How should someone design a long term, multi year AWS certification roadmap aligned with a specific career goal, such as becoming a cloud architect?

A long term roadmap toward becoming a cloud architect might start with the Cloud Practitioner for foundational knowledge, progress to the Solutions Architect Associate to build core architectural skills, gain substantial hands on production experience designing and operating real systems, then pursue the Solutions Architect Professional certification, and finally add relevant Specialty certifications, such as Security or Advanced Networking, that align with the specific type of architecture work the individual wants to specialize in.

// Example multi year roadmap
// Year 1: Cloud Practitioner + Solutions Architect Associate
// Year 2: hands on project experience
// Year 3: Solutions Architect Professional + relevant Specialty