Round two is now scheduled for June 2021. Round two to pass the exam to earn my Amazon Web Services (AWS) Associate’s Level Certification. Round one took place in July 2020 and did not result in my being the victor. It was a blow to my pride and it took a few months before I even felt like studying again.
So here we are five months later…my pride has mended and I’m planning on my next round for the certification. In an effort to see the silver lining of this process I’m embracing a few ideas and mindsets:
- If it was easy – everyone would do it. The reason the salary and demand that accompany AWS Certifications exist is because it’s NOT EASY. It takes time, it takes efforts, it takes trial and errors, it takes diligence to learn the skills (and overcome test anxiety).
- This will require a plan for the training and learning. I cannot rely on my usual study methods. Studies will need to be deliberate and on schedule that combine training from AWS resources, reading the AWS Exam preparation materials and practicing the labs. My first attempt at the exam focused too much on memorizing the answers from the sample questions and not enough understanding the answers. There is a difference between memorizing and understanding.
- Victory in June 2021 will be so much sweeter knowing it’s the result of determination, hard work and diligent studies.
I’ve made a list of the the training modules available from the AWS Training & Certification library that I’ll be using as the foundation of my studying over the next several months. I have it scheduled with an approximation of how many days I’ll need to cover the content (aiming at 1 – 3 hours of devoted studies a day).
The schedule can be found on this Google Sheet. In the sheet you’ll find a daily schedule of the training module along with the estimated time to complete the modules based on what the module indicates. Something to note on this is the estimated time to complete is WRONG. If you are looking to complete the module to earn the certificate of completion and not on the learning of content – the time it states is a little generous. If you are looking to actually learn the content in whatever method works for you – expect to spend several hours for a “60 minute” module. I love earning those certificates of completion but the true value is from the content being learned and deeper understanding of the services that AWS has and how to best use them.
As I start on this journey to learning and understanding feel free to join me on the Facebook Page Awesome Web Sh*t and follow along this blog to share and join in the fun of learning about Amazon Web Services and all the “awesome web shit” that we can do with it.
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