Reasons why you should take this certification
Since cloud computing has become more accessible and cost effective, there is no reason for businesses to house their own servers, unless they have the capital and personnel for such operations. Hosting your services on the cloud helps eliminate the cost of running servers, allowing businesses to free up more capital for other operations. Migrating your business to the cloud will transfer the cost of maintaining the physical safety of your data to your cloud services providers.
Cloud computing is the future and the data shows. According to Appventurez, market share in cloud services have skyrocketed over the pass years, and projected to keep growing.
This means the industry needs more people who are proficient at cloud computing and the job salary confirmed that.
Average Cloud Architect in the US is $74/hour, with the low range of $89k/year, according to ZipRecruiter
AWS is one of the world's leading cloud service providers and it offers many services depending your business needs. They also offer cloud training for those who wants to start their careers in cloud computing and this certification is the most fundamental one to help you get your feet wet in cloud.
My Experience
I took this exam after taking a course about Cloud Comptuting during my undergrad at Rollins College, shoutout to Dr. Krishna Kadiyala, who sparked an interested in me and for your constant encouragement, kindness and knowledge.
I studied for 2 months before taking the test, here is my timeline:
Study for the exam
- Schedule the exam first - I do well when I know there is a deadline
- Read one AWS White Papers a day and take good notes. I remember concepts better when I write mind maps with hand-drawn icons. A good notebook and some colored pens are enough for me.
If you're an audio learner, FreeCodeCamp has an amazing video about it that is as concise as you can get and it's free.
- Take one practice test every week, aiming to score more than 80% each time. If I fail, I will go back to the incorrect questions and study those specific concepts. I got the practice test from Neal Davis Free Practice Test. He has really good paid content as well if you want to check him out.
These practice tests will get you in the exam mindset so when the actual test comes you're prepared and won't get flustered.
- Hands on labs with AWS free tier. You have 12 months of the free tier when you signed up for AWS services, take advantage of that. The more labs I do the more confident I become. Just knowing which button to click on a service will save you a lot of time thinking ang guessing when the exam comes. I played with S3 and EC2 a lot, just clicking around see what it can do, what kind of configurations I can make, etc..
Repeat the cycle until exam date
Day before exam
Completely free my mind of AWS related stuff. I get anxious if I study the day before exam, so I try to relax.
Get some good sleep
Exam day
Remember that if you fail, simply try again. Life is a bunch of trials and errors, that's how we learn. Don't be afraid to fail, like the CEO of AWS said: "everything fails". So just do your best, if you fail, get yourself and ice cream cone, take the day off, and get back on the grind.
Thanks for reading and if you took the exam, let me know how it went!