I recently passed the AWS Associate Developer Certification exam and I thrеw together this no-nonsense (or so I’d like to think!) preparation guide. Hopefully it will benefit you, if you’re looking to get AWS certified!

I’ll split this post into 3 major sections (or tiers). I make no claims for exhaustiveness, I will simply convey how I thought about the preparation. The first tier is for those who want to prepare for the exam without paying a dime. The middle one will build up on this for those who are willing to spend some money, but will still focus mostly on free resources. The last section is for those for whom money is not an issue.

Before we dive in, the biggest piece of advice I can give anyone is to ensure that, whichever tier you prefer, once you’ve started preparing for the exam - don’t stop. See it through. I started preparing for my exam 3 times. The first two I spent several weeks devouring lectures and practicing on the AWS platform, only then to lose motivation and get distracted with something else. This slowed me down and had me re-learning a lot of the material unnecessarily.

Don’t do what I did. The biggest mistake you can make is invest the time to be 50% ready for the exam and then go on a hiatus for 2 months and basically having to start over.

Tier 1 - I’m a strong and independent developer and I need no dedicated courses!

AWS is the biggest cloud platform in the world. There is such a vast wealth of information about it online, it is by no means impossible to prepare for your exam by using only free resources.

However, if you were to go with this approach, keep in mind these caveats:

  • You are in control of your own learning - you have no external structure. If you go and buy a course, you’ll get the content you need prepared for you and fed to you in bite-sized chunks, curated by the course’s author. This is not the case here (with some exceptions, such as freeCodeCamp’s course which is discussed below).
  • Doubt might creep in - you may be studying, but are you studying the right thing? Because of the responsibility on you to find the appropriate content to study, it often means you end up pursuing things you won’t need for the exam (not necessarily a bad thing - knowledge is always useful!).

There is one important thing to keep in mind here. If you prioritize passing the exam as your one and only goal, then the above is just a list of negatives. However, if you prioritize learning and experiencing the AWS platform, then the exploration required from Tier 1 will put you on a path of discovery and experimentation which will undoubtedly benefit you.

I can’t provide you a full course, but here are some of the free resources I used or came across during my preparation. I wouldn’t spoil anything if I said that most of them are resources from AWS itself.

YouTube

There are several YouTube channels on which you can find amazing content for AWS, but the best one for me was AWS Events. It is where most of the re:Invent videos get uploaded and they offer amazing content. Not all of them will help you for the exam, but I found some which were brilliant and I highly recommend them:

The AWS Training and Certification Site

The AWS Training and Certification Site is something you can’t avoid - you need to create an account there if you are to sit the exam. However, there is so much more to be found there - an exam readiness course among other things. Not everything there is free, but what is will definitely be of help to you in your preparation.

The AWS Documentation

It goes without saying that the AWS documentation itself is the best resource when it comes to anything AWS. Here are some places to look at while preparing:

  • The AWS exam preparation page - a good starting point which lists useful resources such as sample exam questions, an exam guide and AWS Whitepapers.
  • The FAQ pages for some of the services such as SQS or SNS can be incredibly useful.
  • Workshops, such as the Wild Rydes Serverless Workshop
  • The AWS Console itself - have you seen the little ‘i’ icon on the right side of the page when you’re in the AWS Console? Click that thing and let it stay open as you browse through the console. Most of the terms which you will need to know will be explained there. Also make sure to click on the help or info prompts when you see them - there is lots to be learned from there!

Free content in the web

  • I did not use it myself, but I’ve heard good things about the freeCodeCamp course. Since this is a full course, it will give you the much needed structure and confidence for the exam.
  • Flash cards are an awesome learning tool. I built my own deck during my preparation and I recommend you build your own one as the process itself helps with learning. You can find mine here and use it for practice or clone the deck to create your own set of cards!

Tier 2 - Perfectly balanced, as all things should be

This is when you want to stick mostly to free content, but you are okay to spend some money as long as you’ll get the best bank for your buck.

There is only one thing to put here and that’s practice exams! I’m aware this might be a bit controversial, as there are free practice exams available online, and I didn’t list any in Tier 1. The reason I didn’t was because I didn’t use any of them, and also - because I don’t have a reference for how good they actually are. If you’re interested, just google for “free AWS Associate Developer practice exams” and you’ll be good to go. I paid for mine, so this is why I’m putting them in a separate section. If you don’t like it - write your own blog!

Getting that out of the way - let’s get back to the topic at hand! Practice exams! They are definitely worth it! Not that you can’t do it without them, but they prepare you for the mindset you need to have during the exam and also help you identify any gaps in your knowledge.

I bought Udemy’s Practice Exams by Stephane Maarek and they were instrumental in my exam preparation. There are regularly discounts on Udemy, so if you are patient, you might be able to buy them at a reduced price. I’m not affiliated with Stephane in any way, so I don’t gain anything by advertising these, other than helping you in your preparation.

I’ve also been told that Jon Bonso’s Practice Exams from Tutorials Dojo are really good, but I haven’t tried them myself.

Tier 3 - Shut up and take my money!

Maybe your employer is willing to pay for your training. Maybe you don’t mind spending your own money on a dedicated course or workshop. Either way, Tier 3 is the full package. It includes everything from the lower 2 tiers, but in addition to that it contains at least one paid-for dedicated course or training program. This could be, for example, a Udemy course, a Cloud Academy subscription or a class booked through the AWS Training and Certification Site. Each will give you everything you need to be prepared. The only thing left for you will be to put in the effort.

What’s the verdict?

It’s all up to you! If you have the option for Tier 3 - by all means, go for it! I had a Cloud Academy subscription, which provided me with structure and a learning path. The Labs were also quite useful as they helped with actually using the various services in AWS. However, if you don’t want or can’t have Tier 3 - don’t sweat over it! The most value I got was through the practice tests I did and I credit most of my success in the exam to them. Furthermore, if Tier 2 is not your thing - then Tier 1 will always be there for you. It is the foundation on which Tiers 2 and 3 are built anyway. I reverted to it many times during my preparation.

However you decide to prepare, as long as you put in the effort, you will do just fine.

Good luck!