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AWS Certified Security – Specialty

AWS
RANK #5 / 100 INVEST DEMAND 92 ► 2026-Q3 DATA
$240,244
Top of band · USD
Register for AWS Certified Security – Specialty →

Official registration on AWS's site.

Now see where you stand

Your benchmark against real contributors — the median beside top-of-band, plus stacking uplift and vintage decay.

What the verdict means

INVESTAppreciating — hold it and stack an AI-adjacent cert
DEMAND 92 ►Relative hiring demand for AWS Certified Security – Specialty this quarter.

The analyst note

The read

This is where the market's two strongest demand stories meet: cloud and security. It jumped +22% year-on-year in the previous edition — one of the sharpest rises recorded near the top of the index.

Who holds it

Cloud security engineers and architects handling IAM design, detection engineering with GuardDuty and Security Hub, and KMS and encryption architecture. They're hired across financial services, healthcare, government suppliers, and every AWS partner that runs a security practice.

The case for the verdict

Security postings grew strongly into 2026 against a record talent gap — ISC2's 2024 figure puts it at 4.8M unfilled roles. AI adoption only adds new attack surface rather than automating the work away. It stacks with SA-Professional or CCSP.

The risk

The risk is supply catching up. This is now a well-known premium cert, and rising pass volume is the main threat to the pay differential over the next 24 months. Watch the next update for signs of compression.

The benchmark check

Are you being paid what you deserve?

Show me what I'm worth

Where it sits

Top 5% of the CertBueno Top 100.

This certification pays 40% above the rest of the Top 100.

Vendor

One of 11 AWS certifications in the Top 100 — ranked 3rd among them.

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