Barely four months after being named youngest Certified Amazon Web Services Cloud Practitioner in Africa, Agboola Joshua, a young programmer, has added another feather to his cap, as he became youngest Certified Amazon Web Services Developer Associate in the world, at age 13.
Joshua, TRIBUNE ONLINE learned, achieved the feat after passing a grueling two-hour examination that tested his skills and knowledge in deploying, troubleshooting, and development on the AWS cloud platform.
Cloud services are infrastructure, platforms, or software that are hosted by third-party providers and made available to users through the Internet.
Young Joshua is not a stranger to Amazon’s cloud certifications. In February, he had taken and passed the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification becoming the youngest in Africa to achieve the feat.
On July 17, 2023, the CEO of Joshfortech sat for the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam, an equally demanding exam for his age, and passed with flying colours, establishing another first for Africa.
According to Amazon, getting certified as an AWS Developer Associate showcases knowledge and understanding of core AWS services, and proficiency in developing, deploying, and debugging cloud-based applications.
Organisations with AWS Certified developers have the assurance of having the right talent to give them a competitive advantage and ensure stakeholder and customer satisfaction and preparing for and attaining this certification gives certified individuals more confidence and credibility.
In response to what inspired him to achieve this feat, Joshua revealed that he did quite well in his AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam earlier in the year.
As a result, his dad encouraged him to take his pursuit of a cloud career further by sitting for the next level certification.
Though he had developed an interest in DevOps, the popular progression was to go for the Solutions Architect Associate certification, and this was what he did.
Speaking on his recent feat, Joshua said; “I was initially preparing for the Solutions Architect Associate certification which is the next certification most people take in their AWS cloud journey.
“But, about 3 weeks into my preparation for the exam, an older friend of mine, who is also a programmer came visiting, and in his discussions with my dad and me, challenged me to consider doing the tougher Developer Associate Certification too. When he said he believed I could do it because I was already proficient in programming and it would be easier for me to appreciate most of the concepts, the light bulb went up in my head, and I began studying the next day”.
He added; “The possibility of clinching the title of the youngest Developer Associate in the world, which is an equivalent of a world record in the cloud space, also became a strong motivation for me. I prepared for the test by studying for about 2 to 5 hours daily for about 6 weeks.
“In the first 2 weeks, I was able to appreciate the core concepts of the course and also gain knowledge of all the topics that could come up in the exam. I got a grip on major AWS services like Dynamodb, Lambda, RDS, Codedeploy, Aurora, Systems Manager, and more.
“There were some overlaps between the Solutions Architect Associate curriculum and that of the Developer Associate in topics like Lambda, RDS , Aurora, and Dynamodb. This turned part of my study time into revision time, as I had covered the content of the Solutions Architect course earlier. I am glad that all my studying and practicing has paid off.”
Joshua told our reporter that his achievement in the cloud space has gotten noticed, as a tech company in Lagos, Nigeria has already offered to provide him with further technical mentorship.
He is excited about this upcoming mentorship and the prospects of getting the support he needs to practice what he has learned in environments that mirror real-world scenarios.
Joshua believes this is evidence that if you pursue your career goals with passion, doors will open up for you.
He revealed that he is dedicating this achievement to the many young people who want to build a career in technology and he is encouraging and challenging them to go for their dreams.
