How I Passed the SAP-C02 AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional Exam
This write-up covers the details of how I passed the AWS Solutions Architect Professional exam.
Materials Used
To learn the material, I used Stephane Maarek’s SA Pro Udemy Course. I also used Adrian Cantrill’s course to deep dive into services that I was least familiar with.
For practice questions, I used the AWS Skill Builder Official Practice Exam, and the Solutions Architect Professional Sample Questions.
Along with these materials, I spent a lot of time building things out in the AWS Console, as I’ve found that I learn most about a service when I’m actually using it. I recreated several of Adrian Cantrill’s labs, and I found them very helpful for services I had never worked with before.
Total Study Time
I dedicated one month to study for this certification, I studied infrequently for the first 2.5 weeks, and studied a lot during the last 1.5 weeks. First 3.5 weeks was spent on learning the material through courses and labs. Last 3 days before the exam I went through the practice exam questions mentioned above.
Practice Exam Scores
I scored 810/1000 on my first attempt on the Skill Builder practice exam. I scored 8/10 on the AWS sample exam questions. These were the only practice question materials I used, but if I had more time to take additional practice exams, I would’ve definitely gone through all of Jon Bonso’s practice exams.
Summary
Overall, it was a very challenging exam, but I learned a lot about AWS through the preparation process. The exam questions are very long, and each answer is typically technically possible, but not the best choice for what the question is asking. This requires you to know a lot about each of the services, to be able to distinguish between the minor differences. I would definitely recommend this certification for anyone who is looking to learn more about working with AWS at scale. If you have any questions about my experience with the exam, please reach out below.