The journey of a Cloud Professional begins with being a Practitioner- My experience writing the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam
Whew! Can’t believe I get to write my first blog post after years and years of procrastination. I’m a bit tensed as I write this but I hope this post (and subsequent ones) gets to help somebody, anybody out there.
Background
I just started my Tech career in 2021 and I was a bit confused on what I wanted to do. I decided to carry out extensive research on different tech fields/roles I could play in. However, I needed to choose a path that aligned with my interests and passion.
I networked with some Tech professionals and most of them mentioned Cloud computing which piqued my interest. I decided to do a deep dive into it and figure out for myself if that is what I wanted.
Why AWS CCP Exam?
Seeing that AWS is a major player in the cloud space, I explored their available certifications and chose to start from the very beginning- “The journey of becoming a Cloud Professional begins with becoming a Practitioner”. You can check out their certifications here
The website showed the Cloud Practitioner exam would expose me to the fundamentals of Cloud computing and the available services/technology AWS offers so I went for it.
I was testing the waters with this exam as the experience was going to determine if I wanted a career in Cloud computing or not.
Preparing for the Exam
I reached out to some people that had written AWS exams and asked for preparation tips. All of them happened to use Stephane Maarek’s Udemy course so I joined the band wagon (There are other credible platforms that offer AWS courses so feel free to explore different options).
The total course time was for about 14.5 hours and the slides were about 400 pages (I felt overwhelmed at first but as I went into it, I realized it wasn’t as difficult as I thought).
I spent the next 2 weeks going through the course but I could have finished it in 3 days if I wasn’t too occupied with being an adult and working to pay my bills (Hahaha). I created an AWS account and completed a majority of the labs (In the spirit of transparency, I didn’t complete all of the labs in the course). The course eased me into cloud computing and gave me a good idea on what it was about.
Difficulty level/Issues encountered
This was my first time getting involved with the Cloud so a lot of things seemed foreign to me. For concepts I didn’t understand, I would replay the course video and visit the AWS website to read the description of the service. I also used Google a lot to read articles and blog posts written by other people about the service.
Another issue I had was remembering what each service offered as AWS has a unique naming convention for their services. So the strategy I adopted was attributing the services to things I could relate to. See below my strategy for some of the services:
1. I assumed Macie was the girlfriend of the AWS staff who named the service and concluded she was a sensitive person which is why Macie uses machine learning and pattern matching to discover & protect your sensitive data in AWS
2. Cloud FORMation is used to FORM infrastructure, for any resources in the Cloud in a declarative way
3. For Dockers which is a platform to deploy apps which are packaged in containers, I related it to Ships and actual containers (docks are used to moore ships and ships usually carry containers)
What type of questions were asked?
The exam guide which can be found here shows the weight of topics/domains the exam focuses on.
When I wrote the exam, the questions touched all key topics so understanding the key concepts and technology is key.
What I should have done better/ My recommendations
- Give yourself enough time- I registered for the exam way before I completed the course so I had very little window to revise or practice questions. About 6 hours to my exam time, I was certain I was going to fail the exam so I attempted to cancel it only to realize it was too late as I needed to give a 24 hour notice. I wrote the exam afraid and was not entirely calm.
2. Practice! Practice!! Practice!!!- I realized completing practice exams gave me an idea into the exam structure and what to expect so taking the actual exam wasn’t entirely new to me. Completing more practice questions will also give you more confidence.
3. Sleep- I didn’t have a good sleep for about 2 days before the exam which made me a bit slow. Sleeping always helps with keeping your brain focused and working at optimal levels.
4. Different Exam Proctors- My Proctor was a bit intimidating and wasn’t patient with me. If I moved an inch during the exam, I get a notification immediately warning me that my exam will be cancelled so this made me tensed throughout the exam. Telling you this so you get yourself prepared and try not to be bothered by the demeanor of a Proctor like mine.
5. Feel free to jump too- After the exam, I could feel my heart beat in my mouth, I didn’t flag a lot of questions for review but I wasn’t confident I would cross the 70% mark. As soon as I clicked the submit button and I saw PASS, I jumped up from my seat in excitement.
Music Playlist During This Period (Top 5)
Listening to music and dancing is something I love to do when I’m working on a task or project. I hope you get to enjoy my playlist as much as I do
1. Champion- Fireboy DML & D Smoke
2. Like I Do- Fireboy DML
3. What If I Say- Fireboy DML
4. Wetin We Gain- Victor AD
5. Kiss Your Hand- R2Bees feat. Wande Coal
Disclaimer: This post describes my personal journey. Recommendations made are only suggestions and they do not in any way guarantee a PASS in the exam.
Please feel free to share your thoughts, feedback or criticisms. Look forward to hearing from you.
