Just passed AWS certified developer associate.
Does anyone care about this in real life?

It can be a good thing to have. Some companies have incentive to get their staff certified especially if they are heavily invested in AWS. I think discounts can be gotten that way perhaps.

Ive done the developer one and I plan to do the solutions architect one soon as well.

If anything the process of studying for the cert was more valuable to me than the cert itself. It really helped me get a broad understanding of how stuff in AWS works.

Congratulations, I care, and I'm jealous of your brain.

Keep on learning.

@AtuM ugh. Here we go again...

I think any certificate is useful because it shows recruiters/managers at first glance that you were not too lazy to get it, at least somewhat interested, willing to learn, and willing to play the corporate dance. You won't impress any engineers with it though

If asked just say you did it to work on your weak points imo

Yes and no.

Most developers and tech leads won't care, they'd rather see some PRs and previous project code.

HR departments do care. But certs are rarely a requirement, more like a little badge which make you stand out, if the cert is relevant for the position of course.

There are more ways to stand out (notable previous projects, recommendations, well-written motivations, etc), but a certification can be a bonus.

Personally, I would only consider certification if I felt it could provide a significant contribution to my knowledge for the time invested.

Also, my employer would have to pay for it, lol -- I would never use $150 of my salary to buy a bunch of web forms full of multiple choice toggles from Jeff Bezos.

I'm real life? No. In the Silicon Valley bubble/San Fransisco tech hub? Hell yeah.

Did you learn things? Were the things you learned relevant to what you want to do in the future? Are there job postings that you’ve been looking at that include AWS knowledge as a requirement/preferred skill? If so, it’s probably worth it. Do things that help _you_ succeed, things that improve your understanding or level up your skills. Don’t give a damn about what anyone else thinks.

People care , grab the architect one if u can while it's all fresh in your mind , there a fair amount of overlap