4 tips to ease your AWS certification processes ! (associate level)
Computing in the cloud is already a popular, and also a trending and expanding concept. AWS has a high market share among global cloud providers. AWS certifications are highly praised (and rewarded). Partner Companies show their pride in their certificate owners by displaying the total number of certifications they have, using an AWS supplied badge (50, 100, 250, …).
Now here are my tips, for each step:
1- Plan and Prepare:
For the exam preparations, I have followed Stephane Maarek’s preparation courses. There were verbal content following his slides, hands on sections with the AWS console and a test containing a few questions at the end of each section. There was also a sample practice exam at the end of each course. There were other (Maarek’s) courses containing a few of those practice exams, for each certification exam. I took those practice exams till I get more than 80 points. All the exam questions include a detailed answer section, but they are not available to you, till you finish the exam (a limitation of Udemy). I strongly suggest reading those explanations very carefully, even if you have answered them correctly. You should reserve a specific amount of study time, daily or weekly, and obey that plan!
The order of difficulty among certifications, verified (for now) by me, is explained here. I have followed a different path and made a custom order (of importance/popularity) for myself; staring with SAA (architect associate), followed by DVA (developer associate), then by SOA (SysOps) and finally finished with CLF (practicioner). If you are keen on acquiring all (or most) of the (12 smth) certificates, I advise following the suggested order (in the link).
2- Learn the concepts and differences, for each exam:
Having the (certification) exams sequentially (one a few weeks after another) has its benefits. All associate level contents have, on the average, 40–50% in common but service(s) coverage (breadth) and difficulties (depth) differ:
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF):
This is the single foundation-level certificate, so if you have passed any other (associate level, especially SAA) certificate before, you’ll probably find yourself at home:
Study “The 6 Pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework” well. You should be able to associate any/all cloud concepts with a pillar.
Study the “Six advantages of cloud computing” well. It is a short (but very important) article, indeed.
If you have time, you may find it beneficial to read other introductory level articles and whitepapers, on AWS.
Depth: Low, Breadth: Low.
AWS Certified Developer — Associate (DVA):
Development services like Elastic Beanstalk, Lambda, ApiGateway and CloudFormation are important, as the name suggests. Spare more time to learn and make hands-on examples using those services.
Depth: Mid, Breadth: Mid.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect — Associate (SAA):
There are multiple viable solutions for many of the architectural design/choice problems, but there is one most [cost effective OR performant OR operationally optimal/effective OR requiring minimal code change OR … ] solution. Questions are wordy, most of the time, so read fast but educate yourself to find the important parts, by doing practice exams.
Depth: Mid, Breadth: High.
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator — Associate (SOA):
Be advised; this is the hardest (and longest) of all the associate level exams. It consist of a ~50 question exam and a hands-on session, where you will be implementing solutions using the console. There’s no break in between, so be ready for a long sitting..
Your focus should be on common cloud services problems/errors and solutions. You should keep “operational excellence” (pillar of the well-architected-framework) as the most important target point.
There are many people failing in the first time, even on the second try.
Depth: High, Breadth: Mid.
3- Apply and Schedule:
All of the associate and foundational level exams, except SOA, are 90–180 minute exams containing 50–65 multiple choice (and some multiple answer) questions. You can also apply for extra 30 minutes for each exam (ESL +30 MINUTES) before registering for the exams, if you are not a native English speaker (and I strongly suggest it).
(Associate level) Exams cost $100-$150 each, but if you pass an exam, you may get a 50% discount voucher for your next exam (check it on the AWS certification home page). Passing grade is 72 (/100) points. Some of the questions may seem odd, but do not get confused; there are rumors saying that some questions are not graded.
You can take your exams at home (proctored). You can make the scheduling, days or hours before your sitting. Keep in mind that you can re-schedule a maximum of two times unless there’s less than 24 hrs left.
4- (On) The exam (day):
You should have a clean desk; only a transparent water bottle/glass is allowed besides your computer, during the exam.
Check-in period starts half an hour before the scheduled exam time. I could not make the mobile app work so, I used my computer for check-in (it is a little text link on the bottom of the the check-in screen).
Keep yourself hydrated (but there is a catch):
Hydration is the initial key to keep your brain alert. You should keep a proper hydration level, but try not to consume much water (juices. …etc) before the exam. Also, stay away from diuretics (coffee, tea, …etc) in the exam day. Exam duration may go beyond 200 minutes, including check-in and ESL+30, and there’s no break (for) what-so-ever!
Closing Remarks: I’ve learned a lot while studying for these certification exams. I wish you the same.
