Study Hub - Cloud + AI Learning Hub¶

Your navigation hub for the whole repo: 148 certifications across 27 providers, plus the Learn pillar for non-cert students - bite-size concepts, beginner on-ramp, and structured cloud + AI paths.

Table of Contents¶

• Quick Navigation
• Not chasing a certification?
• Decision Tree: Find Your Cert
• Study Tracks by Career Path
• Certifications by Provider
• Most Popular Certifications
• Study Timeline Estimates
• Resource Library
• Cost Planning

Quick Navigation¶

Not chasing a certification?¶

The Learn pillar is for everyone who wants to understand cloud and AI without an exam date:

• Day One - terminal, git, HTTP, servers. Strict beginner on-ramp.
• Concepts - 46 bite-size pages (5-10 min each) on cloud + AI primitives.
• Cloud from Scratch + AI from Scratch - structured 8-phase paths.
• Glossary - 200+ terms in plain English.
• YouTube curation - filtered videos worth your time.

Come back when you decide to certify. Many do, after using the Learn pillar to figure out which direction.

Decision Tree: Find Your Cert¶

What's your starting point?
│
├─ New to cloud (0-6 months)
│  └─> AWS Cloud Practitioner | Azure AZ-900 | GCP Cloud Digital Leader | OCI Foundations
│
├─ Have some cloud experience (6-18 months)
│  ├─ Want infrastructure focus → AWS SAA-C03 | Azure AZ-104 | GCP Cloud Engineer
│  ├─ Want development focus  → AWS DVA-C02 | Azure AZ-204
│  ├─ Want operations focus   → AWS CloudOps SOA-C03 | Azure AZ-104 | RHCSA
│  └─ Want data focus         → AWS DEA-C01 | Azure DP-203 | GCP Data Engineer | Databricks DE Assoc
│
├─ Senior practitioner (18+ months)
│  ├─ Architecture        → AWS SAP-C02 | Azure AZ-305 | GCP PCA
│  ├─ DevOps              → AWS DOP-C02 | Azure AZ-400 | GCP Cloud DevOps
│  ├─ Security            → AWS SCS-C02 | Azure AZ-500 | GCP Cloud Security | CISSP | CCSP
│  └─ Specialty           → AWS Adv Networking | AWS Quantum | Databricks ML Pro | OpenShift EX280
│
└─ Cross-cutting specializations
   ├─ Kubernetes          → KCNA → CKA → CKAD → CKS → ICA (Istio) | OpenShift EX280
   ├─ Terraform/IaC       → Terraform Associate → Terraform Authoring & Operations Pro
   ├─ AI/ML platform      → AWS MLA-C01 | Azure AI-102 | NVIDIA AI Infra Pro
   ├─ Generative AI       → AWS AI Practitioner | Azure GenAI | NVIDIA GenAI/LLM | Anthropic Claude certs
   ├─ Networking          → CCNA → CCNP | AWS Adv Networking | GCP Cloud Network Engineer
   ├─ Linux / Platform    → LFCS | RHCSA → RHCE / OpenShift EX280
   ├─ Security specialty  → CISSP | CCSP | CCSK v5 | Security+ | SC-200
   └─ FinOps              → FinOps Practitioner → Engineer/Analyst → Professional

Study Tracks by Career Path¶

Cloud Architect Track¶

Foundations → Associate → Professional 1. AWS Cloud Practitioner or Azure AZ-900 or GCP Cloud Digital Leader 2. AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) or Azure AZ-104 or GCP Cloud Engineer 3. AWS Solutions Architect Professional (SAP-C02) or Azure AZ-305 or GCP PCA 4. Multi-cloud add-on: Terraform Associate, Kubernetes CKA

DevOps / SRE Track¶

1. Foundational cloud cert in your primary cloud
2. AWS DVA-C02 / Azure AZ-204 / GCP Cloud Developer
3. AWS DOP-C02 or Azure AZ-400 or GCP Cloud DevOps Engineer
4. Specialization: Kubernetes CKA → CKAD → CKS, Terraform Associate, Prometheus PCA

Security Track ¶

1. CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) or AWS Cloud Practitioner
2. AWS SCS-C02 or Azure SC-200 or GCP Cloud Security
3. CCSK v5 (vendor-neutral cloud security) → CCSP
4. Capstone: CISSP (8 domains, gold standard)
5. Add: Kubernetes CKS, HashiCorp Vault Associate, Boundary Associate

Data Engineering Track¶

1. Foundational cert in your primary cloud
2. AWS Data Engineer Associate (DEA-C01) or Azure DP-203 or GCP Data Engineer
3. Databricks Data Engineer Associate → Professional
4. Snowflake SnowPro Core → Advanced Data Engineer
5. Specialization: Confluent (Kafka), MongoDB DBA

AI/ML Track ¶

1. AWS AI Practitioner or Azure AI-900 or AWS Cloud Practitioner
2. AWS MLA-C01 or Azure AI-102 or GCP ML Engineer
3. Databricks ML Associate → Professional
4. NVIDIA AI Infrastructure & Operations Associate → Professional
5. Generative AI: NVIDIA GenAI/LLM, plus the Anthropic Claude certifications (Associate, Developer, Architect Foundations → Professional)

Kubernetes Track ¶

1. KCNA (Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate)
2. CKA (Administrator)
3. CKAD (Application Developer) or CKS (Security Specialist)
4. OpenShift Administrator (EX280) for Red Hat-specific path
5. Specialization: PCA (Prometheus), ICA (Istio), KCSA (Security Associate)

FinOps Track ¶

1. FinOps Certified Practitioner
2. FinOps Certified Engineer or FinOps Certified Analyst
3. FinOps Certified Professional (advanced, FOCUS-aware)
4. Cloud-specific: AWS Cost optimization, Azure Cost Management, GCP billing

Platform Engineering Track¶

1. Linux Foundation LFCS or RHCSA or CompTIA Cloud+
2. Cloud associate cert (your primary cloud)
3. Kubernetes CKA + HashiCorp Terraform Associate (or OpenShift EX280 for Red Hat shops)
4. GitHub Actions + Administration certifications
5. Add: Boundary Associate, Vault Associate, Nomad Associate

Networking Track¶

1. Cisco CCNA (200-301) - foundational networking and routing/switching
2. AWS Advanced Networking Specialty or GCP Cloud Network Engineer (cloud-side)
3. CCNP Enterprise (350-401 ENCOR) for advanced Cisco networking

Certifications by Provider¶

The Certs column counts real exams. This repo also carries 3 self-directed study tracks (the Anthropic prompt engineering track plus the Azure and GCP GenAI tracks), which are study guides spanning several exams or none, not certifications in their own right.

◇ = outline stage: README, fact-sheet, and practice plan are written; topic notes are outlined but not yet drafted. See TODO.md for the drafting queue.

Most Popular Certifications¶

Top picks based on industry demand and salary impact:

1. AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) - the gateway AWS cert
2. Azure Administrator (AZ-104) - core Azure operations
3. GCP Associate Cloud Engineer - foundational GCP
4. CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator) - Kubernetes ops
5. Terraform Associate - IaC standard
6. AWS Solutions Architect Professional (SAP-C02) - senior architect
7. CISSP - security gold standard
8. Azure DevOps Engineer (AZ-400) - Azure expert DevOps
9. AWS Data Engineer Associate (DEA-C01) - modern AWS data certification
10. FinOps Certified Practitioner - cloud cost discipline
11. Cisco CCNA (200-301) - foundational networking
12. Red Hat RHCSA (EX200) - Linux administration foundation

Study Timeline Estimates¶

Beginner Fundamentals¶

First-cert path with no cloud background: 1. Pick one provider you'll use most often 2. Take its foundational cert (4 weeks of evenings) 3. Build a small free-tier project 4. Decide on Associate-level direction

Resource Library¶

Service Comparisons (cross-cloud)¶

Cloud: Compute · Storage · Databases · Networking · AI/ML · Containers/K8s · Security · DevOps/CI/CD · Observability · Serverless · Identity/IAM · Messaging

AI: Vector databases · GenAI platforms · Agent frameworks · LLM observability

CLI Cheat Sheets¶

AWS · Azure · GCP · Multi-cloud · kubectl · Terraform · Docker · Helm · GitHub CLI

Architecture Patterns¶

17 multi-cloud patterns covering 3-tier apps, serverless, microservices, event-driven, lakehouse, AI/ML pipelines, zero-trust, multi-region active-active, cell-based, chaos engineering, hybrid cloud and more. Browse all

Career Roadmaps¶

Cloud Engineer · Solutions Architect · DevOps/SRE · Data Engineer · Security Engineer · Multi-Cloud · Kubernetes Specialist · Platform Engineer · AI/ML Engineer · FinOps · Database Specialist

Deep-Dive Guides¶

• Compliance: SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, FedRAMP - resources/compliance-guides/
• Migration: On-prem to AWS/Azure/GCP, cloud-to-cloud, database migration - resources/migration-guides/
• Well-Architected: AWS, Azure, GCP frameworks - resources/well-architected/
• Cost Optimization: Per-cloud playbooks + FinOps principles - resources/cost-optimization/
• Troubleshooting: AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes - resources/troubleshooting/
• Networking Deep Dives: Hybrid connectivity, multi-cloud, DNS, load balancing - resources/networking-deep-dives/
• Hands-on Projects: 15 guided builds. Cloud: 3-tier app, CI/CD, monitoring, zero trust, ML model, K8s cluster, Terraform infra, serverless, DR drill, data pipeline. AI: RAG pipeline, Claude agent with MCP, run Llama on a single GPU, eval harness, LoRA fine-tune. - resources/hands-on-projects/
• Interview Prep: SA, DevOps, Cloud Engineer, Data Engineer, Security, SRE - resources/interview-prep/

Practice & Strategy¶

• Practice Question Banks - scenario questions with explained answers, one bank per certification (151 of 151)
• Practice Resources Guide
• Free Tier Guides
• Study Strategies
• Exam Day Checklist
• Budget Study Plan
• Community Resources

Cost Planning¶

See the budget study plan for detailed cost-minimization strategies.

Community¶

• Reddit: r/AWSCertifications, r/AZURE, r/googlecloud, r/kubernetes, r/cybersecurity
• Discord: Cloud certification study servers (links in community-resources.md)
• LinkedIn: Search for "[Cert name] Study Group"
• GitHub: Star this repo and watch for updates

How to Use This Hub¶

1. Start at Decision Tree to identify your cert
2. Open that cert's directory: exams/<provider>/<cert>/
3. Read in order: README.md → fact-sheet.md → practice-plan.md → notes/ → scenarios.md → strategy.md
4. Cross-reference with Resource Library for cross-cloud knowledge
5. Take practice exams when consistently scoring 80%+ on practice questions
6. Schedule the real exam when you hit 85%+ twice in a row