How I Passed the AWS Solutions Architect Associate for Free

Now my second AWS certification that I have completed since July. I am enjoying the concepts that I am learning about through AWS and its robust tools in its ecosystem. AWS is already a major competitor in the cloud computing market. So, I am here to share my experience and how I got my AWS Solutions Architect Associate certification for TOTALLY free!

Background

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (SAA) Exam is an intermediate level exam for people who are looking to start or continue their journey into the AWS Cloud environment and its products/services. The target audience for the AWS SAA is those in business or less technical roles and starting a flexible learning path. Having in-depth knowledge of the technical inner workings of the products is not necessary or required to start taking the courses. However, unlike the Cloud Practitioner, having a general understanding of how the services work at a high level will be taught and required to pass.

I have a little over a year’s worth of experience working with AWS tools before taking this exam. During a few academic projects, I had worked with the AWS Console, EC2, Elastic Beanstalk, Security Groups. I also completed the AWS Cloud Practitioner in July. That certification gave me a good introduction to cloud computing and the AWS ecosystem of products, services, and tools. If you are brand new to cloud infrastructure, I would highly recommend starting with the CCP, despite it not being a prerequisite for this exam. Otherwise, I had some non-AWS specific knowledge like the Linux command line, using SSH, and SFTP (PuTTY).

AWS SAA Course

There are many different vendors with which you can train to prepare to take the AWS Solutions Architect Associate course. In preparation for this exam, I went through two separate courses. One of which is the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate Video Course taught by Chad Smith through the O’Reilly Learning Online. The other being the “AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate 2020” provided by FreeCodeCamp and taught by Austin Brown of ExamPro. After taking both I have come up with a few pros and cons of each.

The first course taught by Chad Smith had its strength and weaknesses. I think depending on your learning style, Smith’s course could be for you. In the shorter 6-hour course, Chad Smith focuses heavily on the well-architected framework which is a core component to AWS. Additionally, at the end of every section, he provides sample questions which he teaches how to break them down to approach each question the best way. However, I learned from my cloud practitioner exam that knowing the services and use cases is very important in understanding the questions. In Smith’s course, however, he approaches teaching with what seems like the assumption that you are well versed in the AWS services. Despite me being a certified cloud practitioner, I still was not up to date or have a complete understanding of all the relevant AWS services which led me to the next course to compensate.

FreeCodeCamp’s AWS SAA course is a 10-hour course available for free on Youtube. This longer course taught by Andrew Brown did a great job going into just the right amount of depth for all of the relevant tools and services provided by AWS that will be on the exam. Also, at the end of every chapter/section, there is a cheat sheet style summary of all the important details. However, while this course was longer by 4 hours than the other course, Brown speaks very quickly. I found myself pausing often to take notes and keep up. Similarly, to the Smith course, Brown’s course also teaches with an assumption that you have an understanding of the well-architected framework.

So, I would suggest for those that are more seasoned in AWS and have a good grasp over the materials that were tested in the cloud practitioner to use the Chad Smith course. However, for those that want an up to date and beginner-friendly approach to the exam (especially if you plan to skip the CCP) to use the FreeCodeCamp Course.

AWS SAA Exam

Once you have completed the course and are prepared the exam is straightforward. The exam differs from the cloud practitioner in the fact that it is less about knowing the tools as it is about knowing the best application of the tools. Meaning, the CCP asks questions catered to your knowledge of the tool itself. An example of a CCP type question would be “One benefit of On-Demand Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) pricing is?”. Whereas the SAA is aimed at testing your application of the product. An example of an SAA type question would be, “Your team is developing a high-performance computing (HPC) application. The application resolves complex, compute-intensive problems and needs a high-performance and low-latency Lustre file system. You need to configure this file system in AWS at a low cost. Which method is the most suitable?”.

AWS and its exams are constantly evolving and introducing new tools, products, and services to their lineup. Therefore, regardless of the course you take, a best practice would be to refer to current AWS documentation, white papers, and videos to be up to date on all the services that may be on the exam. Having access to the right resources can make all the difference in your preparation for the exam.

Free/Budget Exam Prep Resources

If you’re still interested in taking the exam, I have compiled some resources that can be used to prepare for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam.

Free Resources

I was able to take my AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam completely free after winning an exam voucher from Anthony James the Co-founder and CEO of the Kysen Build on Twitter. Anthony is extremely generous and is constantly giving away vouchers for free. All you have to do for most of the contest is follow him on Twitter, retweet the contest tweets, and leave a comment where you tag someone else. Anthony also has tons of AWS and Linux knowledge which he is constantly sharing on Twitter. If you would like to follow him you can find him at @anthonydjames on Twitter or by clicking HERE

FreeCodeCamp offers an extensive, up to date, and COMPLETELY free 10-hour course taught by Andrew Brown on YouTube.

FreeCodeCamp AWS CCP YouTube Course: CLICK HERE

AWSlagi is a site that provides free practice exams, where the questions are formatted very similarly to those that can be found on the test. There are options to pay for questions that are “guaranteed to be on the exam”, but I would NOT recommend purchasing those exam questions.

AWSlagi Practice Exams: CLICK HERE

If you have completed the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam or any other AWS exam, you are rewarded with a free practice test attempt from AWS. And during the current pandemic, you can take one of these exams at AWS.training through Pearson VUE (the service provider I used). This is a great opportunity that I would HIGHLY recommend. It’s not only a good way to prepare for the exam but also if you plan on taking it online it is a great way to practice the testing procedure.

Budget-Friendly Option

The following are options that may cost money, but even as a broke college graduate, I was able to purchase and not break the bank. However, this small payment does result in higher quality materials.

As of the writing of this article, Udemy is having a Black Friday sale for almost all courses. This AWS Solutions Architect Associate 2020 course by Stephane Mareek can be purchased for $10.99, otherwise, it is normally $89.99. Mareek’s course is well known to be one of the best and most informative courses you can take to prepare for the exam. It is also constantly being updated and has been updated this month. Udemy is ALWAYS having sales/deals so look into that before purchasing.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate 2020 Course: CLICK HERE

As of the writing of this article, they are having a Black Friday Promo deal where the AWS Solutions Architect Associate practice exams are $11.99. Or can be bundled with an AZ-900 practice exam for $11.98 and $13.98 respectively. Otherwise, the promo code “WELCOME-2-TD” for $2 off any purchase. Personally, these were the practice exams that I used to prepare for the exam.

TutorialsDojo AWS CCP Practice Exams: CLICK HERE

Hopefully, this was informative and helpful information. Feel free to leave a comment about any of the information, products, or questions that you have. Thanks for reading!