3 min read · Mar 22, 2023
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As someone who values hands-on experience, I used to be skeptical about the value of certifications. However, I’ve come to appreciate that certifications are a form of validation that adds credibility to your profile. Even experienced AWS candidates can benefit from preparing for the AWS Solution Architect Associate (SAA) exam, as it can deepen their knowledge of existing and new AWS services. In this post, I’ll share my experience preparing for the AWS SAA exam, including some tips for success.
From the start of my preparation to receiving my certification, it took me around 2–3 weeks. However, the time it takes can vary depending on your level of existing AWS experience and the amount of spare time you have available.
- I enrolled to Stephane Maarek’ course in udemy. The content is regularly updated and the content slides are provided in a PDF format. As of writing this article in Mar-2023, the course also comes with 1 full practice exam. If you plan to enroll in any other course, make sure you read the reviews first.
- Apart from taking the course, I took notes with key points about each AWS service. This step is optional if you plan to use the course content’ PDF. However, make sure you note down the ‘exam tip’ when the instructor mentions it.
- I also enrolled to Practice Exams by Stephane Maarek and Abhishek Singh. This helped me to identify the areas to focus on more. As of Mar-2023, there are 6 practice exams in the course. In my experience, the practice exams were slightly more challenging than the actual AWS exam.
- After each practice exam, I revisited both right and wrong answers. I also read more about new topics/concepts based on my practice exam results.
- Once I was confident and consistently scored over 80–85% in the practice exams, I scheduled the actual AWS exam.
- I read my notes about 3–4 times to refresh my memory.
- I ensured that I got a good night’s rest before the exam.
- In the exam, I made sure to read each question carefully to avoid ambiguity. To help me better understand the question, I looked for keywords like ‘serverless’, ‘cheapest,’ ‘time limits,’ and ‘capacity constraints.’ For example: Even though the question asks for a serverless solution, we cannot use Lambda if a timeout is given as 20 mins (Lambda max timeout is 15 minutes).
- If you are a non-native English speaker like me, you can get additional (ESL) 30 minutes to take your exam. Before you schedule your exam, login to your aws training & certification account, select “Request Exam Accommodations” and “Request Accommodation”. You can select ESL option and create it. It should be auto-approved instantly and you can see it in your profile like this:
- If you have already worked in an AWS service, the course contents regarding the service can serve as a refresher. If it is a new AWS service for you, hands-on practice is recommended.
- Cliched advice incoming: In the exam, eliminate obvious wrong answers first. This makes it easier to choose the right one from the remaining options.
- There are no negative marks for incorrect answers. So even if you are unsure, choose an answer that makes the most sense and mark it for review. You can revisit it after completing all other questions.
- I took my exam from home. Some prefer to take it in a testing center to avoid distractions. This depends on your personal situation.
- This is not a tip, but a reminder that exam results are not immediately available like it used to. It takes a few hours or few days to get your result via email. I got my results 5–6 hours after the exam.
Hope this helps. Good luck on your certification journey.
Cheers, VN
