How to prep for AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03)

Posted on April 18, 2024 • 6 minutes • 1215 words

Think of the big picture… Think like an architect. 📐✏👷‍♂️🌩

Hello everyone, hope you all are doing well. It has been a month or so since I passed my AWS Certified Solutions Architect -Associate (SAA-C03) exam, and I’ve been getting quite a few requests from friends and colleagues about how to prepare for it, asking for tips and suggestions. So i thought, why not just blog this out…

Before i proceed, a big thanks to Guru Stéphane Maarek for crafting such an awesome Udemy course -Ultimate AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate SAA-C03, which made studying such a breeze, a big bow to you! 🙇‍♂️. A special note of thanks to my wife Harshada 😊, who took care of me all along when i am away, buried in studies, or doing some other geeky stuffs. And also, everyone from my workplace at Mastek, who encourage, support, guide me in upskilling myself, learning and developing new tech skills.

I’ll break it down into following sections:

What should be your motivation for this certification
Pre-requisites for this certification
Most important sections of AWS from exam perspective IMHO
Tips and Strategies to Conquer the exam

1. Motivation

Before you dive into preparing for anything, you should have your answers to Why. Why should you pursue the AWS Solutions Architect - Associate Certification, what should be the motivation for it? There are several compelling reasons, but following are which I feel are most important:

Validation of expertise- Earning this badge demonstrates your understanding of core AWS services, best practices for designing secure and cost-effective solutions, and the ability to architect applications on the AWS platform.
Warming up to solution Architecture Role- if you see yourself as someone who wishes to grow in their technical career graph as a Solutions Architect role, this is a crucial exam for you. This exam allows you to establish your understanding of the core AWS services and your credibility to design a solution with them which comply with AWS - Well-Architected Framework.
Ahead of the Curve- The cloud is constantly evolving, and this certification keeps you updated on the latest AWS offerings and best practices.

2. Prerequisites for Taking the Exam

While there are no formal prerequisites for taking the exam. However, a foundational understanding of IT concepts and some experience with cloud computing is highly recommended. If you’re new to AWS, consider starting with the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification to build a solid base.

But I personally would recommend a techie to be at least have done AWS Certified Developer - Associate previously, and have worked with at least 3 years with various AWS services, in order to be in a better position to know the purpose and reason to choose a particular set of services for addressing various architectural problems, design decisions.

3. Most important sections of AWS from exam perspective (IMHO)

The exam covers a broad range of AWS services, over 30+! I know it can be quiet overwhelming, but as per my exam experience, here are some of the most critical areas to focus your studies on:

1. VPC and Networking in AWS:

Imagine carving out your own virtual network within the vast AWS cloud. That’s essentially what a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) does. It provides you with a logically isolated space to launch your AWS resources, offering greater control and security. Here are some key aspects of VPC networking, that you should be thorough with before going into the exam:

Subnets: These are smaller sections within your VPC, similar to subnets in a traditional network. You can segment your resources based on function or security needs by placing them in different subnets.
Security Groups: Imagine them as firewalls for your resources. You define rules that control incoming and outgoing traffic, ensuring only authorized communication occurs.
Route Tables: These dictate how traffic flows within your VPC and to the internet. You can set up routes to an internet gateway for public internet access or use private connections to other VPCs or your on-premises network.

Important AWS VPC Networking Services

Amazon VPC: The foundation, providing the private network environment.
Amazon Route 53: Manages DNS resolution for your resources within the VPC and can also integrate with external DNS providers.
Amazon Internet Gateway: Enables communication between your VPC resources and the internet.
NAT Gateways: Provide outbound internet access for resources in private subnets without exposing them directly to the internet.
Virtual Private Gateways (VGWs): Facilitate secure connections between your VPC and your on-premises network using VPN connections.

By understanding these core concepts and services, you’ll have a solid foundation for building secure and scalable network architectures within your AWS environment. Exams assess your knowledge and understanding quiet comprehensively on various architecture scenarios that tests you on tricky Networking security, Migration, on-prem+cloud hybrid scenarios.

2. Core AWS Services:

Get familiar with core compute services like SQS, SNS, EC2, Lambda, and Fargate. Understand storage options like S3, EBS, and EFS. Stephan will teach you over 30+ AWS services throughout his course.

3. Security & Identity:

Security is paramount in the cloud. Master IAM for access control, understand encryption solutions like KMS, and be comfortable with security best practices.You must also understand the usage or Roles and how they influence different AWS services to integrate with each other.

4. Cost Management:

Optimizing costs is a crucial aspect of cloud architecture. Learn about AWS Cost Explorer, pricing models (e.g., Reserved Instances, Spot Instances), and cost-saving strategies.

5. Database Services:

Explore popular AWS database services like RDS, DynamoDB, and Aurora.

4. Tips and Strategies to Conquer the Exam

Here’s your arsenal for exam success:

Training Courses: Stephane Maarek’s Udemy course and Practice exam. I can’t speak enough how well crafted and lucid is his content, and he is an excellent guru. Just follow through his course chronology and practice exams, and you should be good to go.
Official Resources: AWS offers a wealth of free resources, including the exam guide, sample practice questions, and whitepapers. Utilize these to understand the exam format and key concepts. But the most important ones are - AWS Well-Architected Framework & AWS Architecture centre which bundles a loads of reference architectures, guides, solutions, as per technology categories. These 2 are must read. Read through these ideally at the end of your training course.
Hands-on Experience: Knowledge is power, but hands-on experience is the ultimate teacher. Set up a free AWS account and experiment with different services. There are also gamified learning platforms like AWS Cloud Quest to make it engaging.
Practice Makes Perfect: Take advantage of practice exams from various sources to gauge your knowledge, identify weak areas, and build exam-taking confidence. One of the things I did at the end of completion of Udemy course is recursively solve the practice exams, went back to FAQs of particular sections, case studies, revised and repeated it.
Join the Community: Connect with other AWS enthusiasts online through forums or communities. Share experiences, ask questions, and learn from others' journeys.

Remember :

Consistent studying, hands-on practice, and effective test-taking strategies are the keys to unlocking your AWS Solutions Architect potential. With dedication and the right approach, you’ll be well on your way to conquering the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam!

Hope you enjoyed reading. Wish you all the best with your prep 👍 !