Introduction
After some years of working with AWS but not getting around to certifying, I recently decided to dive into AWS certification with what seems to be the most popular choice (At least for a first certification) - the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate. This is my quick review of the certification!
Certification Overview
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification is currently one of the most sought-after credentials for professionals who want to showcase their expertise in designing scalable and highly available AWS solutions, although I’m often sceptical of the validity of “Best Certification” lists, you see this one come up often enough to see that it’s certainly in demand. Per AWS, this certification “Showcases knowledge and skills in AWS technology, across a wide range of AWS services. The focus of this certification is on the design of cost and performance-optimized solutions, demonstrating a strong understanding of the AWS Well-Architected Framework” - I’d say that’s a fair description of what you’ll get out of studying for it!
Overall the certification is essentially a sweep through the various services offered by AWS, with a focus on the Well-Architected Framework and cost optimisation. While this is definitely a step up from AWS Cloud Practitioner in terms of technical knowledge, you won’t need a deep understanding of IT infrastructure to pass this one. Knowledge at the CompTIA A+ / Net+ / Sec+ level should be enough if you’re after a rough benchmark.
AWS states that “This exam does not require deep hands-on coding experience, although familiarity with basic programming concepts would be an advantage.” Truthfully, I’m not sure that any understanding of programming was really required here - familiarity with JSON and YAML is required for the exam but being able to read and understand the format was enough.
Exam Details
-
Exam Title: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
-
Exam Code: SAA-C03
-
Exam Format: Multiple-choice and multiple-response questions
-
Duration: 130 minutes
-
Passing Score: Approximately 720 (on a scale of 100-1000)
-
Prerequisites: No formal prerequisites, but having some experience with AWS services is recommended
-
Exam Guide: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate Exam Guide
Exam Domains
According to the specification, the AWS Solutions Architect Associate certification exam is divided into the following key domains:
- Domain 1: Design Secure Architectures (30% of scored content)
- Domain 2: Design Resilient Architectures (26% of scored content)
- Domain 3: Design High-Performing Architectures (24% of scored content)
- Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures (20% of scored content)
Overall I felt that this was an accurate representation of the actual question split on the exam, if anything cost optimisation featured a little more heavily than what felt like 20%.
Study Resources
Unlike many vendors (mentioning no names) AWS do provide a good variety of resources to help you study for the exam - on top of this there’s some excellent third party providers offering some affordable and enjoyable training. Some key items to check out include:
- AWS Official Documentation: I find reading through lots of documentation a bit challenging, but AWS’s training materials do a good job of signposting the most relevant ones to focus on. AWS offers extensive documentation on each service, architecture best practices, and whitepapers - I’d focus on the core documentation for the exam.
- AWS Skill Builder: AWS provides a variety of useful resources, reasonably priced at $29 USD + tax per month - I’d recommend this for at least a single month.
- Free Official Practice Questions: AWS offer a free official practice exam (link below) - worth a look.
- Official Practice Exam - Available as part of the skill builder subscription, I found this to be quite representative of the actual exam - better than most practice exams.
- Online Courses: Outside of AWS official resources there are plenty of courses available from platforms like Udemy, or subscription platforms like ITProTV or CBT Nuggets. Not on either of these platforms but well worth your time are the courses from Adrian Cantrill.
- Labs: One of the best things about practising for an AWS exam was that labbing was very easy to do - simply create an AWS account and try things out. You can test out 99% of the services on the exam for free as part of the free tier.
You can find the complete list of official resources from Amazon here.
Preparation Tips
Being able to compare and contrast different AWS services is key for success here - therefore while you’ll want to get some hands-on time with the services (not least because this is the fun part), spending some time making lists and tables which allow you to memorise the key selling points for each service is also a valuable use of time. Many of the harder questions on the exam did require you to choose between two viable options within AWS, so understanding which products are cheaper, faster, more user friendly or come with better resiliency will help greatly here.
As always, it’s a multiple-choice exam, so ensure that you’re doing plenty of practice with exam-style questions in the run-up to the test - being a wizard on the AWS platform won’t be enough to pass if you can’t work through the questions in the allotted time!
Exam Experience
Exam booking is through AWS’s Certmetrics platform and was straightforward, all exams are now delivered by Pearson Vue (PSI was previously an option but no longer) and can be taken online or at a test centre. I took mine online as is my preference. Nothing unusual or interesting to report in this regard, other than the fact that you are not shown your score or even a pass/fail after the exam itself. I had to wait just over 24 hours for an email confirming I’d passed.
The exam itself was fairly straightforward - as with most (but not all) exams on the Pearson Vue platform you can go back and forward through the questions and bookmark any tough ones for review. There were no especially hard or “unfair” feeling questions - certainly a few tricky ones but nothing way out of left field. I finished the exam with plenty of time remaining and didn’t feel any more rushed than the usual exam stress leaves you feeling!
Should I get this certification?
Overall I found the certification to be enjoyable and accessible, and I think most people would have this experience. Personally, I found this a great way to formalise my knowledge of AWS and to explore services which I wouldn’t normally use. What would vary based on your background might be time to complete. I studied for about 3 months on and off and around work - I’m sure you could work through the material much more quickly if you were able to commit to studying full-time.
If you have other cloud certifications this will be an exercise in learning how things are done on AWS, and if you’ve been using AWS for some time but don’t have a certification, it will be an exercise in exploring many of those services you’ve never looked at - neither of these would take especially long in my opinion, and if either of these describes you I think you’ll enjoy the certification.
Those with a tech background but little to no experience in cloud computing may want to start with the Cloud Practitioner exam first - this is an easier introduction to the subject (and passing it will award you a 50% discount coupon for SAA, so you don’t lose out much financially). Failing that, getting familiar with the way that cloud “works” will take a bit of study and some lab time to get comfortable with some concepts, however, you’re unlikely to encounter anything especially mind-bending studying for the SAA, it’s more a case of translating your on-prem knowledge to a cloud model.
If you’re just getting into the technology field, however, I’d strongly recommend the Cloud Practitioner exam first - this exam (and the free material available from AWS) is written very much for those just getting started - this would be the best place to start!
It’s also worth mentioning that the three AWS Associate level exams (Architect, DevOps and SysOps) share a lot of common content, if you’re planning to take more than one, I’d recommend starting with the SAA - the high-level view it gives you is great framing for the other certs too.
Conclusion
Studying for and taking the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate certification was enjoyable and rewarding - the cert itself is a valuable and in-demand credential that demonstrates your skills in designing and implementing AWS architectures. Next up, I’ll look to take the AWS Security Specialism exam, which aligns more closely with my main interests and areas of work, but I’d agree with the many reviews and recommendations online that say SAA is an excellent starting point for getting your foot in the door with AWS.