A self-directed run through AWS Skill Builder. Six foundational completion certificates in cloud, generative AI, and machine learning, earned across late 2025, then a full Generative AI Developer Professional (AIP-C01) exam-prep track through mid-2026, covering all five exam domains. Foundational certificates below link to the original PDFs; the AIP-C01 proctored exam is the next step.
6
Foundation Certs
5
AIP-C01 Domains
3 × 100
Practice Scores
68%
Scored Content at 100
The baseline vocabulary every cloud conversation starts from.
Core AWS services, the shared responsibility model, pricing and billing, global infrastructure, and the baseline vocabulary that every cloud conversation starts from.
Where it shows up
Grounds every architecture decision across Challenge Cup, PrayerMap, and Ora. Knowing the primitives means reaching for the right one without hesitation.
Generative AI framing and the ML lifecycle from data prep to inference.
Generative AI landscape, foundation models, prompt design, use-case framing, and the business framing needed to translate capabilities into projects worth shipping.
Where it shows up
Shaped the positioning language behind 87n1: "systems that survive contact with reality" came from separating demos from deployable patterns here.
ML lifecycle end-to-end: problem framing, data preparation, training vs inference, evaluation, and the AWS ML service landscape from SageMaker down to Comprehend.
Where it shows up
Model selection patterns in n8n workflows and data pipeline decisions for the Ora orchestration layer lean on this framing directly.
Three AWS SimuLearn scenarios: live console, real clicks, real debugging.
Simulated console walkthrough of first-deploy fundamentals: launching EC2, attaching storage, configuring security groups, and reading CloudWatch basics from inside a live scenario.
Where it shows up
Removed the friction of reaching for the console vs. IaC: hands-on muscle memory for "can I just poke this?" debugging.
Compute, storage, networking and database primitives exercised in a live simulated environment. Builds intuition for service selection under real constraints.
Where it shows up
Informs the "what runs where" calls on Challenge Cup (AWS Amplify Gen 2 + Aurora) vs. lighter edge-function stacks for PrayerMap.
Hands-on tour of Bedrock model catalog, inference parameters, prompt playground, and the mental model for comparing foundation models apples-to-apples.
Where it shows up
Challenge Cup's AI Caddie reads live course conditions through Bedrock Claude. This lab is where the routing intuition came from.
Specialty track, in progress
A self-directed exam-prep run through the full AIP-C01 curriculum: official Skill Builder Practice and Review assessments completed across all five exam domains through mid-2026, with the Domain 1, 2, and 5 Practice assessments each scored 100, together, 68% of the exam's scored content. AIP-C01 is a Professional-tier AWS certification (the same tier as Solutions Architect – Professional) that reached general availability in March 2026 and validates production GenAI engineering: RAG and vector stores, agentic AI, Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, foundation-model evaluation, and guardrails. These are Skill Builder assessments, not the certification itself: the next step is the proctored exam (75 questions, 180 minutes), taken at an approved test center.
Domain 1
31%
Foundation Model Integration, Data Management, and Compliance
Practice scored 100 · Review + SimuLearn completed
Domain 2
26%
Implementation and Integration
Practice scored 100 · Review completed
Domain 3
20%
AI Safety, Security, and Governance
Review completed
Domain 4
12%
Operational Efficiency and Optimization for GenAI Applications
Review completed
Domain 5
11%
Testing, Validation, and Troubleshooting
Practice scored 100
Status: exam prep complete, proctored exam not yet taken
Morning
Concept deep-dives and official Skill Builder material. Notes written longhand so the ideas stick before a keyboard enters the room.
Afternoon
Hands-on labs and SimuLearn exercises. Clicking through the console to burn pathways into muscle memory, not just recognition.
Evening
Building real projects that exercised whatever I had studied that day. Training sticks when you apply it inside 48 hours.
Every certificate above, one click away. All issued by AWS Training & Certification, signed by Michelle Vaz, Director.
AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials
November 3, 2025
Introduction to Generative AI: Art of the Possible
October 28, 2025
Machine Learning Essentials for Business and Technical Decision Makers
October 28, 2025
AWS SimuLearn: Cloud First Steps
November 15, 2025
AWS SimuLearn: Cloud Computing Essentials
November 15, 2025
AWS SimuLearn: Explore the Amazon Bedrock Playgrounds
November 15, 2025