Is the AWS CCP worth it?

After reading through some comments on various social media platforms about the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CCP), I thought I'd make a general post explaining my view of snagging the certification.

Personally, it would depend on your goals and your overall cloud knowledge. If you are looking to specialize in AWS and intend on going for associate-level certifications, then the answer is yes. Otherwise, I do not believe this certification is right for you. If you're looking to become a general cloud expert, CompTIA released the Cloud+ certification, which is a great choice for touching on the fundamentals regardless of which platform a company utilizes.

Prior to taking the AWS Certified Developer - Associate (CDA), I sat and passed the CCP. It's fairly inexpensive ($100) and it will ensure that you have a solid understanding of cloud principles, AWS billing and pricing, AWS security, and the various services that AWS provides. You'll spend about 90 minutes taking the exam, but compared to the other exams, this is the EASIEST AWS certification exam that is out there (and I do mean... easiest). In addition, if you plan on taking any associate-level exams with little to no experience in the cloud, I'd highly recommend you take this exam first before moving forward. Otherwise, you should expect an extremely steep learning curve.

Now, if you are interested, I do have some study material recommendations on how to pass the exam. Listed below are some resources that I've used:

1. ACloudGuru's AWS CCP CLF-C01 Course: https://acloudguru.com/course/aws-certified-cloud-practitioner

2. AWS Practice Exam: https://www.aws.training/certification

ACloudGuru has always been a great resource for all of the AWS exams and labs also. I'd highly recommend taking the course above. For me, I was in college at the time. It took me about a week to finish the course. It's about 10 hours long with a few hands-on labs to get you familiar with the console (especially billing services). The practice exam will cost about $20 dollars, but it's a pretty good investment for this exam. The practice exam is quite similar to the actual exam.

One thing about this exam is that it's pretty straightforward, meaning you don't need to think about multiple services and choosing the best answer or the best solution. It's either you know the answer........................ or you don't.

But look at the bright side, at least you don't need to bang your head against the wall no more than 3 times!

On average, if you put about 3-4 hours a day towards studying and taking practice exams after finishing the course, you should be able to pass it within about 2-3 weeks.

To wrap things up, the answer that I have for you is - it depends on your background and your goals. If you're looking to go deeper into AWS but the knowledge of cloud fundamentals, then the CCP is totally worth the investment. Otherwise, keep your $100 and buy yourself something nice or invest in another cloud certification.

Cheers!