Passing the AWS SAA(C03)//
The second challenge on my journey to become a Network/Cloud professional was the AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA). On initial investigation of the exam, the official exam guide from Amazon and other peoples struggle littered all over the /AWSCertifications sub-reddit, it was was overwhelming. Coupled with how i was also due to go on holiday for a two and a half weeks and i didnt want that to interrupt any of the progress i'd make with the study material, I almost put it off until the new year in 2026. I only really had 3 weeks to complete all the material and sit the exam so i knew i had to be all in before heading off on holiday. I chose to go ahead and book the exam for 5AM the day before i flew out. I thought to spend the rest of that day preparing for the holiday with either a feeling of success or frustration.
I studied for 8 hours a day - every day - for three weeks. I watched all the video content on 2x speed and was rapidly throwing my pen all over my page trying to keep up with the speed and take in what was actually being said. The content was heavily loaded with information and the intracacies of some of the most popular services.
This was the exam where i got the idea of having a 'Cheat Sheets' page on my website. It was a chance for me to have all the topics i found particularly difficult to understand and have them listed all in one place. The breadth of knowledge for this exam is just a bit deeper than surface level... for every single type of AWS service. That is what makes the exam particularly difficult. Especially when you dont have long to learn it.
The most difficult part for me was understanding the different IOPs for all the EBS volume types. Even now, i dont think i can recall all of the different types and each of their advantages. I have however, created a Cheat Sheet where I can find all that information should i require it for future exams.
I found making a functional VPC with some endpoints, EC2, EBS and even a VPN Gateway the most interesting part of my studies for this exam and it definitely made me feel i was making the correct decision choosing Cloud to compliment my growing armory of different certifications and career opportunities.
Although, its said not to be the most difficult AWS Associate level exam, that belongs to newly named CloudOps Engineer, exam code SOA. The SAA certification is definitely the best Associate level starting point. It gave me a feel of what is possible in the cloud and the possibilities seem endless. It set me up with a very good understanding of the tech giant that is Amazon Cloud and a great look in to all of the different Analytical, Compute and Storage solutions.
For my studies, I was forunate to be able to use Cantril.io course, although going forward, i dont think i will be able to use him again due to lack of updated content and he is unfortunately not very responsive. The course itself was a one stop shop for everything i required to pass the exam, he went above and beyond with the content and it was pieced together perfectly. I also took some practice exams from TutorialDojo with underwhelming results (~65%) leading to a bit of a confidence wobble. Despite that, i took the exam a day after and passed.
On to the next..SOA?