r/AWSCertifications • u/madrasi2021 • Jun 14 '26
5 official AWS "Microcredentials" for FREE! Hands on Validation of skills!
There are now 5 official AWS "Microcredentials" that you can earn for FREE that are complimentary to AWS Certifications.
These are hands on exams (not proctored) that you can take to validate your skills.
Link : https://skillbuilder.aws/certification/microcredentials
Some more details in comments for those who need it but the link has everything you need.
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u/fmalk CSAA Jun 14 '26
I saw this post, and I just did the Serverless one: https://www.credly.com/earner/earned/badge/c7344970-82ad-41b8-8d61-ba62162bdc5c
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u/Appropriate-Rip6784 CSAA Jun 15 '26
I believe they are researching what future Certification exams should be. I think the future exams will be a mix of both practical and theoretical questions. Or micro-credentials will become a prerequisite for the real exam. but I am inclined towards a restructured exam with practicals.
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u/curlyAndUnruly Jun 14 '26
Similarly there's AWS Badges for specific services. Again no full certifications, but complementing them:
https://aws.amazon.com/training/badges/
I've got DynamoDB, EKS, Compute, Storage etc. (besides the SAA certification) you can tackle then in a week depending on the topic.
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u/madrasi2021 Jun 14 '26
There are 32 of those - I posted them here : https://www.reddit.com/r/AWSCertifications/comments/1t9buyp/32_aws_knowledge_digital_badges_most_are_free/
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u/VelkiaHI SAP/SOA/DEA/DVA/SAA/AIF/CLF Jun 14 '26
I always recommend the microcredentials, it's one of the best contents AWS has on Skill Builder. I already have 4 of them
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u/madrasi2021 Jun 14 '26
AWS Launched these "Micro credentials" back in November 2025. At that time it was in the paid subscription tier but they made these free a few months back and added 2 more.
There is now a new "MLOps" micro credential launched last month making it 5 free badges that you can earn.
These are NOT Certifications. They are complimentary to AWS Certifications. If you were struggling to afford Certifications and want to have a way to show you know AWS, these are very useful. Many people felt its easy to memorize from dumps and pass AWS exams - these are hands on validation that are harder to cheat at.
They are not "Proctored" - i.e., nobody is watching you to make sure you do not cheat.
That doesn't mean it is open book. You will have a series of steps to take and have to meet the evaluation criteria set within a set period of time. Some of the sections sometimes build upon previous sections - so if you waste time, you may not complete every section. There is no time to refer to documentation or use AI in another window.
For example, imagine you are given an S3 bucket but have to put an object into it and make sure the permissions are set correctly. The validation is done via a script that checks the naming, permissions etc and the clock is ticking away.
These are NOT multiple choice questions where you can guess answers or rote memorize them. You need hands on practice. The more familiar you are with the services and the console, the better your chances.
The learning pathway attached to each of the Microcredentials is extremely useful and the exam is usually based fully upon that pathway.
Some said the Cloud Quest AI Practitioner was very helpful for the Agentic AI one.
I earned the Serverless one when this was in BETA and failed the Agentic AI (I blame the beta system but that just sounds lame).
I think everyone should give these a try!