Published: May 31, 2020 by Joel Mataway
Why Did I Want To Get The AWS Solutions Architect Certification?
For a while now I have had a goal to get some certifications under my belt. While speaking with my supervisor about it, we both thought the AWS certifications would be good to target since we heavily use AWS (like many companies). This allowed it to be not just a personal goal for myself, but also a professional goal that I feel will benefit my employer. I’ve worked professionally on AWS for about two years now, so this also was a good chance to get some formal or fundamental training under my belt. The certificate itself isn’t necessarily huge or sought after in the industry (that would likely be the professional level) so it was more about the foundational education/traning, personal, and professional goal aspects rather than the certificate itself.
My Preparation, Part 1: Training Videos
I’ve always been a fan of self paced online education so even before I decided to pursue the certification, I already had an existing Linux Academy subscription. The AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate course looked like a great offering and I already had full access, so it naturally is what I used. Including the videos, labs, and quizzes the entire thing was esimated to take about 60 hours. I felt like I got through it in about 50, as the time estimates for the quizzes and labs were generous; I also was able to watch some videos at 1.5 speed as I was very familiar with the subject matter (like networking in AWS). About half way through my studying, I learned that the C01 exam was retiring on July 1, 2020. Since I was already pretty invested I decided to stick with it and just make sure I was ahead of schedule with plenty of time to schedule the exam. Taking dilligent notes and doing all the labs gave me a strong confidence in what I was learning. Overall I felt the course was great and provided good fundamental knowledge, even if some of it is dated having been created in 2018.
My Preparation, Part 2: Practice Exams
While I felt the Linux Academy course was good, I wanted something more than what it offered for practice exams. Others who took the exam recommended the Jon Bonso Practice Exams available from Tutorials Dojo. You may find the same exams on Udemy, but do not use them there. More features are available when you purchase from Tutorials Dojo and they are cheaper there as well. The practice exams were very helpful while preparing. They featured exam quality questions, links to relevant AWS documentation, and great explanations for WHY the correct answer was correct. These are definitely recommended for anyone taking the C01 or C02 AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam.
Taking The Exam Online
Due to the current events around COVID-19 online was the only option for several weeks. By the time I scheduled in person testing was available, but I decided to try at home proctoring through Pearson VUE. I had heard some horror stories from others who had issues with the Pearson VUE system, but it was basically flawless for me. 30 minutes before my exam started I checked in and took the needed pictures of my room. A couple minutes after the scheduled start time the proctor confirmed a couple details with me and let me start. The only time I was interrupted was after I had been covering my mouth while thinking on a question. They politely asked me not to do so and allowed me to continue right after I stopped. In the future I will likely online proctor again for any exam with the option available.
The Exam Itself
The exam featured a lot of what you would expect with services like: S3, EC2, VPC, EBS, ELB, and plenty more. It was 65 questions total and had 1,000 available points to score. A 720 or higher is condsidered a passing score. There were a few questions that I felt could have been worded better or had more specific information but nothing bad. As a whole it definitely was a fair exam that accurately tests an associate level of knowledge with solution building in AWS. Compared to the previously mentioned Jon Bonso exams, the AWS one was slightly easier but very similar.
Results
Immediately after you finish the exam you are presented with a simple pass or fail message. Your score and summary are not provided at this time. About 24 hours later I received an email with my score, certification badge, and a certificate PDF. My score on the exam was 926/1,000 so the preparation definitely paid off.
What Next?
I’m not sure exactly as my mind hasn’t been fully made up. For now I will likely do some smaller courses on Linux Academy for some other technologies, like Terraform. In the relatively near future I probably will start up on either the AWS SysOps or Developer associate courses. Long, long term I will eventually go for the AWS Solutions Architect Professional level. For anyone who has not started on the Solutions Architect Associate but wants so, I can definitely recommend it as a solid way to get started with AWS. Something like Adrian Cantrill’s course would be a good option now. (Adrian created the Linux Academy C01 course I went through.) If you have any questions on this please reach out and let me know!