Detailed Review Of Preparation

I started my certification journey for AWS Solution Architect Associate exactly 6 weeks back. I was completely new to AWS, having no clue about Cloud Infrastructure. 

All the AWS terms & terminologies were new to me. I started off with ACloud Guru training sessions. These training sessions are very good for beginners. It took me 2-3 weeks to understand the concepts and complete one round of the going through the course content. During the 3rd and 4th week, i was focusing on the end chapter quizzes, practice tests of ACloud Guru. However, please note that the ACloud Guru tests are only good for beginners and is not enough to clear the AWS SAA exam. It includes lots of questions which are theoretical and based on memorization. All the questions in the AWS SAA exam are scenario based and these extensive preparation. I then took up Udemy practice tests which consists of 6 practice tests. These are on par with the AWS SAA exam. I took up 5 of the 6 practice tests and could clear only one with 72% marks and failed in the remaining ones. However, that did not deter my confidence and i decided to go ahead with the AWS SAA exam on 6th July. I also made good use of the Udemy Cheat sheets which comes along with the Udemy Practice tests. The explanation given for each of the questions in the Udemy Practice tests are extremely detailed and needs thorough reading. I utilized Weeks 5 & 6 for these tests. During the last couple of days, i once again focused on refreshing the basic concepts from ACloud Guru along with the new topics that are introduced for AWS SAA 02 exam (Topics such as AWS Microsoft AD, AWS Shield, AWS WAF etc.).

On the exam day, i logged in 30 minutes before the scheduled start. It took 15 to 20 minutes to complete the check-in formalities and then i was all set to start. I found the questions in the exam extremely challenging and confusing. Most of the choices were very close and there was a very thin line to chose the right answer as expected by AWS.  As i was answering the questions, i was unsure of my answer and i was almost certain that i will not be able to clear the  test. However, i did not lose hope and i continued to focus on each and every question and did my best. Focus is the key in all such exams. Even answering one question correctly / incorrectly can make lots of difference. 

After, i submitted the test, it was a big relief for me to see the final result as "Pass",  I could score 725 marks out of 1000, and this was the reason i stressed earlier that every single question matters in the end.

The overall journey was full of learning and clearing the test was a cherry on the cake.

For any further guidance / suggestions / help, please reach out to me.