Learn how Amazon Web Services works and create a career for yourself

By Team CommerceMashable Deals2018-06-06 14:57:15 UTC

When you think of Amazon, you think of “the everything store.” The place you go to when you want to purchase a 50-lb. bag of limited-ingredient dog food, or a 100-count package of industrial pipe cleaners, or the finest toenail clipper money can buy. But that digital storefront is just the tip of the Amazon iceberg. Under the leadership of its CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon has put its fingers in many, many pies over the years. There’s its warehouse-for-hire service, Fulfillment by Amazon. There’s its industry-razing Kindle eBook store. There’s even a chain of checkout-free grocery stores on the horizon.

But in true “it’s always the quiet ones” fashion, there’s one division of Amazon that has roots planted deeper than nearly any other internet entity. It’s Amazon’s ace-in-the-hole, its dark horse, and quite possibly its endgame, if there is such a thing. When we’re all dead and gone, the endless server farms of Amazon Web Services will live on. 

A backend behemoth 

Today, Amazon Web Services accounts for one-tenth of the company’s revenue and generates more operating income than any of its other projects — more than $860 million a year. What started as a run-of-the-mill proprietary data center built to support Amazon’s (at the time) modest backend has grown into a globe-spanning data juggernaut that powers a sizable chunk of the internet. Just how sizable a chunk is up for debate, but we know that many highly trafficked sites use AWS for their storage and computing needs. Even Netflix relies on the support of AWS, despite the fact that Amazon’s streaming video service is its biggest competitor. And when AWS experiences outages, the entire web reels. So what are we to do when so much of our productivity, prosperity, and digital identity is in the hands of one massive entity? Learn how it all works, and get a piece of that sweet AWS action, of course. 

Help wanted

Amazon Web Services isn’t just a storage rental service. It’s also a powerful platform upon which the world’s leading cloud-based companies build their infrastructures. In fact, 64% of enterprise businesses and 68% of small-to-medium sized operations are AWS-aligned. As cloud computing grows and AWS expands, those companies are going to need a multitude of skilled IT professionals who know their way around AWS applications at scale — from solutions architects who will design, build, and manage their systems, to developers who will code their applications, to system admins who will keep it all running smoothly. And they’re going to use the AWS Certification as a benchmark. Online courses like this AWS Cloud Development training are showing up more and more to help interested candidates get their footing in the field and eventually earn a certification.

The AWS seal of approval

AWS Certification isn’t your average vocational merit badge. It proves that you possess some of the most in-demand, highly valued skills in IT, and that you’re backed up by one of the most respected and recognized entities in the tech world. Cloud computing companies know that when a candidate is AWS Certified, he or she is equipped for the job and poised to add huge value to the business. 

Get your head in the cloud

This pay what you want deal gives you a route to AWS Certification that will save you money and load you up with the resources you need to ace Amazon’s exams. The AWS Cloud Development Bundle includes 12 online courses covering core AWS services, use cases, architecture, management tools, cloud security, and troubleshooting concepts — everything you need to become a solutions architect, admin, or developer. There are also hours of awesome content covering other cloud computing platforms and tools, like Microsoft Azure and OpenStack so that you can round out your knowledge base.

Name your price for this $1,029 value and if it’s better than the average buyer, you’ll take home the entire bundle. Beat the leader’s price and you’ll make the Leaderboard and get entered in an awesome giveaway. Heck, even if you throw in $1, you’ll still get the AWS Certified Developer Tutorial. It’s a can’t-lose situation.