How did I pass my AWS cloud practitioner exam?
When discussing the criteria for passing an exam, there are various methods and strategies available to succeed. With the abundance of online resources and exam guides, it can be overwhelming to navigate. While the method I use is purely subjective and may benefit from further refinement, it has enabled me to achieve a score of at least 800 on the CLF-C01 exam.
As a software developer in my current role, I work with AWS on a daily basis. In my previous position, I gained experience building EC2 instances and utilizing CloudFormation to efficiently manage resources across all AWS accounts and regions with ease. Additionally, I have prior experience managing dedicated servers in my home country. It’s worth noting that the minimum requirement for this particular role is at least 6 months of experience in this field.
What is the AWS certification roadmap?
In my opinion, having a solid understanding of the roadmap is crucial to achieving any goal. While there are numerous roadmaps available on the internet, I personally found a comprehensive and detailed step-by-step AWS roadmap on YouTube.
As you can observe, the initial stage is the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam. Although it is possible to bypass this step, I strongly believe that it is imperative to take and pass this exam as it provides a fundamental understanding of the AWS cloud.
Who should take this exam?
According to AWS documentation, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is intended for anyone who has basic knowledge of the AWS platform:
- Six months of exposure to the AWS Cloud
- Basic understanding of IT services and their uses in the AWS Cloud platform
- Knowledge of core AWS services and use cases, billing and pricing models, security concepts, and how the cloud impacts your business
How much time did I spend?
About 20 hours
How did I prepare for the exam?
- Create an AWS free account and use a free tier plan.
Take a look at AWS services, create a free services and see what’s happening in the AWS console. Keep in mind about the free tier plan to avoid unexpected costs!
- Pick up a third-party course like Ultimate AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner — 2022 (Udemy)
There are numerous paid courses available online, but the course I undertook had a duration of 14 hours of on-demand video content. I watched all the videos at 1.5X speed and in case I faced any difficulties in understanding a particular feature or concept, I rewound the video to ensure clarity. Additionally, at the end of each section or syllabus, there were small exams to test my knowledge, and in the final section, there were 65 comprehensive questions, which served as a mock test.
- AWS documentation
“I did not extensively study the AWS documents as they can be quite complex. Instead, I referred to them whenever I encountered any roadblocks while studying
The AWS documents may be complex, but they are incredibly useful. You can find a wealth of detailed and comprehensive information with just a glance. Therefore, I highly recommend utilizing them.
- Mock Exam, Mock Exam, Mock Exam!
The most crucial aspect of exam preparation is to take mock exams. I attempted numerous sample questions from various sources, including YouTube, to gain confidence and alleviate any fear or stress. In my opinion, the key to success in exam preparation is to undertake a significant number of mock exams and become familiar with the types of questions and strategies. Hence, I suggest practicing as many mock tests as possible.
- Do you need a detailed exam content outline? take a look at the AWS exam guide.
What did I focus on?
- AWS Well-Architected Framework (SO IMPORTANT)
- AWS global infrastructure concepts
- AWS shared responsibility concepts
- AWS cloud advantages concepts
- AWS compute concepts
- AWS database concepts
- AWS network and content delivery concepts
- AWS storage concepts
- AWS management and governance concepts
- AWS security and IAM concepts
- Get familiar with other services; the only thing to know is what are they doing. Like Polly, SageMaker, Transcribe, and …
How did I create an appointment?
- Sign-in into: https://www.aws.training/Certification
- You have the option of taking the exam either at a testing center or from the comfort of your home. There are two types of exams available: Pearson VUE (online) and PSI (in-person) exams. I chose to take the exam with Pearson VUE
- My exam appointment was at 6:30 AM in the morning, and I highly recommend booking an early morning appointment. Although I am not typically a morning person, taking the exam at this time proved to be very beneficial for me.
- If English is your second language and you are a non-native speaker, you are eligible for an additional 30-minute extension on the exam.
- It is crucial that the name on your registration matches exactly with the name on your government-issued ID. Both your first name/given name and your last name/surname must be identical to the names on the valid forms of identification that you must present at your exam appointment. If there are any discrepancies, you will not be allowed to take the exam. In case you need to change your name, you can submit a ticket to AWS Support. You can expect a response within three days, although in my case, I received a response within one day.
- The cost of the exam was €108 after tax. If you pass the exam, you’ll be entitled to benefits such as a $75 discount on your next exam purchase.
What were the rules in the real exam?
- Provide the access code and a phone number for the proctor to call on during the exam if chat or VoIP cannot be used
- Test the mic, webcam, and audio
- Capture the required headshot and ID photos (front and back)
- Capture four clear workspace photos (front, back, right, and left)
- Shut down other non-essential applications
- Wait for a proctor to contact them by computer or phone to finish the check-in if the exam does not start automatically
- Move any phone used during check-in out of arm’s reach
- Be careful, you’re being recorded! You must stay within webcam view in the same room where your testing area photos were taken.
What happened in the exam?
- There were 65 questions. The questions were a little tricky.
Multiple choice: Has one correct response and three incorrect responses (distractors)
Multiple responses: Has two or more correct responses out of five or more response options
- During the exam, I flagged the questions that I was unsure about and reviewed them at the end of the exam. Sometimes, I changed my answer up to four times to ensure that I selected the correct answer. It is important to note that there is no penalty for guessing, so it is recommended to guess on any unanswered questions.
- It is important to identify and pay attention to keywords in exam questions. For instance, if the question mentions “template,” it might be related to CloudFormation. Similarly, if the question includes “serverless,” it might be about AWS services like Lambda or Fargate
- Review both correct and incorrect questions to understand the reasoning behind the correct answer and to learn from your mistakes.
What score do we need to pass the exam?
you need to score at least 700 out of 1000.
How can I see my score?
- At the end of the exam, you will see a message indicating whether you passed or failed the exam.
- The final result of your exam will be available in your AWS training account within 5 business days. However, in my case, I received the result in just a few hours!
What was my score performance?
Here is my score breakdown, which can help you identify areas that need improvement. I received a score of 800.
What happens if I fail the exam?
if you do not pass an exam, you have to wait 14 days before retaking it.
Don’t wait until tomorrow to start studying for the AWS certification. Today is the perfect day to begin! Remember, a good plan is the key to achieving your goal. So, create a study plan that works for you and stick to it. You got this! 💪
If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback for me, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
In the end, I am really looking forward to obtaining the AWS Developer certification.
