helpful, but applying what you learn in real-world scenarios is where real learning happens.

At Digital Cloud Training, the Cloud Mastery Bootcamp was built to provide real-world experience. It combines hands-on labs, real-world capstone projects, and expert support to help you develop job-ready skills. You’ll work through assessments that reflect the tasks cloud professionals are faced with day to day – while getting feedback and help when you need it.

3. Can I take AWS certifications without any prior IT experience?
Yes, especially at the foundational level. The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and AWS Certified AI Practitioner are designed for beginners. While Associate and higher-level certifications are more technical, learners can succeed with enough time, commitment, and the right resources. Many Digital Cloud Training students have transitioned into cloud careers from non-technical backgrounds.

4. How often do I need to renew my AWS certifications?
AWS certifications are valid for three years. AWS recommends maintaining your skills through continued learning and encourages renewal through re-certification or by earning a higher-level certification in the same domain. Keeping your certification current shows employers that your knowledge is up to date with the latest AWS services and best practices.

5. Are AWS certifications worth it if I already have cloud computing experience?

Even with hands-on experience, certifications provide a formal benchmark of your expertise, enhance your credibility, and demonstrate your commitment to professional growth. For highly-experienced professionals, earning a Professional or Specialty certification can help unlock advanced career opportunities.