How did a 15 year old teen pass the AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam?
Why did a 15-year-old write this exam?
The Amazon Web Services cloud practitioner exam is an exam for “individuals who have the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively demonstrate an overall understanding of the AWS Cloud, independent of specific technical roles addressed by other AWS Certifications.” For me, initially, I was bored in quarantine and wanted to take up a challenge. I’ve always loved technology and machine learning, so this was the perfect goal. But other than that, I wanted to obtain this certification because I wanted to gain experience for my future, and I found it fascinating. The wide variety of services and numerous unique use cases for each one, the way they all intertwined with another to create this enormous system that was able to accomplish something astounding.
Resources I used to study
There are multiple great resources out on the internet you can use to study for this exam, but I will be providing some of the courses that I thought were the most useful and the ones that really helped. First, “AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam Training 2020” by Neal Davis on Udemy summed up everything you need to know perfectly. But what I liked about this course was how Davis explained everything in extremely simple terms. However, while it was simple, it still went in-depth enough to cover everything you need to know. As a teenager who had no prior experience with AWS, I found it extremely beneficial and convenient when he explained everything with extreme detail in a straightforward manner. After completing this course, I took “AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner 500 Practice Exam Questions” by Neal Davis on Udemy. I would say that this specific course and it’s practice questions were one of the most important things that helped me pass because many of the questions that appeared on these 500 set practice tests also showed up on the actual exam, which definitely made it a lot easier! Before realizing the Neal Davis courses worked best for me, I jumped around from course to course quite a lot, and this was actually quite beneficial because, sometimes the way that Davis explained something wouldn’t make sense to me so, I would look to see how other instructors would explain it. So below are a few courses that are worth briefly looking over if needed.
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner 2020 by Zeal Vora on Udemy
- Ultimate AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner — 2020 by Stephane Maarek on Udemy
- AWS Cloud Practitioner — CLF-C01 (LA) — by Tia Willams on Linux Academy — the quizzes at the end of each of the units are extremely useful and great practice
Apart from these courses, there are multiple YouTube videos and medium articles I used to comprehend a certain topic more in-depth. I would definitely suggest a publication by the name of “Awesome Cloud” right here on medium.
They have dozens of informative articles comparing services because often I had trouble finding differences between some similar services, however this publication never failed to clear all my doubts. In addition, I would highly recommend Cloud Guru’s publication as well, they have numerous articles that go in-depth about all services and topics.
Lastly, a common recommendation but it truly is exceptionally effective, AWS Whitepapers and guide and, if anything I would advise you to at least look over the free practice questions that AWS provides because it is the closest representation of questions that are similar to the actual test you will get. If nothing else, definitely take a look at some of the white papers I’ve attached below that I believe are the most beneficial.
Overview of all services —
Aws pricing information —
Well architected framework —
How long I studied/ study plan
Like mentioned before, I took up the challenge to study for and pass this exam at the start of summer in June during quarantine, and had a goal to get the certification in August, so that left me 2 months to study. And while that seems like a lot of time, don’t forget there are A LOT of services to understand in depth. As a general overview, I studied for about 2–3 hours a day however, often I took brief breaks to give my brain a break from intaking so much knowledge. Speaking from personal experience, some days, sitting through the lecture/video might feel extremely tiresome and tedious, so my advice would be to skip that, and don’t think about AWS at all. Save your enthusiasm and time for a day when you feel motivated and ready to soak in the plethora of info that is presented to you.
Tips and tricks
Now, for the part most people are here for, what are my tips for passing this exam, as someone who got the certification at age 15?
- Well, for starters, being a student in high school, blindly memorizing information, and associating one piece of info to another in my brain just long enough to pass the test is my specialty, and I’m sure most students feel the same way. However, for the specific exam, I would advise you to do the complete opposite, rather than just playing the lecture and listening to the instructor speaks like background music, be actively engaged in the lesson.
- I may or may not be speaking from personal experience when I say you will not remember anything the instructor has just said if you choose to blindly watch the videos without taking notes or practice quizzes. With this exam, it is so important you truly understand all the services and the real-life use cases of them because the test is not a check to simply see if you know what each service does, but rather if you know in what situation what service will be most suitable.
- Although I personally did not take notes while studying, I did write down any questions I had as I was watching the videos, and I would later find the answers to those questions through YouTube videos and articles. However, if I could go back and change one thing about the way I prepared for this exam, it would be taking notes. Because although it isn’t completely mandatory to pass the exam, having a document where all your information is neatly compiled in an organized fashion will come in extremely advantageous those last few days leading up to the exam, as you’re briefly reviewing everything you know.
- Another beneficial tip, that perhaps not many people think of doing, would be re-teaching what you learn to another family member or friend. For example, if I had just learned about a certain topic and thought that I really understood it, I would gather my family and explain to them what I learned as if I were the instructor to really instill it into my memory. And often, in the process of doing so, they would ask follow-up questions and I would realize maybe I don’t know enough about this, and it would prompt me to go back and actually completely learn it. This technique of learning by teaching is called the “protégé effect”, and numerous studies have shown that,
“Students who spend time teaching what they’ve learned go on to show better understanding and knowledge retention than students who simply spend the same time re-studying”. (Christian Jarrett)
Conclusion
To conclude, I would certainly recommend writing this exam regardless of your age. I think having this credential is extremely beneficial for the future, and you will overall learn a plethora of fascinating information. Using the tips, tricks, links, and resources I have provided above will greatly help in feeling more confident and ready as you go into writing the exam. To anyone that is as young as I am, keep in mind that the youngest age one can write this exam is 13, this shows how age is nothing but a number, and the knowledge you are capable of possessing and gaining when you put your mind to something is infinite. Don’t let your age get in the way of achieving something that is extraordinary, age is simply an issue of mind over matter. I hope this blog helps you in passing your AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam, and if you have any questions or need help, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me through Linkedin or leaving a comment below!
My certification —
