Amazon Web Service certificates are industry-recognized credentials to help you grow you career. Whether you’re a System Admin, Software Developer, DevOps Engineer, or a IT Professional, AWS certificates are worth every penny.

In this post, I’ll review the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification and share the steps I took to pass the exam.

For a full list of certifications offered by AWS, see the AWS Certification Overview page.

Review

Recently, I was certified as a AWS Cloud Practitioner (see my certificate here).

The AWS Cloud Practitioner certification covers “fundamental AWS Cloud and industry knowledge” –AWS Certification overview page.

For example, the certification covers topics such as Elasticity, Auto-Scaling, billing, and other Cloud / AWS related topics.

Students will gain a high-level understanding of AWS Services and Solutions for common use-cases. The certification does not require in-depth technical expertise. Instead, it is accessible to all audiences including business professionals.

The higher-tier certs, such as the Developer Associate certification, are geared toward folks with more technical expertise.

As a business professional, the cert will enable you to make smarter business decisions with your IT team.

As a developer or IT professional, the certification will give you the foundational knowledge needed before you dive deep into the technical details of AWS services.

Worth your time?

All in all, I recommend the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification to IT & business professionals in the IT industry.

Study Guide

*Refer to the official AWS Certification Prep page for up-to-date information.

Personally, I took these two steps to pass the exam:

  1. Listened to 6 hours of official AWS Cloud Practitioner video content.
    • This was beneficial as far as learning basic AWS concepts.
    • Didn’t do much to help me pass the exam.
  2. Purchased a Cloud Practitioner Practice Exam course on Udemy by TutorialsDojo.
    • Recommended to me from 2 Developer Team Leads.
    • 4 practice tests and flash-cards.
    • Detailed feedback on incorrect questions.
    • Tests are more difficult than the exam.
    • Lets you know what kind of score you’ll get on the actual exam.
    • Monthly updates.
  3. Once I passed all 4 test exams, I took the exam and passed on my first try.
    • Also, you can take the test at home or at a testing center. Personally, I took the test at a testing center to avoid any technical issues at home.

Additionally, you can download the official exam guide, sample questions, and white papers on the AWS certification prep page.

Conclusion

I hope I convinced you to get AWS Cloud Practitioner certified! All in all, I think it’s worth your time to get certified.

Also, if you have any questions about the certification, please leave a comment or reach out. Always happy to help!