Q&A: Cloud Certifications Before or After Coding Bootcamp

Question

I’ll be attending a coding bootcamp soon and was wondering, would it be beneficial to get the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (CSAA) and Professional (CSAP) prior to my bootcamp enrollment?

Answer

It may vary from camp to camp, but most bootcamp programs expect students to come in motivated to learn and with just enough coding experience to hit the ground running. After all, the goal of a bootcamp is to rapidly develop programming skills through instruction, study, and hands-on projects. On the other hand, most coding bootcamps don't expect their incoming students to have extensive experience working with cloud technologies.

With that said, I don’t think its necessary to get certs before attending a bootcamp.  Indeed, getting one or both of the SAA and Pro certs would put you at an advantage for knowing how to use and work with AWS cloud. If you were in a bootcamp and needed to deploy an application to Lambda, for example, having the experience to do that would put you at an advantage. Even knowing what the Lambda service is could be a bonus.

But I would check with the camp to see if that sort of experience is needed. Your prep time might be better spent working on coding skills with Python, Javascript, or CSS. This is especially true if you're planning to sit for any Pro level certs. Those will require substantial time for training and getting hands-on experience.

If you have the time and opportunity to get an AWS cert or two before your bootcamp without being overwhelmed, go for it. But if taking on that challenge can be delayed until after your bootcamp, don’t stress it until then.