Through this blog, I would like to share my AWS Cloud Practitioner preparation journey so that the readers could get help from it and easily crack the exam. 

The AWS cloud practitioner exam is the easiest of all the AWS professional certificates and requires more theoretical knowledge of all the AWS cloud services.

Today, as you all must be aware that tech giants are shifting most of their business over the cloud (By 2022, the public cloud services market revenue is forecast to exceed 362.3 billion U.S. dollars, as stated by Statista).

Cloud is a pay-as-you-go model that helps companies expand their business as per their requirements, which allows them to cut their costs and increase their profits.

Cloud provides other benefits too, such as companies no longer have to worry about their hardware infrastructure, which is now being taken care of by third-party companies such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure Services – the three tech giants in cloud services.

Read: AWS vs Azure

So coming back to my experience : 

Though I had heard of the various advantages of the cloud, my practical experience with cloud began in January 2021, wherein I had a semester course in my 3rd year of Btech(CSE) as Cloud Computing in Amazon Web Services. 

From there, my journey of AWS Cloud started, wherein our professors had from the very beginning of the course made it clear that it would be very beneficial for us to have a professional cloud certificate for apparent reasons.

I made my mind and prepared a plan from the beginning of February that I should be able to crack the AWS Cloud Certified Professional Exam by April end. 

But I would highly recommend having practical hands-on experience on the AWS console so that those theoretical concepts would stick better in your memory.

For the practical experience, I referred mainly to 2 sources :

  1. My Semester Course Content – that was primarily from AWS whitepapers
  2. AWS ACADEMY COURSE

I understand that everyone won’t have an added advantage that I had in terms of practical experience since I had a semester course going on at the same time. Still, AWS Academy Labs, along with the resources I am going to mention below, would definitely help you gain a perfect understanding of AWS Console and the cloud services offered by AWS. 

The AWS Cloud Practitioner exam covers 4 domains:

1.Cloud concepts

  • What are AWS cloud and its value proposition
  • Basics of AWS Cloud economics
  • Cloud architecture and design principles

2.Security

  • What is AWS shared responsibility model
  • What are AWS cloud security and compliance concepts
  • AWS access management capabilities
  • Resources for security support

3.Technology

  • Different methods of deploying and operating cloud in AWS cloud
  • AWS global infrastructure
  • Core AWS services
  • Resources for technology support 

4.Billing & pricing 

  • Comparing different pricing models for AWS
  • Understanding different account structures in relation to AWS billing & pricing
  • Resources available for billing support

The Real Game:

During February, my main focus was to complete the AWS ACADEMY course as it is the official course recommended by AWS to crack the AWS CCP exam. 

So I thoroughly went through it, made notes, attempted each lab and quizzes of the course wholeheartedly, and explored the AWS console independently. 

Though AWS services are paid, you get a Free Tier for 1 year to have a hands-on and also AWS Academy provides you with a free playground to explore the AWS Console, though with limited services but enough for cracking the CCP exam.

After the AWS Academy exam, I referred to a free course on YouTube by freeCodeCamp.org (link would be mentioned below), and at last, I referred to some practice questions.

A word of caution, though CCP is a theoretical exam, I would highly recommend having an in-depth knowledge of all the AWS services because, in the exam.

I noticed that the options were very closely related and didn’t resemble all with the quizzes in the AWS ACADEMY course wherein you could easily eliminate the choices. 

However, get yourself familiarize with the AWS console.

Create a Free AWS account and explore the dashboard. Click on popular services like EC2 (think servers), DynamoDB (database), S3 (storage), subnet (network). This will help you better understand the concepts.

So overall, I referred to these resources – 

  1. AWS ACADEMY COURSE
  2. YouTube Course (freeCodeCamp.org – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hLmDS179YE)
  3. Practice Questions

Read: AWS-The Ultimate BEGINNERS Guide 2021

How to Schedule the AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam?

I scheduled my exam for the last week of March as my midterms were about to start, and I wanted to get away with the certification. Also, by then, I was pretty confident that I would be able to crack the exam as one needed to score at least 700 out of 1000.

Note* I skimmed through the YouTube course again just before the exam to get a refresher.

I scheduled it through Pearson, and the proctor was a bit strict as he made me scan my entire room through my laptop’s webcam and also, you weren’t even allowed to utter or murmur during the exam.

My result, which stated that I had passed the exam, came just after I submitted my exam and the official certificate came 2 days later. 

Read next: How to Prepare for AWS Architect Associate Exam (SAA-C02)?

It feels great to possess a professional certificate. With a continuous preparation of 2 months, I think everyone can crack it and have a professional badge as well as an in-demand skill added to their resume.

Happy Learning!

Author: Sparsh Chadha is a Cloud Enthusiast.

You can connect with him on LinkedIn for more assistance on AWS Cloud Practitioner exam.

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