Earning the AWS Machine Learning – Specialty Certification (June 2025)

In June 2025, I passed the AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty exam—my third AWS certification. Unlike the previous two (Solutions Architect – Associate and Developer – Associate), this one opened the door to a completely new domain: machine learning and applied data science on AWS.

The shift wasn’t just technical—it was conceptual. I went from managing infrastructure and deploying APIs to preparing datasets, evaluating model performance, and experimenting with SageMaker pipelines.


🧭 Why I Took the Leap into ML

While working through architectural and serverless designs, I often came across problems that felt deeply data-driven—fraud detection, user behavior prediction, personalization. I realized that cloud fluency alone wasn’t enough; I wanted to learn how to build intelligent systems with the power of ML.

The Machine Learning Specialty exam offered a structured path to build that capability.


⚙️ A Different Kind of Challenge

Compared to Associate-level exams, the ML Specialty dives deep into:

  • Core ML Concepts
    Supervised vs. unsupervised learning, classification vs. regression, feature engineering, model tuning, and overfitting detection.
  • Model Evaluation
    Understanding metrics like precision, recall, F1 score, ROC AUC, confusion matrices—and when to use which.
  • End-to-End ML Pipelines
    Data collection → processing → training → deployment → monitoring—using services like S3, Glue, SageMaker, CloudWatch, and Model Monitor.
  • Bias, Explainability, and Governance
    Using SageMaker Clarify and managing fairness, transparency, and responsible AI design.

📚 Learning Notes

Rather than creating a separate section, I’ve continued adding to the existing AWS directory.

Some of the notes now live under:

  • 📘 Data Prepration
    Cleaning, transforming, and splitting datasets using Pandas, SageMaker Processing, and AWS Glue.
  • 📘 DataModel Training
    Covers training models in SageMaker (built-in + custom), using Estimators, handling imbalanced datasets, and hyperparameter tuning.
  • 📘 Modelling Evaluation
    Detailed walkthroughs of evaluation metrics, model selection strategies, and overfitting/underfitting signals.
  • 📘 Machine Learning Implementation
    Endpoints, autoscaling, versioning, and deploying models with real-time inference + A/B testing.
  • 📘 Machine Learning Governance
    Bias detection, explainability, and model monitoring using Clarify and Model Monitor.

🔍 Study Strategy & Tools

This cert took a different kind of discipline:

  • Hands-on Jupyter Labs in SageMaker
    I used real datasets (from UCI, Kaggle) to train XGBoost, Linear Learner, and NLP models with BlazingText.
  • Model Lifecycle Practice
    Practiced full ML lifecycles: data → processing → model training → endpoint deployment → monitoring.
  • Lots of Theory Repetition
    Concepts like recall vs. precision or when to use PCA required more time and real examples to solidify.
  • ML-Focused Mock Exams
    Focused on real-world case studies and use-case reasoning—not just configurations.

🧠 Key Takeaway

This was the most conceptually intense of all three certifications I’ve taken so far. While the Associate-level exams were about knowing how AWS works, this one required understanding why certain ML methods apply in specific scenarios.

And most importantly—it made me more confident as I take my first serious steps into the data science world.


🙌 Final Thoughts

Three certifications in—each one pushed me in a new direction. And the Machine Learning – Specialty was a powerful reminder that learning doesn’t stop at architecture or automation. If you’re cloud-native but curious about ML, or a developer looking to bridge into data science, I hope these notes and reflections help make that path less intimidating.

AWS Certified Developer – Associate Journey (Early March 2025)

In early March 2025, I earned my second AWS certification: the AWS Certified Developer – Associate. This built on the foundation I laid with the Solutions Architect – Associate, but with a much deeper dive into serverless development, event-driven design, and developer tooling on AWS.

Instead of creating a new section, I’ve continued updating and expanding the existing AWS knowledge collection with Developer-specific topics, keeping everything in one place for a cohesive learning path.


🔥 Focus: Serverless, APIs, and Automation

This certification emphasized building, securing, and deploying cloud-native applications—especially using AWS’s serverless offerings. I focused my preparation on:

  • AWS Lambda
    Building scalable, efficient functions with environment configs, permissions, and concurrency controls.
  • API Gateway
    Integrating REST and WebSocket APIs with Lambda, adding request transformations, and securing endpoints with JWT-based custom authorizers.
  • EventBridge & SQS/SNS
    Designing event-driven applications using EventBridge rules, SQS queues, DLQs, and SNS topics to decouple and scale workflows.
  • CI/CD Automation
    Automating deployments with CodePipeline, CodeBuild, and SAM templates—integrated with Git-based workflows.
  • Observability & Debugging
    Using CloudWatch Logs, metrics, alarms, and X-Ray to trace Lambda executions, API behavior, and message flow through event pipelines.

📝 Developer Topics Now in AWS

I’ve integrated all new Developer Associate–relevant material directly into the existing AWS notes section, including updates to:

  • Serverless
    Expanded to include advanced Lambda patterns, handler design tips, concurrency tuning, and architectural diagrams.
  • DevTools
    New content added covering CodePipeline, CodeBuild setups for serverless projects, and how to define full workflows using SAM CLI.
  • Database Storage
    Now includes DynamoDB tips relevant for developers—indexes, partition key planning, TTL, and DynamoDB Streams with Lambda triggers.
  • Security and Compliance
    More examples of IAM roles for Lambda, scoped permissions for developer workflows, and secure access patterns for Parameter Store & Secrets Manager.

🙌 Final Thoughts

The Developer Associate certification challenged me in new ways—from writing code to managing real-world deployments. It’s more than theory—it’s how AWS apps are actually built. If you’re studying or just exploring serverless, feel free to explore my updated AWS section, or reach out with questions or feedback.

Reflecting on My AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate Journey

Last December, I finally earned the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification. It wasn’t a simple weekend prep session—it was the culmination of months of dedication: early mornings before work, late nights after dinner, and countless hours of hands-on practice across real-world scenarios.

To capture every milestone and make review easier, I documented my learning journey with a well-structured set of knowledge notes—hosted on my AWS section. Here’s a deep dive into that journey.


📚 Core Topics & My Note Collections

These posts served as the backbone of my study plan—check them out for summaries, diagrams, code snippets, and exam-style flashcards:

  • CloudFormation & Architecture Patterns
    Modular stack design, nested stacks, parameter input strategies, and template best practices. I included sample templates to showcase blue/green deployments, cross-stack references, and rollback behaviors.
  • Networking & VPC
    Subnet types, route tables, NAT gateways, VPC endpoints, cross‑account and cross‑region networking. I experimented with transit gateways and published flow diagrams for clarity.
  • Security & Compliance
    IAM roles, policies, fine‑grained permissions, STS, KMS, and service‑linked roles. I also covered AWS Config rules and CloudTrail integration—foundational for both exam success and real-world security.
  • Serverless Architecture (Lambda, EventBridge, CloudWatch)
    From writing Lambda functions to architecting event‑driven workflows with EventBridge and designing resilient retry patterns with dead‑letter queues. I shared CLI recipes and monitoring hacks.
  • Data & Storage Options
    S3, EBS, RDS, DynamoDB — lifecycle policies, provisioned capacities, encryption, and backup strategies. Got hands-on with lifecycle transitions and RDS read replicas.

🔍 How My Notes Transformed the Study Experience

  1. Active Learning Through Writing
    Turning course material and documentation into blog‑style notes pushed me from passive reading to active recall.
  2. Modular Review System
    Each topic living on its own page helped me target weak areas and do quick refreshers before mock exams.
  3. Hands-On Templates & Diagrams
    The reusable CloudFormation snippets and network visuals were invaluable—both in the exam simulation and in post-cert projects.

🙌 Final Thought

Embarking on the AWS certification path was challenging—but creating this knowledge base made it rewarding, repeatable, and shareable. If you’re preparing for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect path, I hope my notes give you a headstart. Interested in walkthroughs on specific modules? Just drop a comment below!

Blog reborn… (This is not a Phoenix Egg..!)

After several years of inactivity, I finally updated this blog to make it back to work.

The most trouble is the disappearance of “Picasa Web Album” service. There were plenty of photo albums to store in the Google Cloud Service. But it has already been discontinued in 2016.

Picasa Web Albums (PWA) was an image hosting and sharing web service from Google, often compared to Flickr and similar sites. The service links with Google’s photo organizing desktop program Picasa. It was discontinued in May 2016 and succeeded by Google Photos which does not support sharing photo albums on the public world wide web. It allowed users with a Google account to store and share photos in public albums with an initial free storage offering of 15 GB, that is shared with Gmail and Google Drive. Storage was unlimited for photos of resolution less than 2048×2048 pixels for Google+ users, and for photos of resolution less than 800×800 for everyone else. Videos shorter than 15 minutes also don’t count towards the limit. Once the storage is full, uploaded photos are automatically resized to fit the resolution for unlimited storage.

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Travel in Sydney 2010

28 Dec 下午從布里斯本出發!

這是我跟Christine,在2010年Dec出發去雪梨,參加跨年煙火的紀錄。
想要到雪梨去看煙火,其實挑戰很多的;
首先,也是最重要的,是搞定住宿問題。
我們是拖到九月底才找住宿的地方,所以,手頭上沒有甚麼可以選的。
Backpacker,ㄟ,雖然便宜,大約一晚30-40,可是卻全部店家都要求住宿十晚以上;
而且,很少Backpacker是有提供雙人房的,大部分都是四人或六人以上。
這樣看看,恩,乾脆去住等級高一點的,三四星級的飯店好了。
所以,最後選擇了Ibis Sydney,Airport;這家自稱有四星級的等級。
(不要拿台灣的標準來看澳洲的飯店……如果真要比較,通常降個半星到一星會比較適合)

這樣五晚的價錢,大概加起來就是一千澳幣上下。(每一晚的價錢都不同。跨年夜的那晚,印象是285一個雙人房)

接下來,就是機票了。坐JetStar的廉價航空,每個人也要250左右。不算便宜,因為有聽到朋友成功搶到一百多的機票。

結論是!要去就要早點做規劃,快點下手訂機票 + 住宿。九月底真的太晚了!

Crowdsssssssss!!