So first, what is your definition of a “cloud engineering role”?
I’ve been developing for…a long time. But, I first logged into the AWS Console early 2018. I will tell you that the certifications won’t get you where you want to be.
However studying for the SAA will at least let you know what you don’t know. But then you need to some hands on experience.
I would start with this course after the SAA.
https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-serverless-a-complete-introduction/
This courses is offered for free by AWS.
https://www.coursera.org/learn/aws-fundamentals-building-serverless-applications
The most extensive course for the developer cert is this one.
https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-certified-developer-associate-dva-c01/
But again, the certification isn’t important. Studying for and applying what you learned is.
Learn Cloudformation well.
https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-cloudformation-master-class/
Also learn Docker/ECS and EKS. I muddled my way through learning Docker/ECS so I don’t have any good reference.
Yes I have nine of the ten AWS certifications that matter. But I didn’t get any of them to get a job. I got them to have a guided path to learning about AWS and so I could talk intelligently about the services. There are still plenty of areas of AWS I don’t have hands on experience with.
What I don’t know is the industry at large and the different roles available. I got most of my hand on “real world” experience from a 60 person company before being hired at AWS in ProServe last year. (All opinions are my own yada yada yada). I do know that we are always looking for “cloud architects” - people who know how to develop using AWS services in Remote Consulting Services (yes these are full time jobs.)