Passed AWS Solutions Architect Associate
Tags: aws, beginners, career
Published: 2020-04-22 14:01:43

**Tick tock. Tick tock.🕐**

As the clock ticks on, with a deafening silence we have never known before, like many of us, I didn't want to sit and count those seconds scrolling by.

Time ain't really money (I mean we should have been rich by that logic long time back) but it sure is an opportunity.

So, I decided to put this period of lockdown to unlock more of my potential, by diving into the clouds!

The World of Big Data and Cloud Services

By the end of this sentence, millions and billions bytes of data would have been sent and received. And every time that happens, there are curious minds waiting to listen to what the data is saying.

This ever growing avenue led to the concept of Big Data and Cloud Services, which is becoming not just a capability, but a necessity in all fields today.
Cloud is the Captain America version of Steve Rogers, basically on-premise services on steroids. 

Like a nineties kid, I watched the big bang of bits and bytes and revolution of internet.
The next wave is gonna be of big data and cloud services, and this time I want to be right at the centre of it rather than being a kid staring at it with jaw dropping to the floor.

Becoming an AWS Ninja!

When I decided to jump in the world of cloud services, the first question was to go with which tech on offer?

Simple. I chose AWS.

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## Why? 🤔

Well, it's like asking why Tesla is the talk of the town and not GM anymore.
Gartner's famous Magic Quadrant released in July 2019 paints a clear picture that AWS is the lead runner in race of cloud technology.
Azure and Google are definitely catching up, but so is GM and Ford for Tesla (not yet there!)


![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/uw4loiyleu6n4c521l3s.png)

Even if you are working towards a promotion, or churn some more dollars, AWS is the skill to have right now.

<br>

## My journey of AWS Certifications 🚴‍♀️:

###Step 1: 
My baby steps on the journey to becoming a certified developer on AWS started with the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification back in November 2019.

So, if you are still working towards that, this article might not be for you. You can check this article out to ace the Practitioner certification.

###Step 2:
From thereon, the next thing you need to do is practice. Try to experience AWS first hand. Explore around, learn new stuff and implement what all you need.

For me, working in an environment where the work revolves around cloud services was a blessing as I spent good part of the last year honing my skills on the platform before feeling ready to step up the game.

You can also use the [Free Tier](https://aws.amazon.com/free/), Amazon provides on AWS to further brush your skills before you jump into the advance stuff.

###Step 3
Resources I used 📘:

As much as one would love to have a single source for all there is to learn, more often than not we need to club multiple sources to get the most out of them.
For AWS, [ACloud Guru's Solutions Architect Associate](https://acloud.guru/learn/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate) course and another one by [Andrew Brown on freecodecamp's youtube channel](https://youtu.be/Ia-UEYYR44s) worked the best for me.

###Step 4
One of the biggest add on for me, was to go through the FAQ's provided by AWS for service's like [S3](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/faqs/), [EC2](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/faqs/), [Load Balancers](https://aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/faqs/), [VPC](https://aws.amazon.com/vpc/faqs/)and [Route53](https://aws.amazon.com/route53/faqs/).
This will help to clear all your doubts and get you better prepared for the test.

###Step 5: Practice Tests
Nothing sets you up nicely for the real test than the practice tests.
It might be boring, but believe me they will go long way as a reality check for you.

[Whizlabs](https://www.whizlabs.com/) provides the best tests out there at a minimal cost at $17(may have changed). The 7 practice tests are the seven steps to clearing your test.
In case you have passed the previous AWS certificate for Cloud Practitioner, you are provided with a free practice test and 50% off for the exam fee as well.

###Step 6: Support
I would recommend to join the [#AWSCertified](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/awscertified-challenge-free-path-aws-cloud-certifications/) challenge and join the [Discord server](https://discord.gg/7VzzdtU).
I am available for any doubt clarification or any other stuff you might need.

###Step 7: Notes
If you just want to refresh your concepts or want to just go through concise notes before the tests, I have posted them [here](https://rishabkumar7.github.io/CloudNotes/) for your reference.

###Step 8: The T-Day
Well, if you are here, it means you are ready for the test!
Just fill up for the test and in no time you will be a certified AWS Solution Architect.

I took around 15 days to brush up my skills, go through practice tests before I went ahead to ace my test.
It might take a little longer/shorter for you, but following these steps will certainly set you up for the test.

**Good Luck 👍**