Hi, my name is Diamond and this blog will be all about how to learn the fundamentals of AWS cloud and some tips that will help you get certified.... if you want that is.

So you want to learn about the cloud, specifically how Amazon does it. Well you have come to the right place! Amazon offers a ton of resources to learn about their cloud and they even offer certifications to "check off" that knowledge. In this article i'll be speaking on the AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification.

Before you even go further, make sure that this is the vendor cloud platform that you want to learn. There are others too! Check this resource out and learn about them. This will walk you through if cloud is even for you and if its worth it to get certified for your career journey. Journey to Cloud: A FREE Beginner’s Guide

Enough mumbo jumbo, lets get to the good stuff shall we?

If you are new to the cloud this probably will not be a cake walk but its also not that bad either if you put in the work. It's usually recommended that you at-least have about 6 months experience tinkering with the AWS cloud interface before writing the exam. This is so that you can pull from your hands-on training to choose the best answers to a question. These questions can be very tricky as the answers could ALL be right, but one would be the best case scenario choice. I call that mental gymnastics. But to be honest I don't think you absolutely need 6 months experience, just the time and patience to learn.

What resources will be helpful in your journey to becoming AWS Cloud Practitioner certified?

I will tell you what I used.

1. First, download the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C01) Exam Guide. Print this out if you can. If you cannot open this in a word document and use this as your study guide. Each point that is on this exam guide, you should be comfortable going through and explaining. This is key to really learn the basics of AWS cloud but its also a guide for whats covered on the exam.

2. Second, download the AWS Ramp-Up Guide: Cloud Foundations. This is the cheat code. In this ramp up guide it has the foundations of cloud, a dive into the core AWS services, and FREE labs to apply what you just learned. It also includes related whitepapers if you need more clarification on things.

3. Remember that study guide you downloaded and filled in while you were doing step 2? That comes in handy. You can now turn that into questions using quizlet. But lets' say you don't want to use that, that's fine. There are paid options for using practice tests. These would be WhizLabs and Udemy practice questions for AWS Cloud practitioner.

4. Use these resources as a final review

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Training 2020 - Full Course

The above course + free quiz questions

AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials (Latest Edition)

Now you are ready to take your exam! I know I was. Please tweak where you see fit for your own personal journey. Here are a few tips I before you schedule and take your exam.

Please do check-in 30 minutes before your exam time. There are some things you need to take care of first. I would first recommend to clear your space the night before. You cannot have anything on your desk, around your desk, or in the vicinity of your desk during your exam. Everything must be clear (if you are taking this virtually). Check in early because you will need to take pictures of your space, yourself, and your identification card. You are only allowed to have your computer, a mouse, and a keyboard if you have one. Before you start the exam you will have to give a 360 view of your testing area. You cannot have any food/beverage in your testing area and your phone must be off. Tell anyone who is home with you not to disturb or make any sudden loud noises.

When it comes to feeling nervous once the exam starts, that is completely normal. Make sure you take your time and understand what you are answering. Spend time on what you know first and come back later to unsure questions. For multiple choice questions work backwards, X out the answers that are definitely wrong, and choose the answer that most answers the question. There will probably be two answers that are technically correct, this is when paying attention and dissecting the question will come in handy.

Once you've gone through all of the questions, you can just hit the "End Test" button. If you passed you will know immediately. With this you will get an email within 48 hours from AWS and Credly, both congratulating you and presenting you with cool things. Such as a certification badge, 50% discount on your next exam, free practice exam voucher for your next exam, and exclusive community access. A few days later you will get another email with your exam results quantified. If you didn't pass you will also get this same email, and you will be able to see what you need more practice with.

Hope this helps, thanks for reading! Don't forget, you da boss, so you got this.