Let's talk AWS! I'm a complete newb when it comes to cloud so I think I'd like to break down how I did the basic exam so someone who wants to follow in my footsteps can succeed as well!

But first, why AWS? Well, in March I decided to go for something different. I could practice coding on HackerRank or LeetCode all day, but would I really be getting anything out of those? I wanted a challenge that would need some work but would be very much attainable. I've always been good at school and testing so I thought "Why not go for AWS? You can get certified pretty easily, the job market is there, and it PAYS (let's be real, the most important part)."

So the challenge was then just to get started. But how???? There are sooo many pathways and resources when it comes to AWS, so maybe we should start at the beginning? And that's what I did. I decided I would become a (dun du du dun!) Cloud Practitioner!

I looked at the requirements and what it would take to get this cert and it looks reasonable; a 4 hour YouTube video, some practice exams, and that's it right? All the comments for the video said they got it in a week. I can do that!

WRONG! Compared to school, where you take a class on a single subject and get tested on the last few weeks of material, AWS is so VAST that it seemed like the questions could be on anything! I was gonna need to go deeper. Here's a breakdown of how I prepped for my certification:

• Watching the freeCodeCamp.org video on Youtube twice. Once just watching the video, and a second taking notes on each of the services (once I realized that this topic was much more dense than I thought).

• I ended up purchasing the CCP course from ExamPro (~$20 I think) because I wanted the utilize their chapter-by-chapter navigation and periodic quizzes. I also wanted to master their practice exams.

• A free course from A Cloud Guru. It just so happened that while I was studying, a friend of mine who works at AWS turned me on to ACG and let me know that they would be offering the course for CCP free for the month. I had already bought the ExamPro course so I wasn't upset, so I used that course for additional study material.

So with the practice exams mastered, I was ready to go! I put my money where my mouth was and registered for the exam! This should be easy. ALSO WRONG! Damn, that test was NOT easy. In the advice I had seen for the certification, they had said you really need hands on experience with the different services AWS offers and not to rely on studying and practice exams alone. They were definitely correct! While some questions covered the basic topics that I had studied for, some really needed that deeper understanding of pricing and anecdotal knowledge you might need as someone who's working in AWS. Unfortunately AWS doesn't tell you your score, so I was really sweating it.

But I DID IT. Some might say "well that test was easy", like the commenter who did it in a week, but as someone with a full time job who studied while on work trips (one being out of the country), it took me a few months to get this one done!

So what's next. Well, I'm writing this post posthumously as I'm on my next step: Solutions Architect! I'll cover that road in another post but that wraps it up for the CCP. Have a good one!