I passed the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner!

This is my second cloud certification and proud on my achievement in obtaining this certification. I passed the exam with an 825. I really didn’t think I was going score that well because I felt confident that I passed it, but also felt I was challenged. This could be because my current employer is multi-cloud, so I work in both clouds and sometimes it’s hard to shutoff the other cloud knowledge, so it does overlap when taking my exam. At least that is how I felt. Also, my test results weren’t instant as well, so that is probably why I felt that way. I did get my results in 24 hours of taking it.

My exam preparation tips

Here are some of my exam-prep tips. These may not be enough for you to pass, but here is what got me through it.

I have at least a couple years of AWS experience. Of doing a little bit here and there of projects that have come to my attention.
I took the AWS Cloud Practitioner course.
- This is a free course.
I took the A Cloud Guru AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner course.
- This course was free to me due to my employer using their training services. You can get this course for free some months, just pay attention to A Cloud Guru blog of free courses for the month.
I attended a AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials Days virtual training class.
- This was a free training. Find a day that works for you their calendar of events.

Takeaways from the exam

Here are some of my takeaways notes on the exam.

As you may know already from my previous exam taking, I like taking it at a physical location. The exam proctor gave a good prep talk to the test taker to help boost confidence.
I didn’t mark as many questions for review than what I thought, but grateful there was a system built in that I can use to go back and review.
The questions are worded a bit tricky, most for me were like two parted questions, so pay close attention to what is being asked.
I am grateful for taking two different course reviews, because I believe if I solely relied on the AWS Skill builder course, I don’t think I would have passed as the A Cloud Guru course find in some information that was missed in the other course.

Final Thoughts

Do whatever it takes for you to study and learn the material. Make sure you are doing some type of hands-on labs and/or project to help you retain some the knowledge and understanding. I am grateful this time that I took more than one course to go over the course material as it helped filled a void of information that might have been missed from the other vendor. As always, having a good support team goes a long way. Asking friends, family, and co-workers for advice on the exam or advice in studying and preparing for an exam could be helpful.

I hope this information is helpful in your journey to getting the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.