I passed the AWS Certified Solutions Architect — Associate exam and I would like to share my journey and the preparation steps I did to pass the exam on my first try.

To study and learn all cloud concepts and AWS services I only followed ONE course, ONE set of Practice Exams and to save time relied on ONE set of notes, and I also stiked to a strict regiment for passing the exam in 30 days.

Study Material & Resources

Here is the resources I used to prep for the AWS SAA-C03:

First 15 Days

  • Early Morning:
    • 120 minutes: Cover 1 to 2 sections of Stephane Mareek’s courses. (30 Section in Total/27 hours)
  • Early Evening
    • 30 minutes: Read the notes and FAQ covering early morning sections services.
    • 120 minutes: Take Bonso Practice Exam.
    • 30 minutes: Review answers and explanations.

Next 10 Days

  • Early Morning:
    • 120 minutes: Cover 1 to 2 sections of Stephane Mareek’s courses. (30 Section in Total/27 hours)
  • Early Evening
    • 30 minutes: Read the notes and FAQ covering early morning sections services.
    • 120 minutes: Take Bonso Practice Exam.
    • 30 minutes: Review answers and explanations.

Two days before my 10 days are over I booked my exam, and requested an extra 30 minutes for non-native English speakers just in case more time is needed.

Last 5 Days

  • Early Morning:
    • 120 minutes: Cover 1 to 2 sections of Stephane Mareek’s courses. (31 Section in Total/27 hours)
  • Early Evening
    • 30 minutes: Read the notes and FAQ covering early morning sections services.
    • 120 minutes: Take Bonso Practice Exam.
    • 30 minutes: Review answers and explanations.
    • Book your exam and accommodation.

Exam Day

AS I am an early person, I did wakeup early and have a good breakfast and start going trough some FAQ, then show up 30 min early to my 8:30 schedule time. The test took me arround 90 min and I passed with a score of XXX

Conclusion

Finishing the certification is not the end of my journey, but just the beginning of my goal to land a job with AWS so if you are a manager at AWS and interestd in my profile please contact me. I still have a lot of things to learn to adapt my skill to AWS, but this acomplishement is really a good motivation to go for my AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty(MLS-C01) Certificate. It is a lifelong learning process!

“Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave” Mohamed. PBUH