CHAOS Industries$200k median pay
8 postings
View jobs ↗ at CHAOS Industries matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
AWS Solutions Architect Professional
Validates knowledge of designing complex multi-account solutions, improving existing workloads, and migrating and modernizing applications using AWS services.
Summary
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional is AWS's advanced architecture certification for people who already design production systems on AWS. It tests judgment on multi-account organizations, new designs, improving existing systems and migrations, through long scenarios with several workable answers.
Official name: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Good fit if
- You have two or more years designing solutions on AWS
- You hold Solutions Architect Associate or know its material
- You design multi-account, hybrid or migration architectures
Look elsewhere if
- You have not yet designed real AWS systems: AWS Solutions Architect Associate
- Your focus is security controls: AWS Security Specialty
- Your employer runs on Azure or Google Cloud: AZ-305 or Google Professional Cloud Architect
Salary & jobs
438 US job postings ask for AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, with Cloud Architect as the most common job title. The median pay is $175k a year; most fall between $147k and $200k.
Top-paying job titles
Most common job titles
| Job title | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cloud Solutions Architect | $194k | 16 |
| Cloud Architect | $190k | 18 |
| Solutions Architect | $185k | 8 |
| Site Reliability Engineer | $175k | 8 |
| DevOps Engineer | $160k | 7 |
| Cloud Engineer | $153k | 10 |
| Aws Cloud | $125k | 9 |
| Aws Cloud Engineer | $125k | 8 |
Top-paying employers
CHAOS Industries
LPL Financial Holdings$199k median pay
7 postings
View jobs ↗ at LPL Financial Holdings matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
General Dynamics Information Technology$191k median pay
12 postings
View jobs ↗ at General Dynamics Information Technology matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Accenture Federal Services$182k median pay
6 postings
View jobs ↗ at Accenture Federal Services matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Peraton$161k median pay
28 postings
View jobs ↗ at Peraton matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Guidehouse$151k median pay
7 postings
View jobs ↗ at Guidehouse matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Bright Vision Technologies$125k median pay
31 postings
View jobs ↗ at Bright Vision Technologies matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional| Job title | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cloud Architect | $190k | 18 |
| Cloud Solutions Architect | $194k | 16 |
| Cloud Engineer | $153k | 10 |
| Aws Cloud | $125k | 9 |
| Aws Cloud Engineer | $125k | 8 |
| Site Reliability Engineer | $175k | 8 |
| Solutions Architect | $185k | 8 |
| DevOps Engineer | $160k | 7 |
| Enterprise Architect | - | 6 |
| Aws Cloud Security Architect | - | 4 |
| Aws Consultant | - | 4 |
| Cloud Infrastructure Engineer Aws | - | 4 |
| Cloud Platform Engineer | - | 4 |
| Platform Software Engineer Transport | - | 4 |
| Solution Architect | - | 4 |
Top employers
Bright Vision Technologies31 postings
$125k median pay
Most common title: Aws Cloud
View jobs ↗ at Bright Vision Technologies matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – ProfessionalPeraton28 postings
$161k median pay
Most common title: Cloud Architect
View jobs ↗ at Peraton matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
genpact15 postings
Most common title: Enterprise Architect
View jobs ↗ at genpact matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – ProfessionalGeneral Dynamics Information Technology12 postings
$191k median pay
Most common title: Aws Cloud Security Architect
View jobs ↗ at General Dynamics Information Technology matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – ProfessionalCHAOS Industries8 postings
$200k median pay
Most common title: Cloud Solutions Architect
View jobs ↗ at CHAOS Industries matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – ProfessionalGuidehouse7 postings
$151k median pay
Most common title: Full Stack Developer
View jobs ↗ at Guidehouse matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – ProfessionalLPL Financial Holdings7 postings
$199k median pay
Most common title: Vp Functional Design Engineering
View jobs ↗ at LPL Financial Holdings matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – ProfessionalAccenture Federal Services6 postings
$182k median pay
Most common title: Aws DevOps Engineer
View jobs ↗ at Accenture Federal Services matching AWS Certified Solutions Architect – ProfessionalPrerequisites
Cost
What holders say
Helps experienced people move up
Holders with years of AWS work say it helped them move into architecture, DevOps or security roles and draw higher-level recruiter interest. It worked alongside their experience, not instead of it.
Gets your resume found, then interviews decide
Hiring managers say recruiters search by certification, so the Professional helps a resume surface. Technical interviews then expose anyone who passed without understanding the designs.
Pay rarely changes from the exam alone
Holders asked about career impact mostly report no direct raise, sometimes a small one-time bonus, and more confidence. Those wanting higher pay pair it with a job change or promotion.
Certification path
AWS places Solutions Architect Associate before Professional, and names Security Specialty as a next step.
Renewal
AWS Solutions Architect Professional is valid for three years.
- Validity
- 3 years
- Renew by exam
- Latest Solutions Architect Professional
- Retake with 50% voucher
- $150 USD
With an active Skill Builder subscription, the Maintain route extends the certification by one year through training within 90 days of expiry.
AWS recertification options ↗Alternatives
AWS Solutions Architect Associate$150 required · Intermediate
The Associate exam this one builds on, and the right first step without production AWS design experience.
Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert$330 required · Advanced
The equivalent expert-level architecture certification for Azure.
Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect (PCA)$200 required · Advanced
The equivalent professional architecture certification for Google Cloud.
FAQ
SAP-C02 or SAP-C03: which one will I take?
If you sit the exam on or before 16 November 2026, you take SAP-C02. Exams from 17 November are SAP-C03, and registration for it opens on 27 October. Both earn the same certification.
What changes in SAP-C03?
AWS reorganizes the content into five domains and adds generative and agentic AI architectures, resilience engineering, cloud-native patterns, DevSecOps and post-quantum cryptography. The exam stays 75 questions in 180 minutes for $300.
Do I need Solutions Architect Associate before the Professional?
No. AWS has no prerequisite exam, but it recommends two or more years of designing on AWS, and the Professional assumes the Associate material.
How do I renew AWS Solutions Architect Professional?
Pass the latest version of the exam within three years, using your 50% voucher, or extend it by one year through Skill Builder training in the last 90 days. Passing the Professional also renews Solutions Architect Associate.
Last updated October 2026