AWS Training and Certification Blog

Announcing our newest Twitch series, AWS Power Hour: Architecting

Did you know that AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate topped the list of certifications IT professionals wanted to pursue in 2020, according to Global Knowledge? What’s more, it’s also one of the top paid certifications in the industry. Employers often look to validate an individual’s level of expertise through industry certifications. To help those of you pursuing this certification, as well as those simply interested in growing their cloud skills, we’ve designed a new Twitch series from Amazon Web Services (AWS) Training and Certification to help you connect with other exam candidates, ask questions of experts, and engage with likeminded fellow learners. The newest series, AWS Power Hour: Architecting, and its companion show, AWS Power Hour: Q&A, are available for free and will kick off on Monday, July 12, and run for six weeks on Twitch.

So, if your goal is to become an AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, join us for our weekly Twitch series and join our Get AWS Certified: Solutions Architect Challenge. By doing so, you can make the most of your experience preparing for the exam and connect with other participants on Twitch. By joining the challenge, you’ll also be eligible for a 50% discount voucher for the exam (terms and conditions apply).

What are AWS Power Hour: Architecting and AWS Power Hour: Q&A?

Join us for AWS Power Hour: Architecting, the newest Twitch series from AWS Training and Certification. The series is designed for anyone whose goal is to build their AWS architecting skill set, and in particular, those looking for additional resources to prepare for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam. The series offers a free, fun, and an informal way to learn with a community of individuals who have similar goals. AWS Power Hour: Architecting is part of AWS’s commitment to provide free skills training to 29 million learners globally by 2025 through innovative offerings that meet learners where they are.

“Our community of learners has provided a hugely positive response to the Twitch format, learning new cloud skills in a fun, informal way, as well as preparing for AWS Certification exams. So, we’re thrilled to offer a series focused on architecting,” said Scott Barneson, director of Learning Products, AWS Training and Certification. “The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification is one of our most popular certifications, and there’s a real industry need for individuals with this validated skill set to help organizations of all sizes optimize their cloud architecture. Through this series, we hope to enable even more individuals to build their cloud skills and earn their AWS Certification.”

AWS Power Hour: Architecting is an interactive livestream that will cover key aspects of architecting on AWS. Over the course of six weeks, our AWS experts will serve as hosts and guide you through the content with demonstrations and real-world examples. You’ll start with resilient and high-performing architectures, then move on to secure applications and architectures before focusing on cost-optimization. The final two episodes will include review and plenty of practice exam questions. Along the way, you’ll receive tips, resources, polls, quizzes, and exercises to help you strengthen your knowledge and prepare you to get AWS Certified. You can find all the information and links to watch the episodes on our series page.

Each episode will livestream twice per week on each Mondays at 7:00 a.m. PDT and Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. PDT (identical content) to accommodate learners all over the world. You’ll also be able to access recorded episodes anytime, immediately after they stream. Our hosts for the series are Chinmay Anaokar, AWS technical trainer from India (Monday show) and Adam Lenau, AWS technical trainer from the US, and Eric Wong, AWS technical trainer from Canada (Thursday show).

Additionally, join AWS Power Hour: Q&A immediately after AWS Power Hour: Architecting. Q&A is a twice-weekly, 30-minute, open-forum livestream where you can interact with the show hosts and your fellow learner community and ask questions.

Is AWS Certification your goal?

The Get AWS Certified: Solutions Architect Challenge is another free way to help you stay accountable and get preparation tips directly from AWS Training and Certification. The challenge provides a recommended preparation path that includes free training, resources, and a learner community on Twitch to help you along the way. By joining the challenge, you’ll also be eligible for a 50% discount voucher for the exam (terms and conditions apply).

“Individuals with verified cloud skills, in particular, architecting for the AWS Cloud, are in high demand across the industry. The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification validates experience designing and implementing distributed systems on AWS. This was the very first certification we launched when we started certifying AWS skills, and it remains relevant for a wide variety of cloud-related job roles,” said Diana Godwin, AWS Certification leader for AWS Training and Certification.

How can I get started?

Both the Twitch series and participation in the Get AWS Certified: Solutions Architect Challenge are free and available globally. AWS Power Hour: Architecting and AWS Power Hour: Q&A begin the week of July 12. Learn more and explore which stream dates and times work for you. Registration is currently open for the Get AWS Certified: Solutions Architect Challenge, so learn more and sign up today.