Advice on Becoming a Cloud Architect

AWS is unparalleled in the cloud world. Azure is a distant second. That is the market share. If you are interested in a particular industry, then you may want to check the cloud choices major employers in your industry have made.

I don't know wha your background is, but I would recommend to practice a lot and keep doing it.

If you were a software developer before (not required), then you are used of the do it mentality, the same applies for Cloud stuff.

By practicing a lot, you'll become more and more confident to do it and then you'll be happy that company will hire you because of your skills (better) than only because of any certification.

I have seen a few certified people being hired and fired afterward, let's do more effort for that certification (if you plan to get it) to only confirm your skills rather than defining it.

I myself practicing a lot, feel free to find out what I'm doing daily at: https://blog.numericaideas.com

While hoping this answer will help you somehow.

Let me know in you want more precision. Cheers!

Go with AWS, but there are significant incentives for becoming Azure certified. Microsoft partner organizations, which are usually larger consulting firms and OEMs, are required to maintain a headcount of certified professionals and there are a lot of them.