The demand for cloud computing services is stronger than ever, and so is the need for cloud professionals.
A report by International Data Services (IDC) said public cloud spending will grow from $229 billion in 2019 to nearly $500 billion by 2023, showing that cloud computing growth is not slowing down anytime soon.
IDC also projects the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for public cloud spending is projected to be 23%, slightly up from the five-year growth of 22.5% from 2017 to 2022.
Of the cloud providers, Amazon Web Services (AWS) maintained a healthy, with 32% of the entire market as of Q3 2021.
Many enterprise companies, including General Electric, Netflix, AirBnB, Shell, CapitalOne, and McDonalds, rely on AWS for cloud computing services.
If you plan on working in information technology, chances are you will work with AWS. This article looks at some of the most compelling reasons for you to learn AWS and pursue a career as an AWS professional.
Top 16 Reasons to Learn AWS – Services and Benefits
There are many reasons to learn AWS, here are a few compelling points to consider when evaluating a cloud computing career.
1. Increased Enterprise Cloud Migration to AWS
More organizations from the enterprise to small businesses are undergoing digital transformation. Traditional IT infrastructure and applications are being migrated to public cloud computing services.
A 2021 study by McKinsey states that by 2024, 80% of all enterprise spending on IT hosting will go towards the public cloud, including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). The COVID pandemic has sped up the move towards public cloud migrations in the enterprise.
For many digital migrations, specialized expertise is required to make sure everything transitions smoothly. As a result, there is an increasing demand for AWS professionals to help move in-house IT infrastructure to the cloud.
2. AWS is the Market Leading Cloud Computing Platform
Amazon Web Services was the first public cloud computing platform to launch, in 2006. In 2008, AWS had 49% market share. Today, AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform make up 61% of the entire cloud market. As of 2021, AWS had 32% market share of cloud computing services – which is as much as Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud combined.
3. Pricing
Many organizations choose AWS because they prefer their pay-as-you-go pricing model. There are no long-term contracts or subscriptions, you only pay for what you need.
For novices or people new to AWS, there is a free-tier AWS account level that allows them some free services for a full year, with other premium services on a free trial. This allows novices to get acquainted with the platform.
4. AWS Professionals Are in High Demand
Cloud computing and digital transformation are creating a big demand for AWS professionals. Enterprise and mid-sized companies are looking for qualified candidates to fill positions at entry-level, associate, professional, and senior levels.
The demand for cloud computing architects, engineers, and developers is projected to be in high demand for the foreseeable future.
5. Showing Your Expertise and Credibility
AWS certifications are a way to increase your knowledge of the platform and cloud services and increase your credibility to potential employers. By earning certifications and credentials, you demonstrate your understanding and expertise of the corresponding discipline and level.
AWS certification does not guarantee you higher salary or pay. However, some of the more advanced AWS certifications are listed among the most lucrative IT certifications in recent reports by Global Knowledge and Indeed.
Ready to start preparing for the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam? Campus, formerly known as MTI College, offers exclusive AWS Academy curriculum to get you ready for your exam. Learn more in Campus' online AWS Cloud Solutions Architect program.
6. Your AWS Skillset Can Earn You a Good Living
By gaining experience, earning certifications, and learning as much as you can about high-level AWS applications, you can establish a lucrative career. You can see what current AWS positions are available in California here, for a sampling of earning potential.
Generally, senior positions will pay more than entry-level, and architect positions are more likely to pay better than non-architect positions.
The more you level up your AWS skills, the more career possibilities you will have.
7. Application Programming Interface (APIs)
APIs allow developers and engineers to build applications to connect to each other. The APIs on AWS are available in many different programming languages, which allows the infrastructure to be managed programmatically.
Using APIs, you can create a new instance, schedule a backup, or any number of jobs. AWS is chosen by many enterprise companies because of the robust set of APIs that are available, and the integration of automation that can be used.
8. Global Architecture
Amazon Web Services has an extensive global network architecture connected with low latency, high throughput, and high availability.
As of 2022, there are 26 Regions, each with multiple Availability Zones, more than twice than the other leading cloud services providers. Currently, there are 84 Availability Zones (data centers) that serve 245 countries.
Also, there are 300+ Edge Locations and 13 Regional Edge Caches. AWS also is expanding this architecture continuously. This means that users can deploy their applications in various regions globally with a few clicks.
9. Scheduling
One incredibly useful reason to learn and use AWS is the ability to start and stop instances at specific times. You can schedule services to run on a certain, a certain time, or even when a specific event occurs.
Using the ability to schedule services such as Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Relational Database Service (RDS) means they won’t have to run during non-business hours or weekends. Also, using third-party tools like CloudRanger, it is possible to forgo using scripting altogether, if that is your choice.
10. Reliable and Consistent
Reliability is a major concern for businesses as they grow larger. Enterprise companies want to know that data backups are happening consistently. With AWS, they have a distributed network of data centers, meaning there is redundancy built into the system.
Data backups happen at several physical data centers, meaning your data will not be lost, and downtime is minimized.
11. Highly Scalable and Flexible
Scalability is extremely important, as business applications must be able to scale up and down to meet the current needs of the business. AWS was designed from the start with scalability and flexibility in mind. The flexibility of AWS’ cloud services is one of the main reasons it has such widespread adoption.
12. Customization
Customer-defined tagging in AWS allows you to apply a high level of customization. This allows users to monitor and manage resources like security, cost tracking, automation, and more.
You can schedule instances of services. If you do not want to use a service on particular days, you can turn it off, and schedule a time for the service to start up again. AWS tags allow you many ways in which you can customize services to meet your business needs.
13. PaaS Offerings
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud computing service that makes it easier to set up and manage the infrastructure.
Because AWS is highly scalable, it replicates methods in accomplished services for backup, database, data-warehousing, caching, infrastructure management, application management, transcoding, and storage. The result is reduced time and energy for setting up and maintaining applications.
14. Security
Cybersecurity is always a top concern for cloud applications. Where AWS excels is allowing the business owner can concentrate on their work instead of security. AWS has many compliance features and tools to keep services safe.
Over 100 AWS services have encryption abilities to store customer data. AWS does not charge an additional cost for IAM (Identity and Access Management), which helps customers authenticate their resources.
Additionally, AWS also offers an extensive security network to offer real-time insight and support on potential threats.
15. Backups and Recovery
Every robust application should have backup and recovery systems, in case something goes wrong. This allows data to be saved and recovered from a save point. Disaster recovery limits downtime and data loss. As a platform, AWS has many data recovery tools to help keep your organization running as normal.
16. Several Specialty Learning Paths
After you earn your Associate and Professional certifications, there are several specialty AWS certifications you can earn.
As of 2022, you can pursue specialized certifications in Data Analytics, Advanced Networking, Security, Databases, Alexa Skill Builder, and Machine Learning. These advanced learning paths allow you to hone in on a cloud computing specialty, making you valuable to employers looking for expertise in those fields.
Start Your Career in AWS Cloud Computing
Campus offers two programs for AWS certification.
First, our fully online AWS Cloud Solutions Architect program gives you hands-on experience with fundamental cloud-based technology and services. This program is open to all eligible students.
This program prepares students for the following certifications:
- Amazon AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
- Amazon AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
In just 24 weeks, you could earn your AWS certification and begin your career in cloud computing. Applicants to the AWS Solutions Architect program require the following:
- An Associate’s or higher degree from an accredited institution
- Education, certification or work experience in information technology
- Access to a laptop or desktop with broadband internet access
Second, our AWS Cloud Administration program is perfect for students who value flexibility. Most of the coursework can be completed online.
The program prepares students for the following certifications:
- CompTIA A+ Exams 220-1101 and 220-1102
- CompTIA Network+ Exam N10-008
- CompTIA Security+ Exam SY0-601
- Amazon AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
- Amazon AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
Campus is proud to host the first official AWS Academy in the Sacramento region. Campus' partnership with AWS Academy provides students with exclusive resources and curriculum to learn about the AWS cloud directly from the AWS team.
For more information, call at (916) 339-1500 or use the Request Information form today.