How I Prepared for the AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification
Isha Gupta
Before you begin reading this article, I want you to know that this is my approach, which I followed over a month. I scheduled and cleared my exam considering I had no knowledge of AWS and had never worked on it. Some people complete it in a week, but that depends on your learning speed, prior knowledge, and whether you just want to clear the certification or actually learn properly and use that knowledge. Let’s begin!
In this article, I will share my approach, the resources I used, and how I prepared. I won’t go into details about what the exam is or how to schedule it because AWS has already clearly documented all these steps on their website and blog pages. I recommend going through those once to understand what to expect in the exam, how to schedule it, and FAQs. This is my personal approach and experience. Let’s dive in now.
I started by going over the exam guide, which explains the four domains and their subdomains. Here’s the official documentation:
To learn more about the certification, how to schedule it, and other related topics, visit this website:
After reviewing the guide, I realized I needed a structured approach and a teacher to help me prepare. I didn’t want to get lost in the many articles, videos, and resources available online. To stick to a straight learning path, I purchased two courses for my preparation:
My Preparation Steps
Honestly, I found the Udemy course to be the best one. It contains proper explanations, hands-on labs, resources, whitepaper links, practice quizzes after each module, instructions on how to schedule the exam, and mock exams. Overall, it covered everything I needed, so I didn’t need to look anywhere else while learning.
Tip: Don’t avoid hands-on practice if you really want to learn. It might feel time-consuming, but it’s worth it because my ultimate goal was to understand the basics and services clearly.
Once I completed this course, I took the final mock without revision and failed 🥲. So here’s another tip: Go through all the concepts and take notes from the summary videos in each module. The summaries provided by the instructor were enough for my revision. Reviewing those notes and then attempting the quizzes helped a lot.
Additional Resources and Practice
To strengthen my understanding, I used the following resources:
The Udemy practice exams were particularly helpful as they allowed me to retake quizzes and analyze my results. This helped me identify areas where I needed improvement and revise concepts where I was strong.
Tip on Scheduling the Exam: I scheduled my exam when I was 50–60% prepared. This helped me cover the remaining topics with a sense of urgency since the exam date was approaching. Scheduling mid-way gave me the push I needed to stay disciplined.
Important Note: Don’t forget to visit this AWS page if you’re reading this before February 15, 2025, for additional updates and resources related to scheduling your exam.
Final Preparation and Exam Day
After attempting 12-15 mock exams, I felt confident. The quizzes and practice exams in the Udemy courses were tougher than the actual exam, so when I took the real test, it felt easier.
During the exam, I followed all instructions carefully. Ensure your workspace is distraction-free, as the online proctor will monitor you throughout. Keep your phone at arm’s length since you may need to take pictures of yourself and your workspace before starting. You’ll also need valid ID proof like an Aadhar or voter card.
Key Tips for Success
Set small, achievable goals each week.
Don’t try to memorize everything. Focus on 2–3 key features and use cases for each AWS service.
Practice scenario-based questions to understand which service to use and when.
Review failed mock exam answers to learn from mistakes. This can be a game-changer and will give you a direction.
Create short, quick notes for revision before mocks or the final exam.
Example Notes for Quick Revision:
"Compute" → Think EC2, Lambda, or ECS.
"Storage" → Think S3, EBS, or Glacier.
"Database" → Think RDS, DynamoDB, or Redshift.
Sample Question:
You need a service that allows stateless filtering of traffic at the subnet level. Which service should you choose?
A) Security Group
B) Network ACL
C) AWS WAF
D) Route 53
Answer: B) Network ACL
Keywords like “stateless filtering” and “subnet level” point to NACL.
Refer to the following resources to understand better:
Wrapping Up
Learning AWS doesn’t take much time if you stay consistent. Dedicate more time to solving questions, taking mock exams, revising, and strengthening your weak areas. If you don’t want to purchase a course, you can rely on the AWS exam guide, whitepapers, and official documentation, which are enough. AWS also offers free training and learning plans—check them out here:
Finally, don’t stress. If you’ve given at least 7-8 mocks, you’ll feel confident. Stay calm, focus on learning, and you’ll succeed. If you’ve prepared well, the exam will feel straightforward. Good luck!
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Isha Gupta
Isha Gupta
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