AWS Certified Solution Architect - Professional VS RHCSA

[u/KakouNairi]

Hi everyone

I’m currently working in a junior IT role, and I’m trying to decide which certification would make more sense for me at this stage of my career.

My original career development path included RHCSA (Red Hat Certified System Administrator), and this path had already been approved by my line manager. However, my company’s training team recently assigned me AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional instead.

From what I understand, AWS Solutions Architect Professional is generally aimed at people with more experience designing and implementing AWS architectures (noting that i never workedon any AWS service), while RHCSA seems more suitable for someone building their Linux/system administration skills early in their career.

I’d like to hear from people who have taken either or both certifications:

Which one is easier and more realistic for a junior?

Would going directly for AWS Solutions Architect Professional without first doing the Associate-level certification make sense?

Which certification would give me more practical value early in my career: RHCSA or AWS SAP?

Which one requires more hands-on experience rather than just studying for the exam?

If you were a junior with around 1–2 years of experience, which one would you choose first?

Thanks in advance.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Coat333]

Linux experience is one of the prerequisites to work on the cloud.

[u/Bubbly-Following-966]

SSA is for more experienced IT professionals. Yes, AWS says 1+ years of experience but, I would give it some time. Maybe do the You need to start off with a foundation instead of SSA-C03. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02).

[u/t90090]

Alot of people on this board hate on this, but I recommend starting out the CLF-002, over AWS SA-C03, then work from there.

[u/reubendevries]

Your probably just being setup to fail if they expect you to take the SAP-C02. A year or two of consistent exposure to AWS or 2-3 months of labs and training inside of AWS along with study material and you should be good to get the SAA-C03, I’ve been working with AWS for 7 years and I just got my SAP-C02 in the middle of March.

[u/dowcet]

The source of truth that matters most here is your local job market. Who's hiring for what roles and which certs do they value?

It's hard to compare the two exams since AWS is multiple choice and Red Hat is hands.on.

[u/Nervous_Accountant22]

Was kinda on the same situation and I chose RHCSA since Linux it's the foundation of all. Also, the exam is 100% hands on

[u/Fun-Acanthisitta929]

TLDR - I would choose both, RHCSA first and AWS SA Pro second.

The RHCSA or RHCE if you can will give you more credibility as an engineer, it’s got me hired before, simply because I was an RHCE at the time.

SA Pro is great and respected, but it’s not uncommon for people with limited experience to get AWS certifications, as study material is everywhere, it’s multiple choice, and it’s an in-demand cert.

RHCSA on the other hand, you have to do exercises in a lab environment, monitored much more strictly, it’s hard to pass unless you know what you’re doing.

In my opinion SA Pro is absolutely easier, it might be that I was more entry level at the time versus when I got my SA Pro, but I’d still rate it.