Mackenzie is the Global Startup Evangelist at AWS. His days are spent traveling the globe to meet startups, share their stories, and connect engineering teams together. Every day there are a large number of startups launching on AWS across every imaginable industry. It’s Mackenzie’s mission to find stories of startups that are helping to improve the world and share these stories with a wide audience.
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Prior to joining AWS, Mackenzie was the Head of Technical Operations at Betterment, the world’s largest independent robo-advisor based in NYC which manages over $8B in assets. Mackenzie was a founding engineer and Head of Technical Operations at Oscar Health, an insurance startup also based in NYC, helping to grow the company to over 400+ employees.
In celebration of Women's History Month and International Women's Day (IWD) 2022, we will be offering a special Certification Challenge from the first of its kind AWS Skills Center in Seattle, a free training center for anyone who is curious about cloud computing and future job possibilities in the cloud.
The Certification Challenge is a way for you to get AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner in a few weeks! You'll get a combination of digital content and training, delivered virtually and in-person, to help you prepare for the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification.Â
All suggested training is free, including our AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials digital course. No prior technical knowledge is necessary.
Who should get AWS Certified?Â
Anyone. This Challenge is open to non-technical and technical individuals interested in pursuing a cloud computing career or individuals who want grow their cloud knowledge.
Why should you get AWS Certified?
Embrace new skills, show your potential, and plan a career trajectory. With an industry-recognized credential from AWS, you can showcase your cloud fluency. Earning the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification validates you understand how cloud impacts your business, core AWS services, billing and pricing models, and security concepts. You’ll get a digital badge for your resume and social profiles to help you showcase your achievement.
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Why should you take the Challenge?
Set and achieve your goal with support from AWS Training and Certification. You’ll get free recommended training, suggested resources, Q&A opportunities, and encouragement along the way.
Where can you take the Challenge?
From home or at the AWS Skills Center in Seattle. This special Challenge will offer an in-person classroom training for the first time!
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1. Global Knowledge, 2019 IT Skills and Salary Report, 2019.
Log in to your AWS Skill Builder accountÂ
Schedule your AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam now before the Challenge deadline!
March 29: Cloud Practitioner Essentials Day (7.5-hours)
April 1: Exam Readiness: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (1.5-hours)
April 4: Office Hours with AWS Expert (1-hour)
Digital training course: AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials
You will learn about AWS Cloud concepts, core AWS services, security, architecture, pricing, and support to build your AWS Cloud knowledge and help prepare for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam in this on-demand, digital training course. The course is 6 hours in length and includes a practice assessment.
Broaden your technical understanding with whitepapers and other documentation written by the AWS team:
1. Overview of Amazon Web Services (estimated time: two hours)
2. How AWS Pricing Works (estimated time: 45 minutes)
3. Compare AWS Support Plans (estimated time: 15 minutes)
Please read through the FAQ below if you have questions. If your question is not answered, please email us.
Q: Who can participate in the AWS Certification Challenge?
A: Any person based who registers for the AWS Certification Challenge between now - April 8, 2022 will be eligible to participate in the Certification Challenge.
Q: How do I schedule the certification exam? Is there a deadline?
A: In order to complete the Challenge, you must schedule your exam date by the Challenge deadline. We strongly recommend you schedule your exam 2 weeks in advance of the Challenge deadline - this will give you the most optimal chances at scheduling an exam date within your preferred date/time. To schedule your exam, please visit aws.training > Certification to create or log into your account. Once you are in your account, you can click on "Schedule New Exam", locate the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam, and schedule the exam with your selected test provider.
Q: Do I have to follow all of the training courses in order to complete the Challenge?
 A: All training, review sessions, and preparation resources are optional for participants. The training curriculum provided is a recommended path of courses you can take. If you feel ready to take the certification exam, you can go ahead and schedule your exam at aws.training/certification.
Q:Â Do IÂ need to submit questions in advance for the Office Hours session on April, 4 2022? If so, how do I submit questions?
 A: Yes, you must submit your question to aws-skills-center-seattle@amazon.com by 12:00 PM PST on Friday, April 1, 2022. Please be sure to include "Q&A Session" in your subject line. We will try our best to answer as many questions as possible, but due to time constraints, some questions may not be answered during the session.
Q: Is there any cost associate with getting certified?
 A: There is no cost to register or participate in the training and preparation sessions for the AWS Certification Challenge. To earn the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification, participants must take and pass the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam, which costs 100 USD.
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Q: I registered for the Certification Challenge and got certified. What do I do next?
 A: Congratulations! Celebrate your success and post on your social media with the hashtag #AWSCertificationChallengeAccepted after getting AWS Certified!
Q: How do I share my certification with my network?
A: We provide digital badges on Credly’s digital badging platform as a benefit of earning an AWS Certification to help you showcase your achievement. You can add your digital badge to your professional profiles, digital resumes, or email signatures. You can also share your digital badge as a post on social media to celebrate with your network.
Q: I received my certification already, prior to the start date. Do I qualify for the challenge?
A: Unfortunately, no. Only those who opt in to the Challenge starting on this date will qualify to participate in the Challenge.
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