Today, I Passed The Exam - AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 certification

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My three-month journey to achieving the ACCP, blending practical experience with focused study.

Background

Here's a glimpse into my preparation process. As a software engineer, I've had the privilege of dipping my toes into the AWS ecosystem, working with services like EC2, RDS, and CloudWatch for about a year. While this experience provided a practical understanding, it was just the starting point. It helped me figure out the right answers from the confusing ones, but the certification demanded a deeper, more comprehensive knowledge.

Study

1. Training I took a live & online course provided by my company.

2. YouTube Exploration (Partial): I ventured into a couple of lengthy YouTube tutorials. While I couldn't complete them due to their extensive duration, they offered valuable insights.

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Course (CLF-C01) - Pass the Exam!

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE - 2024

3. The Power of Practice Exams: This was the cornerstone of my preparation. I tackled approximately 600-700 questions, embracing repetition as a tool for mastery.

   • Active Recall: I approached each question with active recall, guessing the answer before checking.

   • Deep Dive Learning: Incorrect answers were not setbacks, but opportunities. It's time to review the material, ensuring I understood not just the correct answer, but the rationale behind all four options.

   • Reinforcement: Correct answers should stick through memorization and immediate progression.

My Personal Misses

1. AWS Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF): I had about 5 questions about this. The CAF's six perspectives—business, people, governance, platform, security, and operations—were crucial. Understanding their detail was key to answering several exam questions. Link

2. Shared Responsibility Model: I also had about 4 questions about this. Grasping the division of responsibilities between AWS and the user is the key. The core principle - AWS manages infrastructure, while users secure their applications and data - was a recurring theme. Link

Practice Exams Reference

1. O'Reilly's Pearson Practice Test: NOT FREE. The O'Reilly platform offered a realistic simulation with its 'AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 (Pearson Practice Test)'. Consistently scoring around 800 became my benchmark for exam readiness. Completing this test eight times (approximately 500 questions) provided good simulated experience, but not same questions appeared in the exam.

2. Kananinirav's GitHub Repository: This resource proved to be a current and popular tool within the certification community.

3. Tutorials Dojo Sample Questions: While I didn't complete this set, it offered a valuable collection of questions.

4. Simulado CLF: Nicely built, but couldn't complete this set, either Link perfect for reinforcing foundational concepts.

Others

This specific Reddit link1 and link2 was the most helpful source of support and advice. Reading through shared experiences and tips provided a sense of community and direction.

This certification is more than a badge; it's a testament to the dedication required to navigate the complexities of cloud computing.