From Certification Path to Career Path

How do you think about the AWS certification achievement? Is that good or bad? With me, it is kind of motivation

I just finished my last 7th AWS Certification. I feel good with special experience after I can pass through the challenge.

Many years ago, I passed AWS Architecture Associate with target for my working and then I stoped with my thinking: “Certification cannot prove your real strengthen, it is just a paper, nothing more“.

But after a time, I feel down motivation so I stop improve my self. This situation is really bad and cause of it, I must change my thinking to change my life. I found a hard-core way to improve my self, to make me continuously learning. I called that with the funny name: Certification Path.

Before now, when taking about the career, the word “Career Path” is very popular.

But today, I will introduce to you new word “Certification Path“. Certification Path was defined by me. (My hopeful is there is a day, this term of word will become popular around the world??? Hahaha!!!)

Certification Path is new term that I based on my self ^^! Certification Path means you define a path to learn and acquire all that certifications. Of course, when you try to pass the certification, you must study, must do as much as possible to acquire it. Even when I feel lazy, I choose the hard-core way to push my mind up. I book the examination to make the deadline for myself, then I try my best to prepare for the exam. Because the pressure of losing money if I failed the exam so that is a good point to pull my spirit up alot (-_-).

Cause of it, beside of your Career Path, I advise you should place a little time on Certification Path planing. Both of them can do the same time and the result will be very good. Finally, you increase your PRICE – your VALUE. !YEAH!

Ok! Let get inside to help you answer the 2 questions:

• How to define the clearly Certification Path?
• How to pass through it?

Look at below instruction!

1. Bring out the Target: You must self-answer the below questions to address the main point:
   1. What is your PURPOSE? => e.g. Want to challenge yourself? Want to improve yourself? Want to improve your real value? (I mean your salary or something like that!!!! hehe!).
   2. Which CERTIFICATIONS you want to acquire? => e.g. for example myself, I want to become master on AWS so I want to learn more. I also want to acquire AWS Certifications to show up that I have enough knowledge on it. The easier way to define that is what is relative to your working.
   3. Will it RELATIVE or SUPPORT to your working NOW and in the FUTURE? => In Vietnamese, we have an idioms “Learning with practice”. If it relatives to your working, your will get more motivation to all the time.
   4. Is it COMPATIBLE with your current level/knowledge? => Absolutely, it must be YES. If NO, you should make it lower level with many step. Just walk step by step guys.
   5. If the (No. 4) is NO, define the strategy to skill up your level before it. Just some preparation. => e.g. With many AWS Certification levels, I go step by step from associate level to professional level, then specialty.
2. Suitable Route: “There is no one junior that can 1 step to become professional.” <- this is my opinion. And if you was lucky to pass the exam, I think it is just a lucky, not your real strength. Once you get in the real situation, you may not qualify to working on it. I always follow 3 points: low to higher level, easy to harder and surface to deeply/widely level.
3. Helper Toolkit: in my point of view, anything can help that also know as helper tools 😀
   1. Friend/Co-Worker/…: Always ask and get experience/advise from who has experience around you. That will be the best start four yours.
   2. Documentation: Official Documentations, Sharing posts, guilde line,… everything is good if you can know and get the good point from them but do remember “Do not lost on them“.
   3. Lab, Assignment, Handson: One more time I want to send the idioms “Learning with practice”. And the best practice is the working, try to apply all of it into your daily working is the best way to strengthen your knowledge.
   4. Sample Exam, question: One more time to review your knowledge before the real exam.
4. The REWARD: The very very IMPORTANCE to let me can go ahead that I always define the reward what I can get when I got the good result. It will be the best motivation four you, I swear.

Oke! I wish all of you can get the best result and get more and more success on your Certification Path, also Career Path.

Now, Im back to my learning. haha!