Northwest Vista College has become the first community college in south-central Texas to provide Amazon Web Services (AWS) training for students.
The Amazon Web Services Academy will teach students how to provide a managed cloud-computing solution to clients through the world’s largest cloud computing company: Amazon.com, Inc. Students will learn how to create EC2 instances (virtual servers) on the AWS remote platform with load balancing, elasticity, and other services such as backup, database, and other web solutions.
Managed Cloud Computing solutions are a perfect alternative for medium-to-small organizations who do not employ an “on-premise” IT staff. It is basically a “pay as you go” service with the ability to quickly scale up or scale down services based on demand. In Texas, there are just 11 AWS academies and none in San Antonio or the surrounding area. Students would have to venture to central Texas before finding the closest AWS academy.
According to Dr. John Grillo, chair of NVC’s Computer Science, Technology & Business, “there is a shortage of certified AWS technicians. With the explosion of cloud computing, there are not enough technicians to keep up with demand. The average salary for a certified AWS Solution Architect is $144,000. The inclusion of AWS in our curriculum will place students in high demand within the industry. We are excited about this opportunity for all students within San Antonio and surrounding communities.”
Global Knowledge, one of the world’s largest IT training companies, said in a 2018 article that “AWS-certified IT staff in the U.S. and Canada make nearly 30% more than the industry average for certified professionals,” and the “AWS Certification tends to outpace other cloud certification salaries.”
The first AWS course at NVC will be offered in Flex 2 in the fall of 2019. The courses will be part of the degree requirements in the Network & Cloud Architecture AAS program at NVC.