How To Pass AWS Certified Solutions Architect Exams
Are you looking to become an AWS certified solution architect in 2021? If so, this article will show how to pass AWS exams and gain the knowledge for a great cloud computing career.
We have a multi-step process to help ensure your success in your in IT certifications and your technology career.
Our process centers around the following steps:
1) Learning
2) Study groups
3) Mentoring
4) Reading AWS whitepapers
5) Making a cheat sheet
6) Teaching others
7) Practice Exams
8) Last minute preparation
Learning
This may sound obvious, but the first step is learning the material. To learn the material, we recommend books and or AWS training courses, preferably both. We feel this step is so critical that we actually give our AWS Certified Solution Architect Associate eBook out for free. So, there is no barrier to entry for individuals looking to become AWS certified. You can get a free copy of our book at this address https://www.gocloudarchitects.com/free-csa-a-ebook/
The learning step is absolutely critical. Over the years we have interviewed countless individuals to join our team, and I can always tell who used practice tests as their form of learning. They have IT certifications but when you give them a technical interview there is no knowledge. So even if they passed their exams, they are not really employable.
Now if that same individual came to me with no certifications, and no background and tells me they are eager to learn it’s a different story. I see potential, but when someone comes to me with certifications and a total lack of knowledge, I feel they cheated their way through the exam with dumps and guaranteed practice tests. Who really wants to put a cheater on their team?
Study Groups
Next, we suggest that you find or create a study group. A study group can be one of the best things you’ll ever do when you’re learning technology. It’s optimal if people in your study group have a cloud computing background, as there will be more knowledge and experience available to support your learning needs.
However, even if all members of the study group have no background it’s still better then learning on your own. As individuals we all learn things differently. The larger your study group (to a point) the better your learning environment will be. Note when it comes to picking study group members, make sure they are energetic and enthusiastic about learning, as you want and need a positive and supportive environment. Create an environment where study group members make each other accountable for the learning process.
Mentoring
Find a mentor that has a strong background in cloud computing with a desire to share knowledge and help you grow. Early in my career mentors were extremely helpful in helping me obtain the knowledge, experience, and skills for my career. It made such a difference to me that for over 20 years I have been mentoring others in technology.
We understand it’s not always easy to find a mentor. So, we provide a free 90-minute group mentoring session every week. We have people bring us their exam questions and we answer them on YouTube live. We do this as we know when you’re learning via self-study, there are things that are just hard to understand. Now if you could just ask a mentor a question, often they can help you in a matter of few minutes. So, we feel that mentoring is a critical part of the learning process for engineers and architects.
To join one of our free mentoring calls, sign up at this link.
Read AWS Whitepapers
We suggest reading the AWS Whitepapers that cover exam topics. We recommend reading the whitepapers as they describe (often in depth) AWS services. Since AWS exams are testing you on AWS services, these whitepapers can make a big difference in the learning process. In our experience we have found a lot of AWS exam questions come straight from AWS whitepapers. Besides reading these whitepapers will dramatically increase your cloud computing knowledge, which will have a positive impact on your career.
Make a Cheat Sheet
At this point you should have some strong cloud computing knowledge. Between training, study groups, mentoring and reading whitepapers you are getting close to exam readiness. We now recommend that you build yourself a cheat sheet. In this cheat sheet we recommend that you build an outline with the major topics you have learned during this process.
Next, we recommend that you add details about each topic to your personal cheat sheet. Writing these topics in depth will reinforce the concepts and help you learn. We recommend making this cheat sheet by had with paper and pencil. There is strong evidence that shows memory is improved when writing by hand. (Scientific American 2014 by Cindy May)
Add details to the outline by adding the key elements to the major topics in your outline. For example, if I was going to build myself a cheat sheet on storage, I would list the topics S3, EBS, EFS, FsX for Windows etc.
For example, for AWS S3 my cheat sheet would look something like this.
AWS S3
S3 Encryption
S3 Bucket Policies
S3 Storage Tiers
S3 Lifecycle management
S3 Versioning
S3 MFA
Tuning S3
Presigned URLS
Range Gets
Cross region replication
I would make sure I had strong knowledge about every topic on my cheat sheet. Building the cheat sheet will really help you learn, and make you better prepared for your tech career.
Teaching Others
After you learn something, teach it to someone else. Sharing knowledge is one way we can all help each other and sharing knowledge can also help you. When you explain something to someone else, you have to really think about the material. So just preparing to explain the material to someone else will force you to develop deep knowledge of the topic. Teaching others can also build your personal brand, and let others know your capabilities all of which will help your career.
Practice Tests
After completing the previous steps now it’s time to begin using a practice test. Practice tests are a good way to get good at taking AWS exams. It’s a great step to get a feel for the types of questions on AWS exams. It’s a good chance to identify any weaknesses you may have so you know what areas to learn more about prior to the exam. Practice exams will definitely help with the certification experience.
Schedule Your Exam
The next step is to schedule your exam. We recommend you schedule your exam when you can consistently score a 95% or better every time you take a practice test. These exams are expensive, so you don’t want to take them twice. This level of preparation will help ensure your success on exam day. You can always repeat the exam, but we would prefer you pass the first time and then begin learning new materials. The more knowledge we have, the better we are prepared for unknown and unknowable circumstances which will inevitably happen in your technology career.
Last Minute Preparation
Last minute preparation is an essential step to being successful when taking AWS exams. AWS exams are quite comprehensive and there is really nothing you can do in the last 24 hours prior to the exam that will make a difference in your exam score.
AWS exams ask questions in a very wordy manner, and the questions are challenging to read. There will be multiple options for answers. In many cases, many of the options are actually correct, they would all work, but they’re not the Amazon way. So, for AWS exams try to think of the way AWS would do something, as opposed to others in the industry. This is much easier if your new to tech, as you won’t know all of the ways a technology can be deployed or optimized. Since these exam questions are challenging, we recommend being rested and mentally fresh on exam day.
In the 24 hours prior to the exam, we recommend that you eat healthy foods, avoid alcohol, and get a good night’s sleep. AWS exams can be challenging, and they will be much easier to answer if you are feeling healthy.
Conclusion
Obtaining IT certifications can make a major difference in your career. Certifications are an excellent opportunity to learn new things and give yourself an edge in today’s competitive job market. Study hard, learn well and have the career of your dreams.
For FREE AWS training materials see the links below. Go Cloud Architects Youtube Channel
FREE AWS Certified Solutions Architect Asociate eBook https://www.gocloudarchitects.com/free-csa-a-ebook/
Free AWS Online Mentoring
