aws certified developer associate (dva-c01)

Is this Certification Right for You?

The certification is right for you if you have the following knowledge and skills recommended by Amazon for the exam. The recommended knowledge for the DVA-C01 are: 

1. More than or equal to one year of hands-on experience in developing and maintaining AWS applications. 
2. Profound knowledge of at least one of the high-level programming languages. 
3. Understanding the services of AWS, its uses, and the best practices of basic AWS architecture. 
4. Proficiency in the development, deployment, and debugging of cloud applications using AWS services.
5. The ability to use AWS service APIs, the AWS CLI, and SDKs for writing applications.
6. To be able to identify the key AWS services features. 
7. Understanding of the shared responsibility model of AWS
8. Understanding the application lifecycle management process
9. Ability to use the CI/CD pipeline for the deployment of applications on AWS
10. Ability to interact with the services of AWS 
11. Ability to write code by understanding the basic cloud-native applications. 
12. Ability to write the code using AWS security practices 
13. Ability to write, maintain, and test code modules on AWS
14. Proficiency in writing the code for serverless applications
15. Understand the use of containers in the process of development

What are the Requirements?

There are no specific requirements for this certification. However, the recommended knowledge and experience listed above apply to all the candidates who want to have this certification. So if you want to obtain this certification, make sure you check out the recommended knowledge and experience to find out whether you have fulfilled the requirements and that this certification is right for you or not. 

• The certification was introduced in June 2018. 
• It is one of the highest paying certifications with over 100,000 US$ salary annually for a certified professional.
• 40% of the content of  AWS Solutions Architect is included in the Developer Associate exam and therefore is necessary to pass the exam. 

Benefits of AWS Certified Developer Associate Certification

The benefits of AWS Certified Developer Associate certification are immense. To make you better understand the benefits of this certification, we have summarized and listed them as follows: 

• Preparation for the future

Cloud Computing is the trend of the future. More than 83% of the workload of enterprise systems will be transferred to the clouds by 2020. Therefore, getting certified for one of the most notable cloud certifications, such as the AWS Certified Developer Associate, gives you the chance to prepare well for the future.

Moreover, the certification will also help you prepare for the new and upcoming trends in the IT job market. As more companies are looking for AWS certified practitioners, your future will certainly be bright. 

• Development of professional expertise

The AWS Certified Developer Associate certification will provide you with new avenues for developing your professional expertise. The AWS certifications all require rigorous practice, study, commitment, and dedication.

Furthermore, the concerns you will have for the recertification process also make you stay on your toes to develop the necessary knowledge and skills following the latest cloud computing and AWS services trends. More importantly, getting certified for the Developer Associate certification gives you the chance to broaden your knowledge on other AWS certifications.  

• Validation of your dedication and commitment

Having a certification in any field validates that you are dedicated to your future. You will also gain additional recognition and trust from your peers and employers after getting the AWS certification. The certificate acts as proof of your efforts and skills in the AWS domain.

Your potential employers will be happy to know that you are dedicated to the job, and this, in turn, will make you more relatable, and your prospects of getting hired for a good job with a high salary will increase. 

• A good career prospect

A good career is the dream of every educated individual, with the AWS Certified Developer Associate certification, a 100% guarantee that your career will get a boost. A better career prospect is one of the most important reasons why people are attracted to this certification.

As discussed previously, the cloud computing environment is growing. If you are certified with the AWS Certified Developer Associate certification in this growing environment, then your chances of getting a better job will drastically increase. Moreover, even in the same company, a certified individual can demand more salary than a normal professional. 

• Expansion of professional network

With the AWS Certified Developer Associate certification, you can join the global AWS community. The AWS-certified professionals can access the LinkedIn and Facebook profiles of the AWS community. This gives you the chance to widen your professional network by communicating with other certified professionals.

Furthermore, attending meetups, seminars, conferences of certified professionals gives you a chance to interact and collaborate with other professionals and experts expanding your professional circle. It would be impossible otherwise without getting certified. Hence, this is also a major benefit of attaining this certification. 

Certification Syllabus Content

The outline of the content for the DVA-C01 AWS Certified Developer Associate exam includes the weightings, objectives, and domains.  The main contents and their weightings are listed in the table below: 

Domain 1: Deployment

1.1 Deploy the written code in AWS using the existing CI/CD pipelines, processes, and patterns

1.2 Deploy the applications using Elastic Beanstalk

1.3 Prepare the application deployment package to be deployed to the AWS

1.4 Deploy the serverless applications

Domain 2: Security

2.1 Make authenticated calls to the AWS services

2.2 Implement encryption techniques using AWS services

2.3  Implement application authentication and authorization methods

Domain 3: Development with AWS Services

3.1 Write the code for serverless applications

3.2 Translate functional requirements into the design of the application

3.3 Implement application design into the application code

3.4 Write code that interacts with the AWS services by using APIs, SDKs, and AWS CLI

Domain 4: Refactoring

4.1 Optimize the application to make the best use of AWS services and features

4.2 Migrate the existing application code to run on AWS

Domain 5: Monitoring and Troubleshooting

5.1 Write the codes which can be monitored

5.2 Perform root cause analysis on faults that are found in testing or production

Career Opportunities

The career opportunities for an AWS-certified candidate are many. You can get many different types of jobs with AWS certifications. The salary of AWS-certified individuals gets an average increase of 20% compared to other individuals.

Some of the awesome jobs and their salaries that you can obtain with the AWS Certified Developer Associate certification are: 

The average salary of an AWS Certified Developer Associate is US$130,883 per year.

Certification Renewal Policy

Certification Rescheduling and the Cancellation Policy

You can reschedule or cancel your exam for up to 24 hours of the exam appointment. The option for rescheduling and canceling the exam will be available on your PearsonVUE account of AWS certifications. Click on "Manage your exams" and select the cancellation or rescheduling option you wish to proceed with. Do note that you cannot cancel or reschedule the exams once you reach the 24-hour appointment for the exam. 

Additionally, you can only reschedule the exam two times a year after your original appointment. After that, you need to cancel the exam and schedule a new exam for the AWS Certified Developer Associate Certification.

Exam Retake Policy

How Can I Attend the Exam?

You can attend the AWS Certified Developer Associate exam online through online proctoring or in-person testing at the testing center. PearsonVUE is the official testing center for the AWS certification. So, you can schedule your AWS certification exams through the PearsonVUE website or by going to the testing center in person.

In the case of an online exam, you need to ensure that you have a reliable internet connection and no disruptions during the exam. As any disruptions may cause your exam to be invalid, you need to prepare the hardware infrastructure and the exam environment well before sitting for the examination.

How to Prepare for the Certification?

The preparation of the AWS Certified Developer Associate certification needs to be done with utmost seriousness. You can use the following methods for the preparation of the certification exam. 

• Create a proper study plan

The first step in any preparation is to create a solid plan for the study. A good blueprint for the examination containing the exam topics, your current understanding of the topics, the time allocation for each topic, the resource materials prepared or required, etc., is helpful during the preparation. This gives you the proper way of working on those topics that you are weak in while maintaining the appropriate time to prepare other topics.  

• Understand the AWS concepts

Before you give the Developer Associate exam, you need to be aware of cloud computing and AWS concepts in detail. Getting some hands-on experience and validating your knowledge and skills in different AWS domains is necessary to pass the exam. Hence, you need to prepare for the exam keeping these things in mind. 

• Refer to the books available

There are many books and e-books available that you can refer to for the AWS Certified Developer Associate exam. Some of these books are “The AWS for Developers for dummies”, the “AWS Development Essentials”, etc. You can take these reference books to develop your knowledge regarding the development concepts and cloud computing necessary for the AWS Developer Associate exam. 

• Join the AWS training

You can take the official training provided by the vendor Amazon for the AWS Certified Developer Associate exam. You need to register before getting this training. However, the training requires zero cost. Therefore, official training is a good way to prepare for this certification exam. 

• Question and Answer websites and discussion forums

For quality information and topic-related discussions, you can visit the different questions and answer sites such as Quora, Answers.com, StackOverflow, etc. you can get answers to any of your queries from the experts in these Q&A sites.

Furthermore, you can also give your opinions regarding the questions of other candidates through these sites. The discussion forums of the Amazon certifications provide you with information on the latest updates, expert opinions, and topic discussion. Therefore they too are a good way to prepare for the certification exam. 

• Take practice tests before giving the exam.

Taking practice tests before giving the exam is an essential preparation method. Taking practice tests helps you access your current capabilities and knowledge. Furthermore, practice tests also help you feel the real exam environment and the potential questions asked in the exam. So, make sure that you take practice tests and practice for the exam as practice makes perfect.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the AWS Certified Developer Associate certification is for you if you are a developer and interested in cloud computing using Amazon Web Services. The certification is widely recognized and will give your career a good boost, with hundreds of thousands of expected salaries.

In addition to this, the certification requires you to keep up with cloud computing trends not to be left behind. You need to prepare well for this certification. We believe that with this complete guide of AWS Certified Developer Associate certification, you get a general overview of the certification exam. If you have any queries or confusions relating to this or other IT certification exams, you can contact us.

Good Luck with your exam.!!!