DVA-C02 vs SOA-C03
Build it or run it?
Two AWS Associates that look similar on paper but signal very different jobs.
Exam details
| Detail | DVA-C02 (Developer) | SOA-C03 (SysOps) |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Associate | Associate |
| Question count | 65 | 65 |
| Duration | 130 min | 130 min |
| Cost (USD) | $150 | $150 |
| Hands-on labs? | No (multiple choice only) | No since early 2023 (was lab-based) |
| Recommended experience | 1+ year of AWS development | 1+ year of AWS operations |
| Coding required? | Yes — read SDK code, IAM policies | Light — read CLI, JSON, CloudFormation |
| Service depth | Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, SDKs, CodePipeline | CloudWatch, Systems Manager, IAM, VPC, deployment ops |
| Career signal | Backend / serverless engineer | SRE / cloud ops / platform engineer |
| Typical study hours | 60–80 hours | 60–100 hours |
Where each one wins
DVA-C02 wins on…
- – Stronger backend / serverless signal
- – Concrete code-reading practice transfers to interviews
- – Counts toward DOP-C02 (DevOps Pro)
- – More fun if you enjoy SDKs
SOA-C03 wins on…
- – SRE / platform-engineer signal
- – Heavy on real-world ops skills (CloudWatch, SSM)
- – Strong fit for incident-response work
- – Bridges nicely into Pro-tier DOP
We recommend…
If you write features that ship to production: DVA-C02. You will recognise most of the question shapes from your day job, and the explanations will reward what you already know.
If you keep things running: SOA-C03. The exam now drops the live lab, but expects deep familiarity with monitoring, deployment, and troubleshooting workflows that operators do daily.
Going for DOP-C02 next? Either path gets you there — DOP requires one Associate-tier cert as a prerequisite. SOA gives slightly more direct overlap; DVA gives slightly more breadth.