AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate

The AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate certification is an associate-level certification that demonstrates experience in deploying, managing, and operating workloads on AWS. The AWS SysOps Administrator exam is widely considered to be the hardest of the associate certifications.

This certification provides excellent recognition for those seeking a SysOps cloud role or DevOps role working with AWS technologies. The new SOA-C02 version of the exam includes multiple choice and multiple response questions and exam labs. The hands-on exam labs test your practical skills on AWS – you’ll need plenty of practice for this one!

We wrote an article on whether AWS certifications are worth it – but the short answer is yes!

AWS is the fastest growing cloud computing platform in existence and job opportunities are growing in number as more companies make the move to the cloud. It’s absolutely worth the effort to earn this certification as it is one of the most highly respected certifications due to its challenging nature.

This certification will make you stand out from other job applicants more than any other AWS associate-level certification!

AWS SysOps Administrator roles and responsibilities include the following:

• Installing software updates on servers and applications
• Monitoring performance and implementing optimizations
• Automating repetitive tasks on managed servers
• Deploying and managing infrastructure
• Estimating costs and identifying cost control measures
• Migrating workloads from on-premises to the cloud

SysOps and DevOps are closely related roles in cloud computing. An AWS SysOps administrator is focussed on operations and management of systems, whereas a DevOps admin is focussed on development and operations of those systems.

If you’ve already passed at least one of the other AWS associate certifications (which we strongly recommend) you can achieve the AWS SysOps certification within around three weeks.

We provide a free study plan with the course that helps you to plan your time. The study plan assumes around 60-90 minutes per day to achieve the certification within the timeline.

This is definitely the hardest of the associate-level AWS certification exams. With the introduction of the exam labs section in the new SOA-C02 exam, it just got harder. You will definitely need a strong working knowledge of AWS to be successful in this exam.

Our AWS SysOps training has been designed to give you the best chance of success. You’ll find that between the video course, practice exam course, and cheat sheets (ebook), you’ll be well set with the knowledge needed. Make sure you also follow the many guided hands-on lessons so you develop the practical skills you’ll need for success.

The SOA-C02 exam includes 50 multiple choice questions and 3 exam labs. You can take the exam in a testing center or using an online proctored exam from your home or office. You have 180 minutes to complete your exam and the passing mark is 720 points out of 100 points (72%).

If English is not your first language you can request an accommodation when booking your exam that will qualify you for an additional 30 minutes exam extension.

All AWS certification exam results are reported as a score from 100 to 1000. Your score shows how you performed on the examination as a whole and whether or not you passed. The passing score for the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate is 720 (72%).

Note that there are two sections to the exam: the multiple choice section and the exam labs section. The multiple choice section of the exam accounts for 80% of the overall score and the exam labs section accounts for 20% of the score.

AWS does not have any prerequisites for taking any AWS certification exams. However, they do recommend that you have at least 1 year of hands-on experience working with AWS before sitting this exam. You should have experience in deploying, managing, and operating workloads on AWS as well as implementing security controls and compliance requirements.

Our recommendation is that if you don’t have this experience you should first take the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate and the AWS Certified Developer Associate certifications. There’s lots of overlap between these certifications and you’ll develop a stronger understanding of AWS when following this learning path which will definitely help you through your AWS exam.

This certification is suitable for technical staff working in system operations and administrator roles. If you’re working in a SysOps or DevOps role or are planning to move into one of these roles, this certification will build your credibility, confidence, and necessary skills.

The AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate exam fee is $150 USD. If you’ve previously passed another AWS exam make sure you use your 50% discount token.

If you fail the exam you can take it again as many times as you need to but must wait 14 days between tests.

For more detailed information, check out this blog article on AWS Certification Costs.

The exam validates your ability to perform system operations and administration activities for workloads deployed on AWS. You’ll need to know how to do the following:

• Deploy, manage, and operate workloads with services including AWS CloudFormation, AWS Systems Manager, and AWS OpsWorks
• Monitoring and logging with services including Amazon CloudWatch, Amazon EventBridge, and AWS CloudTrail
• Ensure reliability and business continuity through best practice architectures based on auto scaling, load balancing, high availability, and disaster recovery
• Implement security controls and ensure compliance requirements are met with services including AWS IAM, AWS KMS, AWS Organizations, AWS Secrets Manager, and AWS Config
• Deploy networking and content delivery solutions with services such as Amazon VPC, Amazon CloudFront, and Amazon Route 53
• Identify cost and performance optimizations and implement strategies for remediation