Reddit reviews AWS Certified Solutions Architect Official Study Guide: Associate Exam (Aws Certified Solutions Architect Official: Associate Exam)

Keep your head up!

I failed the CISSP, and like you, had to do some soul searching on why I failed. It turns out, it had nothing to do with how smart I was, or how much I studied, but it was how I was studying that made the difference.

Please see this video detailing how I studied for and passed the CISSP on my second try and 4 AWS exams after that using the same exact method:

https://youtu.be/wod92WIn92E

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The materials I used to pass the SAA:

1. The Official AWS SAA Study Guide. It was written by the people who write for the exam and work for AWS
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-Architect-Official-Study/dp/1119138558/ref=sr_1_3?crid=31WZJJVGJE1SS&keywords=aws+certified+solutions+architect+official+study+guide&qid=1570917672&sprefix=aws+crti%2Caps%2C256&sr=8-3#customerReviews
   
   
2. The testing engine at Whizlabs.com . You can put the testing engine into audit mode where after you answer each question, it will tell you the correct answer(s) with citations from AWS on why those answers are correct and why the ones that aren't are incorrect. I start with doing 5 questions, then after getting 70% or higher with 5, move onto 10 questions after starting over again. Then after scoring 70% on 10 questions, move onto 20 questions and so on until I get the whole exam done and I know the correct answers and why they are correct.
   
   Also, don't sit for the exam until you feel comfortable enough to take it, but if you follow the guidelines in the first link above, it has helped myself pass as well as other people I've worked with pass AWS exams and the CISSP.
   
   Keep your head up, and don't let this exam beat you. Please feel free to reach out should you have any questions.
   
   Hope this helps!
   
   My background: Passed CSAA, CDA, SysOps, Cloud Practitioner and CISSP

Disclaimer - I work for AWS, creating training (but these are my opinions).

Have you checked https://www.aws.training/ ? They have tons of free courses, including several specific to certifications.

If you're studying for the solutions architect associate, there's an official study guide that I found super useful when preparing https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-Architect-Official-Study/dp/1119138558/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1UXOOLIOIPO3H&keywords=aws+certified+solutions+architect+official+study+guide&qid=1555292230&s=gateway&sprefix=certified+sol%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1 (there are similar books for a couple other certs, but I haven't used them personally).

acloud.guru and LinuxAcademy.com (and another I can't remember) have courses available, they both looked good, not free.

Edx has a few courses, both from AWS and others https://www.edx.org/course?search_query=AWS they are free, or you can pay for access to exercises etc

Many of the official whitepapers are great https://aws.amazon.com/whitepapers/

https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-Architect-Official-Study/dp/1119138558/

The Amazon trainer for the SA course that I took said that this book has the best questions for the tests.

Don’t focus on the cert and focus on actually learning what you are doing and learning the concepts.

https://www.reddit.com/r/aws/comments/akrtl4/psa_focus_on_learning_aws_not_just_passing_the/?st=JRPPZF2O&sh=da5b0d79

Buy the official study guide for the Architect Associate and do each of the practice exercises.

https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-Architect-Official-Study/dp/1119138558

Do the same for Sysops


https://www.amazon.com/Certified-SysOps-Administrator-Official-Study/dp/1119377420


And Advanced Networking.

https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Advanced-Networking-Official-Study/dp/1119439833

Study multiple sources and walk through the demos with the videos - ACloudGuru and LinuxAcademy.

The study guides for the Solution Architect Associate and SysOps Associate exams. I have been using AWS for years and still reference these books now and then. They’re good for a beginner. You could also try the free AWS Cloud Practitioner course and exam.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Official Study Guide: Associate Exam (Aws Certified Solutions Architect Official: Associate Exam) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119138558/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cKS1Cb101HCVM

AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Official Study Guide: Associate Exam https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119377420/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zKS1CbTFXAEQD

The following steps may help you prepare for the certification .
 

1. Here is study path you can follow - > https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certification-prep/
    
   
   
2. You can use acloudguru or Linuxacademy or cloudacademy for videos based training which i found very useful
    
   
3. There is also office cert guide -> https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-Architect-Official-Study/dp/1119138558
    
   
4. You can practice using the aws free tier
   

best way for beginners is to get the book

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Certified-Solutions-Architect-Official-Study/dp/1119138558

study up over say 3 months and then pass the aws certified solution architect exam.

Interview questions are all a bit of luck. Sometimes they ask questions you know and sometimes you don't but you only need one job offer so just be persistent. -)

google for aws interview questions and remind yourself before an interview.

First try, but I did developer first. I believe the general consensus is that developer is easier, so I did it first to get familiar with the format and test taking experience. I also had about 3 years AWS exp. at that point.

Not sure if you have tried yet, but if you failed don't be discouraged. SA is very scenario based and you simply need to pick the best answer for the scenario. I think you end up adopting an AWS mindset once you pick up on some tenants and idioms of the various training materials.

BTW, Amazon has an official SA study guide now which didn't exist when I got mine: https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-Architect-Official-Study/dp/1119138558

Starting with the solution architect associate, I recommend this book.

this official study guide comes with a lot of sample tests to help for the real test.

About how difficult is the exam... depends your level/experience with AWS, everyone is different, if you are a guru already, it should be ok for you but it's not easy easy...

acloud.guru is... the reference, those guys are really good to help you pass the certification. (you can find the same course from acloud.guru in Udemy for 10$, then claim it to their website if you wish)

most of the questions are from the FAQs, so read them and read them again and... understand them as well :).

IMHO troubleshooting requires more in-depth knowledge than other parts. I am a bit surprised.

For security

• Read/Re-read chapters 6, 12, and 13 of https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-Architect-Official-Study/dp/1119138558
  
• Complete the exercises
  
• Whitepaper 1
  
• Whitepaper 2
  
  
  ---
  
  Also have you watched the acloudguru course for this certification? I haven't but lots of people say their course is quite good.

I assume this is for the Associate exam?

I actually found the study guide book incredibly helpful. It is not a deep dive into all of the services but it is a great overview for each service. I also found reviewing documentation on various services to be helpful.

I took two practice exams that came with the book. They weren't 100% accurate to the test but they do give you a very good idea of what the exam flow is. You won't find anything with 100% accurate exam questions. Therefore, study the domains, and get comfortable with the way the test flow goes.

I was wondering about the same thing. There is a study guide for the Solutions Architect exam, but I'm interested in the Developer certification. If there is a fair bit of overlap, then that guide would probably be useful even if it's for a different exam.

https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-Architect-Official-Study/dp/1119138558