How I passed the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam

Why?

Over the past couple of years, I’ve done various Cisco, Juniper and Mikrotik certifications. I felt like it was time to diversify and upskill myself on “Cloud” concepts.

I decided to go with AWS because they are pioneers of the “Cloud” and have the largest market share, but the others are catching up. Hopefully, I’ll get to explore Azure and GCP.

Start from the basics?

I had two options when starting this journey way back in August last year. Take the entry-level Cloud Practitioner exam, then take the Solutions Architect exam or study for the Solutions Architect exam, which many people do.

Since I had close to zero cloud knowledge and skills 😄, I decided to take the Cloud Practitioner exam first to break-in. Personally, this was a good move because I had a solid foundation as I headed into the Solutions Architect exam. Plus, I got a 50% discount. Who doesn’t love discounts!

This path is ideal, but you don’t have to follow it, especially if you are constrained financially and time-wise.

Preparation

I would advise you to pay and schedule the exam 1 to 1 1/2 months in the future. This will give you a target and also force you to prepare.

I used the following resources to prepare

• Ultimate AWS Solutions Architect Associate course on Udemy

Most of my studies were based on this excellent course by Stephane Maarek. The hands-on labs are terrific, and you can follow along since all the files used in the labs are shared.

• AWS documentation for some of the key services to supplement the content from Udemy.

• EC2 – I read the Linux instances doc. It highlights key components, i.e. AMIs, Instances, Networking, Security and Storage
• VPC

You can always read on more services, but you don’t need to read everything. In my case, I read only these two services extensively and relied on the course for the other sections.

• AWS Free tier

I used the AWS free tier for some light practice. I didn’t do all the demos; hence my costs were not too much.

Some services incur costs, so ensure that you have set up a budget with notifications. There’s a time I set up some instances and forgot to terminate them. I got an alert via email when AWS forecasted I’ll go above $6. I would probably have had higher costs if I didn’t have the budget + alerts.

• Practice exam questions on Whizlabs

Whizlabs helped me to test my knowledge before heading for the exam. I purchased only the practice tests for $9.95. You can also do the practice tests based on individual sections; this can help you review individual sections in which you are not comfortable.

As usual, the questions act as a guide for practice. You will not get the same questions in the exam 😉 I found the actual exam questions to be very detailed and wordy. I know there are many other options for practice exams, so do your research.

And ohh….don’t forget to take notes. Revising during the final days will be way easier. I prefer the old school handwritten notes but use whatever works for you.

Exam Experience and Tips

Last year, I did my Cloud Practitioner via remote testing via Pearson Vue, and the experience wasn’t that great. I was called out for minor things, e.g. striking the thinking pose 🤔 😂. I felt like I was required to stare straight at the screen and do nothing else, no stretching and no scribbling allowed. But the Cloud Practitioner exam is relatively easy, and I could deal with that.

I had to book my SAA attempt at a physical test centre, and the experience was better.

The exam consists of 65 questions, primarily scenario-based, with a lot of details compared to the practice tests I had done on Whizlabs. Concentration is essential throughout, I started struggling at around question 50, but I had a lot of time left to take it easy for the remaining 15 questions.

Remember, you can always flag questions and come back to them later. I flagged all questions I was not 100% sure of and got to make several updates when reviewing. Always use the process of elimination when you are not sure of the answers (You’ll encounter quite a number 😀). This will increase your chances of selecting the right option.

Results are not available immediately, I got mine in just under 24 hours. So you’ll have to be patient 🙂

What next?

I plan to tackle the AWS Networking Specialty exam but will have to wait for the new version coming out in July. My target is to sit for the exam at the end of July or early August.

I will then plan to revisit the CISCO SPCOR beast!

TL;DR

Resources & Costs

1. Exam $75 (Had 50% discount after passing the Cloud Practitioner exam
2. Udemy course $12.99
3. Whizlabs practice exams $9.95
4. AWS costs $0.45

Total costs $98.39

Tips

1. Take the cloud practitioner exam first (If you are new to cloud concepts and have the resources to pursue it)
2. Schedule exam, then prepare
3. Write notes
4. Read the AWS documentation (Not everything of course!)
5. Practice on AWS (Remember to set up a budget with alerts)
6. Take practice tests
7. Flag questions you are not sure of
8. Use the process of elimination when answering tough questions
9. Be disciplined (Spare a few hours every day to study)
10. Learn to watch videos at a higher speed 🙂 (Increase gradually X1.2 —> X1.3 —> X1.4………, you’ll get used to it 😉)

The current Solutions Architect exam (SAA-C02) will be retired on August 29th 2022. You can find more details here

All the best!