Scott Pletcher
Cloud Computing & Cloud Security
11 courses
AWS Training & Certification Courses for Cloud Teams
Certify your cloud team across AWS — from Cloud Practitioner to Solutions Architect and Security Specialty. Structured paths for migration, architecture, and operations.
11
Courses
1,877
Videos
238h
Total
Where teams start
Most Popular AWS Certifications
Core AWS certification paths for cloud teams standardizing role coverage across architecture, operations, data, AI, development, and security. Each course pairs expert-led video with unlimited practice exams.
Associate
SAA-C03
This AWS certified solutions architect training helps you build and secure cloud solutions on AWS. Through real-world scenarios, unlimited practice exams and engaging bite-sized videos, you'll design architectures that meet compute, networking, storage and database needs. You'll learn to migrate workloads, deploy serverless apps, manage VPCs and containers, automate with infrastructure as code and monitoring tools, and apply cost and security best practices. You'll also explore IAM, encryption, analytics with Athena, automation with Lambda and API Gateway, container orchestration and hybrid multi‑region design. Whether you need a study guide for SAA‑C03 or real‑world skills, this associate course gets you ready to pass the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam.
Knox Hutchinson
Associate
AWS Machine Learning
This AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate (MLA-C01) course is designed to get you comfortable with the full lifecycle of machine learning workflows on AWS. You’ll learn how to prepare data, train models, and deploy them securely in a professional environment. With AWS expert Scott Pletcher as your guide, you’ll explore key AI and ML services like Amazon SageMaker and AWS Glue, and see how to apply them in your everyday work. You’ll get hands-on with tools that simplify, accelerate, and enhance the way you use the AWS ecosystem. By the end, you’ll be ready to earn a career-advancing credential from the world’s cloud and AI powerhouse: the AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate certification. Take the MLA-C01 exam with confidence and move forward in your machine learning career.
Scott Pletcher
Practictioner
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
This AWS Cloud Practitioner training prepares you for the CLF-C02 exam by covering AWS infrastructure, core services (compute, storage, AI/ML), and the Well-Architected Framework. You’ll build foundational literacy in cloud security, networking, and pricing models across the four exam domains. You'll also learn to identify key resources via the Console or CLI while navigating the shared responsibility model and cost-management. This AWS Cloud Practitioner training includes interactive quizzes, a study guide, and a full practice exam to ensure you pass with confidence.
Scott Pletcher
Practitioner
AWS AI Practitioner
Make AI work for you with this AWS Certified AI Practitioner course (AIF-C01), designed for beginners, business leaders, data analysts, and aspiring machine learning engineers. You’ll build a strong foundation in the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and machine learning, using AWS services like SageMaker, Bedrock, Comprehend, Rekognition, Lex, and more. You'll also learn prompt engineering, model evaluation, and responsible AI practices so non-technical teams can confidently guide AI initiatives and adoption. After you complete this AWS Certified AI Practitioner course, you’ll be fully prepared to pass the AIF-C01 exam and earn a valuable foundational AI certification.
Jonathan Barrios
Specialty
AWS Certified Security Specialty
Prepare for the AWS Certified Security Specialty (SCS-C03) certification with expert-led training. Learn to secure AWS environments by managing access controls with IAM Roles Anywhere, protecting data through Amazon Security Lake, and responding to threats using Amazon CodeGuru Security. In this course, you'll cover securing GenAI applications and leveraging Amazon Q Developer alongside advanced networking like AWS Verified Access and Layer 3-7 firewall rules. This course covers essential tools and techniques, including AWS Verified Permissions, to safeguard cloud systems and make you stand out as a candidate for cloud security roles. This AWS training is ideal for cloud administrators and teams looking to enhance security skills or onboard new team members.
Scott Pletcher
Associate
AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate
This AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate training teaches you to design, build, and manage scalable, secure data pipelines on AWS. Master powerful tools like S3, Glue, Redshift, and Lambda, and develop the cloud skills companies need to optimize data workflows, ensure security, and achieve compliance. This course is perfect as DEA-C01 exam prep, or as a training resource for data professionals who want to verify their data engineering skills.
Scott Pletcher
Associate
AWS CloudOps Engineer
This AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer - Associate training course prepares you to manage and scale cloud environments like a modern operations professional. This course focuses on high-level automation and observability. You’ll learn the deployment of infrastructure via CDK templates, secure hybrid environments with IAM Roles Anywhere, and maintain visibility through advanced CloudWatch and EKS/ECS metric collection. By the end of this course, you’ll have the technical skills to manage complex cloud initiatives, and the knowledge required to pass the COA-C03 exam and earn your CloudOps certification (formerly known as the SysOps Associate Certification). Start training now with unlimited practice exams and expert guidance.
Scott Pletcher
Capability ladder
AWS Certifications by Level
The most popular AWS courses at each certification level — from first credentials for new team members through expert and specialty tracks.
1
Certification tier
Tier 1 — Entry Certifications
First credentials for new team members and cross-trained roles — the on-ramp before vendor specialization.
Practictioner
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
This AWS Cloud Practitioner training prepares you for the CLF-C02 exam by covering AWS infrastructure, core services (compute, storage, AI/ML), and the Well-Architected Framework. You’ll build foundational literacy in cloud security, networking, and pricing models across the four exam domains. You'll also learn to identify key resources via the Console or CLI while navigating the shared responsibility model and cost-management. This AWS Cloud Practitioner training includes interactive quizzes, a study guide, and a full practice exam to ensure you pass with confidence.
Scott Pletcher
Practitioner
AWS AI Practitioner
Make AI work for you with this AWS Certified AI Practitioner course (AIF-C01), designed for beginners, business leaders, data analysts, and aspiring machine learning engineers. You’ll build a strong foundation in the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and machine learning, using AWS services like SageMaker, Bedrock, Comprehend, Rekognition, Lex, and more. You'll also learn prompt engineering, model evaluation, and responsible AI practices so non-technical teams can confidently guide AI initiatives and adoption. After you complete this AWS Certified AI Practitioner course, you’ll be fully prepared to pass the AIF-C01 exam and earn a valuable foundational AI certification.
Jonathan Barrios
2
Certification tier
Tier 2 — Associate Certifications
Core role credentials — the level most teams standardize on for day-to-day operations.
Associate
SAA-C03
This AWS certified solutions architect training helps you build and secure cloud solutions on AWS. Through real-world scenarios, unlimited practice exams and engaging bite-sized videos, you'll design architectures that meet compute, networking, storage and database needs. You'll learn to migrate workloads, deploy serverless apps, manage VPCs and containers, automate with infrastructure as code and monitoring tools, and apply cost and security best practices. You'll also explore IAM, encryption, analytics with Athena, automation with Lambda and API Gateway, container orchestration and hybrid multi‑region design. Whether you need a study guide for SAA‑C03 or real‑world skills, this associate course gets you ready to pass the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam.
Knox Hutchinson
Associate
AWS CloudOps Engineer
This AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer - Associate training course prepares you to manage and scale cloud environments like a modern operations professional. This course focuses on high-level automation and observability. You’ll learn the deployment of infrastructure via CDK templates, secure hybrid environments with IAM Roles Anywhere, and maintain visibility through advanced CloudWatch and EKS/ECS metric collection. By the end of this course, you’ll have the technical skills to manage complex cloud initiatives, and the knowledge required to pass the COA-C03 exam and earn your CloudOps certification (formerly known as the SysOps Associate Certification). Start training now with unlimited practice exams and expert guidance.
Scott Pletcher
Associate
AWS Certified Developer - Associate
Advance your cloud career with this comprehensive AWS Certified Developer Associate course designed for modern software engineers. This training path provides the technical depth required to pass the DVA-C02 exam while equipping you with the hands-on skills to build, deploy, and debug applications on the world’s leading cloud platform. Led by AWS expert Knox Hutchinson, this AWS Certified Developer Associate course bridges the gap between exam theory and real-world implementation. You'll gain mastery over the core services that power modern architectures, including AWS Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, and API Gateway.
Knox Hutchinson
Associate
AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate
This AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate training teaches you to design, build, and manage scalable, secure data pipelines on AWS. Master powerful tools like S3, Glue, Redshift, and Lambda, and develop the cloud skills companies need to optimize data workflows, ensure security, and achieve compliance. This course is perfect as DEA-C01 exam prep, or as a training resource for data professionals who want to verify their data engineering skills.
Scott Pletcher
Associate
AWS Machine Learning
This AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate (MLA-C01) course is designed to get you comfortable with the full lifecycle of machine learning workflows on AWS. You’ll learn how to prepare data, train models, and deploy them securely in a professional environment. With AWS expert Scott Pletcher as your guide, you’ll explore key AI and ML services like Amazon SageMaker and AWS Glue, and see how to apply them in your everyday work. You’ll get hands-on with tools that simplify, accelerate, and enhance the way you use the AWS ecosystem. By the end, you’ll be ready to earn a career-advancing credential from the world’s cloud and AI powerhouse: the AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate certification. Take the MLA-C01 exam with confidence and move forward in your machine learning career.
Scott Pletcher
3
Certification tier
Tier 3 — Professional Certifications
Advanced credentials for the engineers who own design, escalation, and complex environments.
Professional
AIP-C01
This expert-level AWS AI training is designed to help you pass the AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional exam (AIP-C01). The course focuses on building, deploying, and operating production-ready generative AI applications using AWS AI services. You’ll work with practical architectures like RAG and agentic AI, manage prompts, and learn how to optimize GenAI systems for cost, performance, and responsible use. Although it's not required, you might want to start with the AWS Certified Data Engineer or Machine Learning Engineer Associate certifications before you attempt this AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional course.
Scott Pletcher
Professional
4
Certification tier
Tier 4 — Expert & Specialty Certifications
Expert tracks and specialty credentials for architects and niche platform owners.
Specialty
ANS-C01
This expert AWS Certified Advanced Networking - Specialty training prepares engineers to design, implement, and secure complex hybrid cloud architectures. You'll prepare for the ANS-C01 exam as you learn to manage AWS VPC environments, Transit Gateway, and Direct Connect in accordance with the Well-Architected Framework. You'll also validate your skills in network optimization, DNS management with Route 53, and implementing robust network security across multi-account organizations. This course also includes an AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty practice exam, to help you reinforce skills and certify with confidence.
Knox Hutchinson, Scott Pletcher
Specialty
AWS Certified Security Specialty
Prepare for the AWS Certified Security Specialty (SCS-C03) certification with expert-led training. Learn to secure AWS environments by managing access controls with IAM Roles Anywhere, protecting data through Amazon Security Lake, and responding to threats using Amazon CodeGuru Security. In this course, you'll cover securing GenAI applications and leveraging Amazon Q Developer alongside advanced networking like AWS Verified Access and Layer 3-7 firewall rules. This course covers essential tools and techniques, including AWS Verified Permissions, to safeguard cloud systems and make you stand out as a candidate for cloud security roles. This AWS training is ideal for cloud administrators and teams looking to enhance security skills or onboard new team members.
Scott Pletcher
Fresh from the studio
Newest Releases
The latest AWS training added to the catalog — new courses land here within a day of publication.
Discipline crossover
AWS Training by Path
Where AWS training overlaps the disciplines your team hires for — each path page shows the full picture.
Practitioner
Specialty
Practictioner
Associate
Associate
Hands-on AWS practice
Human-led training is the point: engineers practice real skills with expert guidance, not just video playback.
Why CBT Nuggets
How CBT Nuggets is different for AWS teams
The platform features IT directors comparing training platforms ask about most often.
Practitioner-led
AWS training your team learns from
Built and taught by engineers who have spent decades running production AWS infrastructure — not crowd-sourced contributors.
Knox Hutchinson
Cloud Computing & DevOps
Jonathan Barrios
Data Science, Machine Learning & AI
Team outcome
Cloud certification readiness
Role-aligned AWS paths help managers assign the right training without building a certification plan from scratch.
Best fit for: teams standardizing cloud fundamentals, hands-on labs, and certification coverage across a growing engineering group.
Frequently asked questions about AWS training
Common questions IT directors ask when evaluating AWS training for their team.
Which AWS certification should our team standardize on first?
It depends on the team's role mix. For most cloud teams, every engineer should hold the Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) as a shared baseline. From there, match associate-level certs to roles: SAA-C03 for architects, DVA-C02 for application developers, COA-C03 for CloudOps/SRE, DEA-C01 for data engineers, MLA-C01 for ML engineers. Most mid-market teams pursuing AWS Partner Network tier eligibility run several of these in parallel against different role groups.
How do AWS certifications map to AWS Partner Network tiers?
AWS calibrates Partner Network tier requirements (Select / Advanced / Premier) against accumulated active AWS certifications across the partner's headcount. SAA-C03, DVA-C02, COA-C03, the specialty certs (SCS-C03, ANS-C01), and the Solutions Architect Professional all count. CBT Nuggets gives managers visibility into per-engineer cert progress so you can plan toward partner-tier thresholds intentionally rather than reactively.
How do you measure ROI on AWS training for a team?
The metrics that matter aren't seat-time or completion percentages. For AWS teams, start with cert coverage by role, time-to-productivity on AWS-native services, AWS bill-impact (well-architected reviews, cost optimization implementations), and incident volume on AWS-managed workloads. CBT Nuggets gives managers the reporting surface to track completion and cert coverage while the training itself keeps engineers on the right AWS path.
AWS recently renamed SOA to CloudOps and added a Generative AI Developer Pro — is the training current?
Yes. AWS rebranded SOA-C02 → COA-C03 (CloudOps Engineer Associate), launched the Data Engineer Associate (DEA-C01), and added the Generative AI Developer Professional (AIP-C01) and AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) tracks. CBT Nuggets updates AWS course titles and paths as the catalog changes so managers can keep team training plans aligned with current AWS exam objectives.
Does this work for compliance training programs (FedRAMP, HIPAA, PCI, SOC 2)?
Yes. Team reporting helps managers document assigned training, completion, and cert coverage for internal governance or audit conversations. Teams in regulated industries can pair AWS cert paths (SCS-C03, ANS-C01, COA-C03) with the broader CBT Nuggets platform features designed for team visibility, access control, and reporting.
How does CBT Nuggets handle AWS recerts and renewals?
AWS certifications are valid for three years. CBT Nuggets helps managers keep recert work organized through assigned training paths, progress visibility, and updated catalog content as AWS refreshes exam objectives. When AWS renames or restructures a track (SAA-C02 → SAA-C03, SOA → COA), updated courses can stay aligned with the same team training plan.
Can our team learn AWS without prior cloud experience?
Yes, and many teams do. Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) is designed as the on-ramp for engineers transitioning into cloud work. Pair it with hands-on grounding in S3, EC2, and VPC before the team commits to associate-level cert prep. Most teams budget 4–6 weeks for Cloud Practitioner and 8–12 weeks for SAA-C03 from a cold start, with virtual-lab practice running alongside the videos.