Getting my first AWS certification
My experience preparing for and taking the AWS Certified Solutions Architect (SAA-C02) Exam
In September 2020, I decided to learn for and take the AWS SAA-C02 exam.
My background
To provide some context, I think it’s important for me to share my background.
I’ve been studying Computer Science at one of Hungary’s most well-known universities where some of my subjects actually touched on AWS. In addition to learning the basic cloud concepts here, I gained some hands-on experience with EC2 instance types, spot instances, pricing and running workloads on the VM. I also wrote my thesis about developing auto-scaling algorithms in applications built in a microservices architecture. After finishing my studies, I joined an investment bank where I worked for 3 years. I was in a DevOps-ish role focusing more on the Dev side of things. Although I really enjoyed working there, I had no exposure to the public cloud. We instead used an inhouse built private cloud solution, where I could deepen my knowledge about cloud native application development. So at the start of my Solutions Architect learning journey, I would say the basic concepts and theory were in place, but I really lacked actual AWS hands-on experience.
Learning path and resources
I am really thorough when it comes to choosing learning material. After doing my research and finding the AWS Certifications subreddit, I opted to use the video course from Stéphane Maarek’s Udemy course. It did not disappoint. Stéphane’s course includes 24 hours of on-demand video - each and every minute full of useful information. I actually ended up with 73 pages of notes. I tracked my progress by writing down how much content I watched after each learning session. With this approach, I could set deadlines and estimate when I will be ready for the practice tests. When I had a full day dedicated just to learning e.g. on the weekends, I could watch about 1.5 to 2 hrs worth of content while being able to progress about 0.5 to 1 hours on weekdays. Complementary to watching the videos, I did hands-on labs as well as digging deeper into topics I was interested in or didn’t understand for the first time. It turned out, these activities took up about triple as much. Also, on some days , I looked at my previous notes to see if I had forgotten any of the concepts I had learned. In other occasions I just needed a “day off” from learning.
When I mentioned the practice tests, I meant the ones from Tutorials Dojo’s Jon Bonso. This was just as important to my learning process as the video course. The multiple-choice format is the same as in the real exam and the wording is very similar. It not only tested my knowledge, but helped to identify concepts I needed to brush up on. Every question includes detailed explanation to why an answer is correct. This was a godsend and helped me so much to be successful in the exam. I would advise to achieve 80-85%+ in the practice exams to be completely confident in the real exam.
I also participated in a live exam readiness course provided by AWS, which was again packed with very useful information, highlighting most important concepts and showing differences between services.
Booking the exam
Before booking the exam, I suggest asking for the extra 30 minutes exam accommodation, if you are a non-native English speaker. Although I didn’t need it, it’s still a comforting thought to have some more time. 🙂
I booked my online exam with Pearson VUE for the 26 October 9:15AM.
Exam day
Before the exam, I was required to go through a check-in process, where they verified that it’s me taking the test and I don’t have ways to cheat. I was asked to take pictures with my phone of the surroundings and run a program from Pearson VUE that only allowed me to access their platform. Once they verified these, a proctor joined in and asked me to identify myself by showing my identification card and face to the camera. For one more time, I had to show my surroundings, but in this case, with the camera of my iMac. It felt so weird to lift the whole computer and show the desk in front of me! 🙂
Then, the proctor warned me not to leave the sight of the camera and that my environment needs to be completely silent. After that, they released my exam. I had one occasion where the proctor contacted me via voice, because my hand was in front of my mouth. I was so surprised they called in for that, because sometimes this just helps me think. I had to remind myself to lower my hand several times as I found myself going back to doing it. 🙂
After I sat through the exam and answered all 65 questions, I got my result: I PASSED
I was so happy! Days, weeks and long nights of preparation turn out to be fruitful, such a good feeling!!! 🙂
After the exam
I got the official results and my badge after a day.
https://www.youracclaim.com/badges/deaac25c-c021-4ea4-9554-51c0e0ed8243/