I began studying for the AWS Certified Developer – Associate exam last year after I completed the HBX | Harvard Business School Certificate in Negotiation Mastery. Last year, the CDA exam was the easiest of the three associate exams. That test was re-written. The new version is the hardest of the three associate exams.
AWS is going to retire the old CDA exam in November.
I found out in July. My wife and I are expecting our first child in September. I had to pass quickly or waste a bunch of time studying for a non-existent test.
Last week I passed with an 88% on my first attempt.
Here is how I did it:
From August 2017 – July 2018:
- Watched a few videos from A Cloud Guru.
- Worked with AWS as part of my day job.
Two weeks in July 2018:
- Read the AWS whitepapers.
- Took the official AWS practice exam and kept screenshots of the test questions to study them later.
- Signed up for the ACG Exam Simulator.
- Purchased AWS Certified Developer – Associate practice exams on Udemy.
- Every day for two weeks I took a practice exam. After each practice exam, I studied what I got wrong. And I wrote down information to help me get the questions right in the future.
The one thing that pulled 90% of the weight was understanding the practice exam questions and answers. Rote memorization isn’t enough. The AWS exam requires a detailed understanding of the underlying concepts. And practice questions are the best guide.