Overview
This is such a great place to start not just within AWS, but within cloud-computing as a whole. This covers storage, networking, scaling, disaster recovery, security, and more.
Certification Preparation Materials
I experienced a lot of trial-and-error with finding helpful certification prep materials when I got the AWS Certified Developer Associate (CDA). What I learned is that two resources stood above everything else.
They are Tutorials Dojo and Stephane Maarek's Udemy Course. Both are extremely affordable, amazing resources, and often on sale!
Tutorials Dojo practice exams are the best. They're tough. Tougher than the real exam. That is exactly what we want when we are preparing too. Like training for a 10k just to run a 5k. I also like their ebook. They spent a lot of time combing through official AWS documentation to grab what is relevant to the exam and they combine it with screenshots and graphics that they produce demonstrating what is being covered. I cannot say enough great things about what they offer!
I normally do not like video courses. The only one that I liked was Jeremy Ciora's CCNA course on CBTNuggets. Stephane Maarek did the unthinkable and made me like another video course. He covers the concepts very well and then includes a ton of demos within the AWS console.
I didn't even start with his video course! I had started studying for the SAA back in June, but then I took some time off of studying to work on some landscaping projects with my wife. It was a busy and exceedingly hot summer. My job was busy, yard work was a lot, the weather sucked, Netflix existed, a hurricane took out our power for almost a week, and so on. I picked things back up in October, but I wanted a refresher. Maarek's course was exactly what I needed.
Timeline
This was a weird one. I hope to never repeat this again, because if I didn't stop I would have had this certification complete months earlier. Technically, this took me six months to complete, but I only actively studied for about two months. I blame my backyard.
For anyone looking to jump in and not quit until the job is done, I think this one is achievable in as little as six weeks. This is making a couple assumptions, though. Assuming someone is already in IT, has some experience in AWS, and can spend a couple hours a day on average preparing for it, then six weeks should be enough time. For people with less starting experience, take the extra time to really understand what is being talked about. What is DNS? What is the difference between a public and private IP address? What is the difference between SSD and HDD?
The exam won't ask in-depth questions about these concepts, but it is important we have this down before moving on through our preparation. Studying for cloud-computing certifications is extra tough for people new to IT. It covers almost everything under the sun. Even though it may only be a couple inches deep, it will be a mile wide in its scope. Don't let this demotivate you! Learning this as you go will only make you more formidable as a professional.
The Exam
Unlike when I took the CDA, I did not feel like time was moving in slow motion. The CDA exam was just a lot to me. Lot of reading, a lot of tough questions that made me doubt myself, just a lot. This was not as bad. Now had I started with the SAA before moving onto the CDA, I might have had a better experience with the exam.
I finished with almost an hour to spare and I felt very confident. I passed with a good score, but I somehow did worse on this one than I did on the CDA. I knew I passed this one when I pressed submit. I honestly had no idea about the CDA. I have no idea what this says about me, but I am happy that I passed both with good scores!
The questions were not too wordy, but some of them would want three answers selected out of six. Those were tough. Those required a lot of consideration as some choices would invalidate other options on the table that did not seem outright incorrect otherwise.
I cannot divulge any specifics, but be wary of the questions that ask for specific requirements to be met. Some of the options that would seem wrong right away made it to the land of 50/50. This happened a lot on this exam. I would narrow it down to two choices, and then just stare at the screen. There is a “flag for review” option, so you can make an initial selection and then move on. If you have a lot of time to spare at the end, you can go through the review screen just to see if the first choice made still feels correct. This was something I did on the CDA too, but I don't recall having as many coin toss moments.
What Next?
Assuming you're not like me, I would recommend jumping straight to the CDA next. Strike the proverbial AWS iron while it is still hot! If the CDA does not speak to you, check out the AWS SysOps Administrator certification. There is also the Solutions Architect Professional, but from what I've seen, people tend to knock out other associate-level certifications before moving up to the professional-level.
Now let's assume this was not a fun experience for you, but you want to either break into IT or upgrade your career in IT. Maybe it wasn't fun because the underlying technologies were so vast. I mean seriously, these AWS certifications cover so much. What if you wanted to focus on one facet? Is cybersecurity more interesting? How about Linux? Or maybe networking? Take some time to figure out what is the most interesting, and check out my certification vendor list under the overview page.