AWS Certification exams cost USD $150 at Associate level, and at the Professional Level exams cost USD $300.
As indicated b include Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Amazon Simple Storage Servicey 2016 IT Skills and Salary Survey pay rates of AWS-ensured IT professionals are expanded by 10% contrasting with 2015 and AWS certification can boost up your salary by 26%
There are 5 certifications available at both associate and professional level with re-certification required every two years.

1. architect- Associate level
2. Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
3. Certified Developer- Associate
4. Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
5. Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional

Requirements to do certification
You will need to set up an AWS Account
Your own domain name (optional, but recommended)
A Windows, Linux or Mac PC/Laptop
Salary of AWS certified persons

AWS certified solutions architect is the second top paying certification in 2018
Source- Global knowledge study

Benefits of AWS Certification

1.Certified Global Community
Gain access to the AWS Certified LinkedIn Community.
2.Event Recognition
Receive invites to regional Appreciation Receptions and get access to AWS Certification lounges at AWS re:Invent and select AWS Summit events.
3. Official Certified Logo Usage
Share your achievement with our updated AWS Certified Logo.
4. Certified Store
Unlock access to Certified Merchandise. You’ll gain access to more products with the more certifications you earn

• Plan Ahead: Firstly Be Prepared. Browse the Employer’s website, Social media sites and other related information for knowledge about the company. Do a research about the positions and try to meet few employees of the company if possible. This will help you gain insights about the company’s working style.
Do a review of your own work experience. Support your achievements with specific information targeted at the company’s needs.

• Role Play: After finishing your research do a role play (rehearsal) of the Interview. Be prepared for frequently asked question like “Tell me something about yourself” of “Why should I Hire you?”. Make a note of the answers and try to make it better. Keep your answers in relation to the needs of the company.
Take advice from HR professionals as to get a better picture of what recruiters are looking for and how to speak accordingly.

• First Impression Counts: FIRST IMPRESSIONS always counts. No one gets a second chance to make a first impression. So DRESS PROFESSIONALLY and make yourself presentable. Your body language often says more than your resume.

• Be On Time: If possible, get to the Interview Venue 30 minutes earlier to calm your breath and nerves. Don’t be late – whatever your reason might be. Remember – No one gets a second chance to make a first impression. If at all you are late due to any issues, ring up the employer and let them know about the delay and your expected time of arrival. It’s a matter of great disrespect if you do not do so.

• Be Positive: Never ever criticize your past employers, mainly those who are within the industry. Focus on your positives and strengths.

• Encourage: Always try to encourage the employer to share more information about the company by asking relevant questions. This also would demonstrate your interest in the person and the company.

• Adapt and relate: Listen to what the Interviewer is saying and adapt to the situation at the earliest to the style of the interviewer. Relate your answers accordingly. Focus on your achievements which are relevant to the particular position.

• Eye Contact: always maintain eye contact with the person(s) taking the interview. They would feel you are not interested in the job if you avoid eye contact.

• Be honest: Do not lie about your past. If you get you might lose the job as well as self respect in the society. Jobs interviews are a part of matching needs of the company and the candidate. If the match is not good enough the relation won’t last long.

• Don’t give up: The point is that you will not get selected in every interview you apply for, however good you might be. Feedback from the failed Interview chances are essential to improve your chances in future interviews.

Since the Industrial Revolution carbon has been pumping into the atmosphere at an enormous rate and now global warming is beyond what many species can tolerate. Insects, animals, plants, and sea creatures, such as coral, are succumbing to something that man has created through his love of money.

But he has not acted alone because they things were written down in prophecies to happen at the end of the day. That is the time we are now in according to them. Things to look out for are first of all the appearance of a great mountain which will attract all people to it in a flood. That is the Internet and on it are the answers that is spreading around the world to overturn the systems of the World Order.

There is also the great population increase and that fulfils the promise that everyone will return at the end to be judged. They have and it has happened through reincarnation, spoken of several times in the Old Testament (Isaiah 26:19, Job 8:19-22). My reincarnation is remembered because of the other language that came with me and made it impossible for others to wipe it out.

While there are many prophecies being fulfilled now it is money that has been used to destroy the world. Nothing man does now can save it as we are in the hands of the Great Spirit of the Universe and what is happening is laid out as part of the plan to bring the spiritual children of Israel to their inheritance.

That is a long story but in shortened form it means that God has used money to separate the spiritual from the evil doers and destroyers who are to pay the price for their greed. Nothing man does can change it.

This is how much humanity cares for the environment when money is at stake. Species are dying and those who depend on the forest to live are obviously in grave danger. The Chachi, also called Cayapa, are one such group and they number around 3,000 to 5,000. They are a people with their own culture, language, and religion but polluted by Roman Catholic influences. Their future is at stake because of the disappearing jungle they depend on for food and resources.

This has happened repeatedly over the globe as man takes from nature to inflate his wealth. It is often the very rich who is responsible for the devastation, although we are all to blame. It’s not just the rain forest but the oceans, deserts, and agricultural species that are all at risk of extinction.

One doesn’t usually place food products as endangered but the facts show that they are, and highly so. To begin with pollinators are already scarce in some areas and the United States has had to import bees to keep production of crops going. In many areas bees are facing an uphill battle and it’s a lot to do with climate change.

Plants that once flowered in Spring, for instance, now do so in winter. The seasons are out of kilt with the natural birth-death cycle of insects and even ants are struggling. Forests have to be in the mix as well as they depend on animals and insects for distribution and pollination of seed. Without the normal life-cycle diseases and an over-abundance of insects that carry them are now prominent.

The Zika virus is one that depends on mosquitoes to spread it the Ebola and HIV viruses must be included, although they are spread by contact and transfer of body fluids.

In general, the world has become unbalanced and there is nothing to fix it. We can’t reverse the trends and we can’t demand people stop taking from the environment while they depend on money to live. It’s a trap we have been driven into by it.

My memory of reincarnation provides me with an explanation of why this has happened as it is my opinion that everyone who has lived is now back in their body as we are in the last days. This is supported by prophecies whereby we are told that we return six times but that the seventh will be the last (Job 5:19-22) while we are also told that the graves will give up their dead (Isaiah 26:19).

This recycling fits how nature recycles and the old becomes new again. Only now we have been warned that only a few will survive the things that are coming. The visions shown to me were horrendous and have already begun. Money won’t stop it but rather it is the light under the fire that is causing it and extinction of species is the way to bring it about.

The following is a good way to explain the difference.

Comparison to Early Payment Discount

The most direct comparison for Invoice Factoring is the early payment discount offered by many companies to their customers. Traditional early payment terms are 2/10 Net 30. This means that the customer can take 2% off the face value of the invoice if they remit payment within 10 days of receipt of invoice. Otherwise they must pay the full price in 30 days.

This is precisely what Invoice Factoring does without offering the end customer the option to take the discount. There are advantages to taking this approach. One is that end customer does not get accustomed to the idea of a discount. Therefore, when a business no longer needs to factor its invoices that 2% goes directly to the bottom line.

Here’s another reason that factoring makes good sense. Some companies will insist on taking an offered 2% discount and pay in 30 days anyway. This completely destroys the purpose of offering the discount.

Factoring eliminates these two negative ramifications.

Comparison to Accepting Credit Card Payment

At its most basic level, invoice factoring is a means by which a business owner collects immediate payment from customers who either cannot or would rather not pay with cash. In the world of consumer-based businesses (and some commercial transactions) this is done by accepting payment by credit card. The Merchant Processing Fees charged for credit card payment range from 1.75% to 4% of transaction value. The type of card, bank, volume, etc., impact the actual transaction fee.

Square, for example, has a 2.75% fee for each transaction. [Square is the company that makes it possible to convert a cell phone, tablet or computer into a credit card processing device.]

Invoice Factoring is also a transaction based process. On a typical invoice factoring transaction, the service fee would be between 2% and 2.5% (depending on the specifics of the transaction). That’s less than taking payment by credit card.

Comparison to Bank Lending

The difference between factoring and bank lending is the difference between buying and renting. Bank lending is a rental fee. When you borrow from a bank (or access funds from a line of credit) you must pay those funds back in full, plus a little extra. That extra is the interest rate. This is similar to the fee you pay for renting a car. Once you’re done with the unit you must return it and pay for the privilege of usage. So it is with a bank loan. You have the privilege of using the bank’s money but must give it back when done and pay for the use.

In Invoice Factoring you have not borrowed money so you have nothing to pay back. You have sold an asset to the factoring company – an invoice that’s part of your company’s Accounts Receivable. (Typically there are multiple unpaid invoices in the A/R report at any one time.) That asset (the invoice) requires that your customer honor their obligation to pay for product and/or service. Thus the factoring company gets its money back when your customer honors that obligation.

Converting a discount rate (for example, the early payment discount noted above) to an interest rate is a unique calculation. It is not straight forward. Multiplying the discount rate by 12 months does not reflective the true cost of money because the “discount” is applied against revenue, not against a static borrowed amount. An interest rate, on the other hand, is applied against a borrowed amount.

For example, let’s assume $100,000 in invoices sold to the factoring company each month. Let’s further assume a discount rate of 2.5% on each invoice. [That, by the way, is on the high side.] In a year’s time $1,200,000 in future revenue would be sold to the factor. The cost of money would be $30,000 [2.5% of $100,000 = $2,500 x 12 = $30,000].

To calculate a comparative value for borrowed money you should take the interest rate of the lender’s offer and multiply it by $1,200,000. Here’s how that looks. The Lending Club (for example) recently advertised a rate “as low as” 5.9% per year interest. At 5.9%, on $1.2 million the cost of borrowed money would be $70,800 per year. If that revenue were factored the cost of money would be $30,000.

Summary

Understanding the difference between an interest rate and a discount rate requires looking at the financial transaction from a different point of view. “Cost of Money” is not a direct comparison. Using Cost of Money as the primary reason for a decision between the two financing models does not serve the business owner. The decision, as has been noted in other articles in this series, is better based on other considerations:

Can the business even qualify for bank lending?
Should the business refrain from adding debt load at this time?
Does borrowed money (or equity infusion) cause the owner to lose autonomy?
Financing, through either Invoice Factoring or Bank Lending, is a temporary situation. It is a support mechanism for business growth. As such, a business owner should assess his or her options based on the current business environment and choose the solution that will take them the farthest the fastest.

What is the challenge we face? I sometimes find that time spent at home can be the busiest time, especially in the times we live in. Imagine someone working from home, home-schooling children, and sometimes even doing a side hustle. Imagine also the full-time home-based entrepreneur. How do they manage to do all they need to do in a day?. We are living in a time when many entrepreneurs and even company employees have adopted work- at – home culture. This comes with its challenges as the lines become blurred between home and work. These blurred lines and constraints on the limited resource called time result in over-worked, under-rested, burnt-out individuals. Whilst good time management has been encouraged and indeed, embraced in the workplace, I believe more needs to be done in changing the mindset for the elusive work-life balance to be achieved.

What are the tools at our disposal? To manage time effectively at home, there are many interventions one can employ including setting goals for the day, prioritizing wisely, setting a time limit for every task, organizing oneself, and instituting the discipline of appointments. Yes, an appointment at home! We can spend time pontificating on the pros and cons of each intervention, however, I believe we need to focus on appointments and see how this can powerfully change the course of one’s day regardless of whether it’s a workday or weekend. Life is busy as it is without any intrusions. The question is how do you handle the one who announces that they are at the gate. These can be friends, neighbors, a salesman of some product you do not even need. I am not promoting regimentation here but rather a culture of filling your day with what’s important. Everything that we succeed at is because we carefully plan and execute it. I am a firm believer that you cannot manage time if you do not manage yourself thus I implore you to incorporate planning and appointments into your repertoire. I am not talking about something I do not do. I have to achieve many things in a day therefore I set appointments with my work, others, and myself.

Could scheduling appointments and keeping them on the home front help us save time and prioritize? Whereas we have established that it is a normal business practice to set appointments and keep them, we need to abandon the liberal open-door policy of allowing all and sundry to have access to us as and when they please on the home front. Please understand where I am coming from. We each have greatness within us but for us to achieve it we need to culture great habits. Employing the use of appointments at home and seeing only those people you had agreed to see removes non-essential encounters especially during the most productive hours. I know this will vary with culture, geographical region, or even level of affluence, whether you live in a low density or high-density residential area, but doesn’t negate the need to be organized and effective. Controlling access determines how organized you are and how well you will work and rest when the time for scheduled rest comes.

What do we need to do differently? We need to be disciplined and diligent, learn to say no, now is not a good time, let’s make an appointment for next week. What are the benefits of this approach? You are not always fire-fighting to meet deadlines, You are not always tired because you have not taken time out to rest. You have set aside enough time to spend with your loved ones or a loved one. If you are a busy person, I am sure you appreciate what I am saying. Whether it’s time to work uninterrupted, family time, or “me-time”, it takes some kind of order to enjoy it.

I am not saying that those that come unannounced are bad people. No, not at all, they probably are people you enjoy spending time with. Nevertheless, there must be prior communication so that you can attend to your visitor(s) when it is convenient for both you and them. It can be quite disrupting and a whole day can just pass by without achieving anything that you had planned to do.

As we grow older we begin to appreciate that rest and recovery need to be scheduled. The fact that I am relaxing doesn’t mean that I don’t have anything to do. One therefore cannot assume that just because you are at home you are available. Maybe you have scheduled that time to rest. That is important. You need to make an appointment with yourself, spouses need to also set aside time for each other. Parents need to schedule a time to spend with their children. When you have some sort of order in your life you determine who sees you and who you see. It also means that your relationships will be healthy and that makes you a happier person.

In conclusion, I believe that the work-life balance can be achieved. There are many tools at our disposal just like it is in the workplace.I believe we could do more and be happier if we are disciplined enough to make only the commitments we can keep.I am certain that setting appointments and keeping them at home help us save time and prioritize.

Fitzgerald Mujuru, a fusion of Business Coach, Personal Effectiveness Coach, Business Consultant, Marketing Strategist, Sales Zealot, Speaker, brand builder, with over twenty years in marketing and sales for globally known brands. He has vast commercial experience at management level in various sectors. His strengths include marketing, brand building, sales, business development, business strategy, management, and equipping leaders and teams with strategies for personal and team effectiveness. He has handled various consultancy assignments for companies in professional services, media, communications, training and development, non-profit organizations. He has released 4 books and published more than 200 articles online.

1) Interest rates: We have experienced a prolonged period of historically – low – interest rates. This has created easy money, because the cost of borrowing is so low. Both individuals and corporations have benefited, at least, in the immediate- term, permitting home buyers to purchase more house, because their monthly charges, are low, due to low mortgage rates. Corporate and government bonds, and banks, have paid low returns. It has stemmed, inflation, and created a rise in home prices, we haven’t witnessed, in recent memory. The Federal Reserve Bank has signaled they will be ending this propping – up, and will also raise rates, probably three times, in 2022. What do you think that will cause.

2) Auto loans, consumer loans, borrowing: The auto industry has been, significantly, impacted by supply chain challenges. When rates rise, auto loans and leases, will be more costly.

3) THis pattern began after the Tax Reform legislation, passed at the end of 2017, which created the initial, new, trillion dollars deficits

4) Government spending, caused by the financial suffering and challenges, because of shut downs, etc, because of the pandemic, created trillions more in debt. Unfortunately, debt must be eventually addressed.

5) Perception and attitude: The past couple of years,apparently, created a public perception, plus many fears, with a crippling economic impact.

Either, we begin to plan, effectively, and with common sense and an open – mind, many will be at – risk. Wake up, America, and demand better leadership, service and representation.

Successful people did not become successful because they were lucky.

They did not achieve success by accident. Being at the right place at the right time, meeting relevant people, reading the appropriate book, did not come about accidentally or by luck.

Luck is brought about by Labour Under Correct Knowledge.

Successful people prepared themselves. Instead of giving up on anything they started and wanted to achieve they got stronger by learning more.

Success is a methodical, orderly and deliberate process of deciding what you want to do with your life, what are the steps that you need to undertake to get you there, and lastly what you will do once you get there.

One of the most important aspects, if not the most important aspect to success, is the ability to visualise your successful outcome and stay focused on it until you achieve it.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge, knowledge is limited.” – Albert Einstein

Successful people understood the potential power behind knowledge, yet they also understood that, for them to close the gap between where they are and where they wanted to be, they would have to piece together the enigma that is most often referred to as “life”.

They had to build a picture, a vision, of success in their mind, and then go about taking action on creating that envisioned life.

In much the same way, you have to be serious about your present and future, you need to have the knowledge that is required so you, too, may close the gap: you need to be and remain determined to devote yourself to taking massive action to build your business of succeeding in life.

You, too, will need to see the end, your dream and destiny that you desire in your mind’s eye. It is up to you to take the necessary and relevant action to make it all happen. It’s just like going to the doctor with a particular health problem.

The doctor may prescribe a medication for you to take four times a day, yet he cannot be there with you to ensure that you are taking the medication.

It comes back to deciding to be responsible for your life.

Have you noticed how it all stems from that one attitude? Being responsible for your own life.

Your success, your being responsible 100% for you to live your dream life starts here.

When you accept 100% responsibility for yourself and your current life situation, you will have the power to move towards those things you truly desire in life: which is success in all areas of your life.

This life-changing article is about possibilities and opportunities, knowledge and tools. It will help expose your unique course in life.

It will inspire, support and motivate you to excel, to do what successful people do, to have all that successful people have, and to become a shining example of a successful person.

Here, you’re not being told what you couldn’t do, instead you are being told to shoot for the stars. And above all, you are being shown how to shoot for those stars.

“A person is what he thinks about all day long.” – Emerson

Interesting thought, wouldn’t you think? So much so, it’s worth repeating: “A person is what he thinks about all day long.”

Success and happiness cannot happen if you possess the same old thoughts and beliefs.

If you do not change your mind, if you do not get rid of the unsupportive thoughts and beliefs, you will inevitably remain stuck in your old ways. Not much, if anything, will change.

Let’s give you a quick overview on how change comes about:

Your BEHAVIOUR, how you act (or perhaps do not act), controls your success or failure. Your ability to attain high levels of success is dependent upon your actions and behaviours. Your results are the outcome of your behaviour. Now let’s consider where your behaviours come from and what controls them?

Your FEELINGS command your behaviour. Every action that you take is first filtered through your feelings that reside in your subconscious mind. How you feel about something determines what you do and how well you do it. So where do your feelings come from?

Your ATTITUDES create and influence your feelings. Your attitude is your perspective from which you view life. Whatever attitude you have about anything will affect how you feel, which, in turn, affects how you act. Where do your attitudes come from?

Your BELIEFS create, control and influence your attitudes. What you believe about anything will determine your attitude about it, which will create your feelings, and then which will direct your behaviour and action. Belief patterns are so powerful that two people who are in the same situation could perceive things completely differently. It only requires us to believe what we see and how we see it. We all have thousands of beliefs – big and small. And where do your beliefs come from?

Your THOUGHTS create, control and influence your beliefs. Your thoughts are real and are immensely powerful. Everything you accept from the outside world and everything you feed yourself from within is a product of your thoughts. Everything starts as a thought.

So, it goes without saying you need to learn to control your thoughts. And when you do, you will automatically control your beliefs, your attitudes, your feelings and, consequently, your behaviour and actions.

The big secret to success:

Learn to control your thoughts and you will influence your behaviours and actions. It’s all a mind-set. That’s what we’ve been saying all along.

Success is predictable and is not achieved by accident.

Have the mind-set of the successful people and you will achieve success. Believe and it is yours!

“There is a great future in front of you, you can leave your past behind.” – Joel Osteen

Science of success experts have concluded that the brain is a goal-setting organism.

That is fantastic news for us: for whatever goal we give to our subconscious mind, it will work for us day and night, 24/7, to achieve it for us; to make it a reality.

The principal breakthrough that scientists made was that we do not need to waste our precious time and effort trying to change old thoughts and behaviours: we just simply create new ones.

And the other discovery they made was that we can continue to create new thoughts, new memories, new behaviours, new skills, and learn new things for as long as we are alive on this earth.

Now, with the new discoveries in recent years, it has been scientifically proven that our capacity to achieve and succeed literally has no limits.

Our brain has the capacity to continually learn during our entire lifetime.

Our brain can form new thoughts, can have new memories, and can learn new things by the millions, no matter what your age is. By the millions.

That’s how many new things we can learn, that’s how many new skills we can learn, that’s how many new thoughts we can have, that’s how many new behaviours we can adopt.

This is encouraging because there is no limit on your capacity to achieve new things.

No limits whatsoever for the human brain to learn, memorise, develop, achieve and perform at higher levels than ever imagined. It makes no difference what your age is: you are capable of learning anything new that you want to learn.

That adds to what we spoke of earlier: no more excuses.

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X

Your brain has the capacity to achieve way beyond what was ever thought possible. So now is the time to break out of your limited thinking and start dreaming big and imagining unlimited possibilities.

Becoming successful is not impossible.

It is a choice you make through a decision. Every day, step-by-step, you may climb the mountain of success if you’ve decided to do so, if you’re committed to accomplish what the others think impossible.

Design your future now.

Prepare to receive what you desire.

Thanks to the phenomenal advances made in cognitive science and the development of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), personal change, personal transformation, has come a very long way.

In fact, personal growth is no longer a mystery.

NLP has brought to light that change, transformation and growth can be fast, reliable, and even fun. It has shown us that we do not need to spend thousands of hours slaving away to increase our creative-thinking abilities.

By practicing a few simple exercises and applications, you can start your creative juices flowing, and you may even amaze yourself at the quality and quantity of good ideas that you can come up with to expedite your success.

It can allow you to achieve something you seek within days and months as opposed to years and decades. That’s the power of the progress science has made on how the brain works, and also how you can have your mind to be your best ally in achieving anything you want.

Learn to live as you like by no longer living as you dislike.

Are you ready to get on the road to success and fulfilment?

Bear in mind, much like everything else in life, success requires practice and massive, consistent action.

“Success doesn’t mean the absence of failures; it means the attainment of ultimate objectives. It means winning the war, not every battle.” – Edwin C Bliss

Hani Al-Qasem has been a self-improvement educator for more than 18 years.

You can download your copy of “Wealth Attraction: How To Reprogram Your Mind For More Money” FREE eBook where you can begin the automatic reprogramming of your brain for wealth, success, and abundance, in just six easy steps.