Recently I've passed my second AWS certification exam "Developer - Associate". Although my preparation in many ways was similar to the preparation for Solutions Architect, which I wrote about earlier, this time the exam touched many other AWS services more deeply.
Preparation for certification
Like the last time, I started studying with lectures from acloud.guru, while doing slides to repeat everything again. I'll say right away, unfortunately, this information will not be enough. Some topics are not covered in sufficient detail to answer questions, others were not touched at all. Nevertheless, the lectures are excellent and cover the lion's share of the necessary information. I recommend starting your training with acloud.guru.
It is very important to understand best practices and pay the most attention to the following AWS services:
- Lambda
- API Gateway
- DynamoDB
- Cloudformation
- Elastic Beanstalk
- CodePipeline / CodeCommit / CodeBuild / CodeDeploy
- X-Ray
- SQS
To learn more about CloudFormation, I watched Stephane Maarek's "AWS CloudFormation Master Class" lectures. It reveals the questions that come up on the exam, you need to know the main sections of CloudFormation templates and some CLI commands.
Next, I watched useful videos from conferences, which in general expanded my knowledge and also helped to answer questions on the exam. I advise you to watch the following videos, but this is optional:
Lambda and API Gateway
- Introduction to AWS Lambda & Serverless Applications
- Deep Dive into AWS SAM
- Building APIs with Amazon API Gateway
- Digital Transformation Through APIs – AWS re:Invent 2018
- Best Practices for Building Enterprise Grade APIs with Amazon API Gateway
- Building API‑Driven Microservices with Amazon API Gateway
DynamoDB
- AWS re:Invent 2018: Amazon DynamoDB Deep Dive: Advanced Design Patterns for DynamoDB
- AWS re:Invent 2018: Amazon DynamoDB Under the Hood: How We Built a Hyper-Scale Database
After the theoretical part, try passing practice tests from Whizlabs. In my opinion, it is most close to real exam questions.
Exam
After you feel ready for the exam, schedule your time here.
The exam costs 150$, but since passing the last exam I have a 50% discount coupon, so this time it cost 75$. After successful passing, I received another 50% coupon for the next exam. The exam consists of 65 questions and lasts 130 minutes. If you are not a native speaker, you can request an additional +30 minutes for the exam in the following way:
Upcoming Exams -> Request Exam Accommodations -> Accommodation Type: ESL +30 min.
The results of the exams will be available immediately on the screen:
Pass result: "Congratulations! You have successfully passed the AWS Certified _____ exam. You will receive an email once your detailed results are available in your AWS Certification Account."
Fail result: "Thank you for taking the AWS Certified ______ exam. Unfortunately, you did not meet the minimum score required to pass the exam. You must wait 14 business days until your next attempt. You will receive an email once your detailed results are available in your AWS Certification Account."
And it'll take up to 5 business days to display them in your personal account.
I hope this information is enough for you to pass your exam successfully. If you still have questions, ask them in the comments and good luck!
