@Mark Anthony Germanos You can also get a 50% off voucher for some of the exams from AWS Academy, if you're an AWS Academy instructor. I use these when I can so I save my regular vouchers for when I'm attempting more exams than I'm passing, lol.
I'm aware of that, but the majority of people don't have access to AWS Academy, so it's kinda a moot point for anyone who is NOT an AWS Academy instructor. I actually do have access to AWS Academy, so I'm pretty lucky.
But..... if
@Mark Anthony Germanos wants other options that are achievable by the average individual who can't get AWS Academy access, then check these options out below:
There was a promotion they were doing at one point to give a certification voucher to you if you completed any of the full courses on AWS Educate, but I don't think they do that anymore. You can also attend several different boot camps and receive vouchers as well, but honestly, finding the free boot camp that will provide the vouchers can be a lot. It can be done, though. There are some local colleges that offer free boot camps. There are workforce development departments with their local counties and cities that offer free boot camps. All will give the free vouchers to provide to take the AWS certifications.
If you want to become an AWS Partner, that is easy enough to do as well. As a partner, you can get a voucher for free to take an exam, but if you're not doing anything as a partner with them, I think they might give you a side eye at some point. That is another way to get a voucher. It's relatively easy to become a partner. As an AWS Partner, I do use the partner services for other things, and my goal is to become a training partner for them one day.
You can also enter the AWS Twitch channel and attend lectures given. From time to time, they offer vouchers.
As an AWS Partner, you can also register for trainings that prep you for certifications. There are some trainers that do contests and giveaways to anyone who completes the full Skillbuilder pathway before the course ends- but they will tell you at the beginning of the partner training if they'll do that.
AWS also provides the occasional "free retake" voucher you can use. The most recent one is good until April 30th. Basically, if you sign up and take any of the exams before April 30th and fail, you can use the free retake and retake the exam. The retake time isn't indefinite, so you have to check and see when you have to take the retake by. Personally, I don't like free retakes. I aim to pass the first time. I treat exams like being in an agile environment. Each exam prepares me for the next, so I don't need the iterative failure in order to retake kind of situation. I just want to pass pass pass (this is the strategy I used to pass my AWS Solutions Architect Professional the first time, and I don't have a technical background. I'm a former Pilates instructor and personal trainer).
A fun way I've used to get vouchers is by attending some of the AWS Jam sessions. If you get invited to some of them, they give free vouchers just to attend. AWS Innovate online conferences sometimes give vouchers as well. Even if they don't give vouchers, they'll often give free AWS credits for you to use towards using services, so you can get to use services that would normally cost money. I've gotten thousands of dollars in credits from attending Jams and AWS Innovate conferences.
There are a plethora of ways you can earn vouchers- free ones, half off ones, 33% off ones...... The name of the game for me is to do it the easiest way- pass the first time, get the voucher, study for the next one, and pass that exam. Get the voucher, apply it towards the next one. Those vouchers are 50% off, and it's a wash-rinse-repeat kind of cycle. When I get a free voucher for 100% off, I use those for the expensive vouchers. 50% off vouchers are first used towards the cheaper ones, and once I've passed the associate level ones, then aim for the professional levels ones or specialty ones. The more linked you are to AWS/Amazon, the more offers you'll see come across your screen. But.... even with everything I've told you, even if it seems like a lot, it really isn't. I'm like Pac Man- I crunch through those certs like I'm eating pebbles on a screen, then advance to the next level. My goal is to get all the certs, and I'm more than halfway there. I've never paid full price for any certification, because I've used any of the methods I've used above. I got better ways to spend my money!
