I have about six months of experience in basic IT support and I want to specialize in security within the cloud. I see there is a specific Security Specialty exam, but I assume I can't just take that immediately. Between the various AWS certification levels, what is the most logical progression for someone who wants to eventually work as a Cloud Security Engineer but is currently at a junior level?
3 answers
You definitely shouldn't jump straight into the Specialty exam. The most common path is to start with the Solutions Architect Associate (SAA) because security in AWS is heavily dependent on how you configure VPCs, IAM, and S3 buckets. Once you understand the architectural side, the Security Specialty becomes much easier to digest. I followed this route in 2023 and it felt very natural. The SAA gives you the "breadth" while the Specialty provides the "depth" in encryption, logging, and incident response. Expect to spend at least 4 months on this transition.
Have you considered looking into the Developer Associate track as well, or are you strictly focused on the infrastructure and operations side of security for now?
Start with SAA-C03. It is the gold standard. Once you pass that, the security concepts in the Specialty exam will actually make sense in a real-world context.
Spot on, Gary. I’ve seen many people fail the Specialty because they didn't have the foundational networking knowledge that comes from the Solutions Architect Associate exam.
I’m mostly interested in infrastructure and operations, Brian. I’m not much of a coder, so the Developer track seems a bit daunting. My goal is to master things like AWS WAF, Shield, and GuardDuty to protect enterprise environments from threats. I feel like the infrastructure side is where I can make the most impact given my current background in IT support and networking.