This cracked me up. I was "asked" to get some AWS certs since I joined a company that was an AWS Partner. We have a new VP that is forcing other people to get them. Big waste of time for all practical purposes.
Having an AWS certification is not a requirement or even that important to get a job at AWS in the Professional Services department. Depending on your job position you are required to have certain certifications once you get there.
I now work for a partner and you are required to have a certain number of “certified individuals” to maintain partnership status. But even then, certifications never came up in my three interviews after getting “Amazoned” a couple of months ago.
But then again, after having AWS ProServe on my resume and having been a major contributor to a popular open source project in my niche, door opened for my automatically.
I didn't mind getting the certifications to "help out" the company, I just find it such a racket: paying for courses, buying books, $200 tests. Some people take months preparing for that stuff! I didn't buy any courses and only spent a few days preparing, but others spend tons of time and money on it.
And based on my own personal interactions with other "certified" individuals, it doesn't actually mean anything.
