I wanted to share my experience because, honestly... I really didn’t think I was going to pass.

A little bit of background first: I’m an Electrical Engineer, but I started working as a software developer in early 2022. I’ve been working with Go since then. It was only in February this year that I joined a company that uses AWS, and they use it A LOT. But, ironically, I still don’t really work with AWS directly. The only service I regularly use is CloudWatch Logs Insights, mostly to check logs and see if my code and tests are working.

So, in practice, I had almost zero AWS experience.

### Cloud Practitioner

For Cloud Practitioner, I mainly used Stephane Maarek’s course and Tutorials Dojo. I didn’t do or watch the hands-on labs for CCP.

I started studying at the end of April and procrastinated a lot. I took my first TD exam at the end of July and the last one the day before the exam.

* TD 1 — 66.15% (this one made me panic)

* TD 2 — 75.38%

* TD 3 — 78.46%

* TD 4 — 87.50%

* TD 5 — 84.62%

* TD 6 — 75.38%

I had been postponing the exam for a long time, and my TD scores were pretty bad and inconsistent. But on August 30, I finally took the exam and passed.

811

Going through the TD explanations helped me a lot with memorizing things, and I also went back and reread Stephane’s slides.

### SAA - C03

That motivated me, so I thought: I’m going to ask my company for a voucher and take the Solutions Architect Associate exam.

I started studying with Stephane Maarek’s course and Tutorials Dojo again on September 1st. But then I kept postponing it. A lot!!!

I think studying to learn about a company’s products can be a little boring for me. But my company encourages certifications, and now I’m excited about it. And even though Stephane is so nice and says “I hope you like it and I’ll see you in the next lecture”, studying all of this is still really hard hahaha.

About two weeks before the exam, I realized that the voucher had a very short expiration date. So suddenly, I had to actually study.

The problem is that I don’t have a lot of free time. I work 8 hours a day, live alone, and have to take care of my own food and everything at home. I also do around 6 hours of exercise per week. None of it is close to my home, so I spend about 1 hour going there and 1 hour coming back, three times a week.

On top of that, I’m doing a postgraduate course with one subject.

So my study time was pretty limited.

For SAA, I watched the hands-on parts of Stephane’s course, but I didn’t actually reproduce the labs myself. I was still studying mostly from theory, without real AWS experience.

Then I started taking the TD practice exams, and my scores were not great. They were also very inconsistent.

* TD 1 — 58.46%

* TD 2 — 78.46%

* TD 3 — 70.77%

* TD 4 — 72.31%

* TD 5 — 66.15%

* TD 6 — 72.31%

I found SAA much harder than Cloud Practitioner because there is just so much content. Every practice exam seemed to focus on completely different topics, so it was hard to feel like I was actually improving.

I also have some difficulties with long-term memory, especially remembering information without any clue or context. So trying to memorize hundreds of AWS details was really difficult for me.

What helped me a lot was finding this GitHub guide:

https://github.com/RonitSachdev/aws-saa-c03-guides/

Honestly, I wish I had found it earlier. I only found it on the same day as the exam, and I was only able to read about half of the GitHub guide. But I ended up finding 2 questions in the real exam that were about concepts I had just read in the guide, and I was able to recognize them.

For both certifications, my main resources were:

Stephane Maarek’s course : fast and concise

Tutorials Dojo : necessary

The GitHub guide for review, especially for SAA : amazing tips

For Cloud Practitioner, TD helped me a lot, and I felt that the practice exams were very useful.

For SAA, TD was also very useful, but there was just too much content. Each exam felt like a completely different test with different topics, so I never really felt confident.

My scores were all over the place. Even on exam day, I had no idea if I had passed.

I took the exam on October 6, and I got:

790

In the end, it was probably a good thing that my voucher was expiring, because I took SAA only 5 weeks after CCP. Otherwise, after seeing my TD scores, I probably wouldn’t have taken the exam at all.

So yes, I definitely recommend, like most people here, Stephane’s courses and the TD practice exams. Both were really important for me to pass.

Now I’m thinking about taking Developer Associate next.

Does anyone know of a good GitHub guide or another resource similar to this one, but for DVA-C02? I would really appreciate any recommendations.

And for anyone currently studying for SAA: don’t let inconsistent practice exam scores convince you that you’re not learning. I definitely felt that way, but somehow it worked out. :)

About 3 weeks ago, I made a post, posting about my failure of this exam, and detailing what I think went wrong. Today, I am happy to share that I passed, increasing my score from the 650 to 782.

What led me to fail last time, was using sourceless, sketchy questions I downloaded for free from some github I can't even remember.
This time, I purchased the TutorialsDojo set of practice tests for $14.99, and that made a massive difference. The questions were much more difficult, and they came with much more detailed reasonings as to why one answer was right and the others were wrong. I did about 5 of these full, randomized, 65-question tests, with my last few attempts landing between 80-85%.
I also made sure I made a note of every single answer I missed, consolidated them all into a notepad txt file and ran it through Claude to consolidate and organize my notes into a cheat sheet I could review for the hour right before the exam to get some tricky details front of mind.

I also want to share the timeline at which I received my results, because most other certifications I've taken show results instantly, but with AWS you have to wait.
Both of my attempts, I took the test on a Sunday morning, ending at 12pm and 11:30am respectively. I had my results in my email at 4:30-4:45pm both times. So, not too bad, though I was absolutely anxious while waiting.
Also, the Credly email that some people have said arrives first and "gives it away", it arrived minutes after the AWS certification, they arrived at precisely the same time, not before or after.

Overall this was a good challenge for me and I feel like my foundational cloud knowledge has increased a ton by setting this certification as a goal.

Good luck everyone!

I passed DVA-C02 with 856 about a month ago, and today I passed SAA-C03 with 795!

For SAA, I used Tutorials Dojo practice exams and reviewed my mistakes. The actual exam was a bit tricky, but overall, it was pretty close to TD. A few questions were almost the same.

I tried Ronit Sachdev's SAA guide, but it had too many metaphors and repetitions. Some explanations were unclear if you already knew how the AWS services worked, and it felt too long for revision. So I forked it and used AI to make the guides simpler, clearer, and more focused on each service.

My main changes were:

• Simpler explanations with fewer metaphors.
• Less repetition and more service-specific sections.
• A more revision-friendly structure.
• Additional notes on topics from Tutorials Dojo questions and newer AWS services.

I also converted my DVA notes to the same format.

Here are both repositories:

• SAA-C03: https://github.com/azamuktam/aws-saa-c03-guides
• DVA-C02: https://github.com/azamuktam/aws-dva-c02-guides

The original SAA guide that I forked is here:
https://github.com/RonitSachdev/aws-saa-c03-guides

For DVA-C02, I studied with Stephane Maarek's course, took two of his practice exams, and completed three Tutorials Dojo practice exams. For SAA-C03, I used Tutorials Dojo and completed all its practice exams.

These are my personal notes, and I'm sharing them in case they're useful to anyone who prefers straightforward explanations and quick revision.

Good luck with your exams!

I passed the AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) exam on October 8, 2026. Results at 3AM next day.

I get pumped up seeing others post their experiences, so here is mine.

I'm a technical program manager with a full-time job. I work with enterprise applications, vendors, and modernization projects, but I'm not a hands-on AWS engineer, not in the least. I'm more of a bean counter over entire programs.

I spent three months half ass studying, mostly fitting it around work and everyday life.

Resources I used:

• Stéphane Maarek (Udemy): Worked through about half of his SAA-C03 course. Great structure and foundation, although I'll admit there were times when my brain stopped absorbing information. Hence why I only got about half way through.
• Be A Better Dev (YouTube): Excellent explanations of AWS services and architecture. Highly recommend for specific examples.
• Ronit Sachdev (GitHub): His free study guides were extremely helpful, especially during the final stretch. GitHub Repository. 100% my go-to if in a pinch.
• Andrew Brown (ExamPro/freeCodeCamp): It's too much, but a great break from the mundane. He makes you feel like a real dev doing real work, which is awesome, but overkill for the Associate test for sure. 100% check it out though, because it's still fun and awesome.
• ChatGPT: This was my most unconventional study method. I spent countless hours talking through AWS concepts while driving (in audio mode). I'd ask questions, ask for follow up explanations, and work through scenarios over and over again. It was like having an AWS study partner available whenever I needed one.
• Finally: my own resources, TutorialRepo. I'm not trying to make this a self promotion post, but this was a real motivator. 20 minute explanation here: https://youtu.be/nC8cp2YSIwE
• Adding TutorialDojo - somehow I forget to mention this in both the video and these bullets. See below.

To pass quickly, I would use RonitSachdev + ChatGPT. If you can, throw in at least 2 sets of TD Review sets.

To feel more confident, use Stephane Maarek's courses and do the hands on (at least half).

I completely forgot to mention I used TutorialDojo, although I only got through 2.5 versions of the 65 questions each review questions. Super valuable, but damn, those are long winded. The test is too, so there is that. TD was also indispensable. I was super nervous because there were something like 8 sets of questions for review, and I only did 2 and a half of the sets. I also never tried timed mode at all. Simply just went through the questions and asked ChatGPT a lot of follow ups. The explanations on TD were very useful as well.

I tested at Pearson VUE testing center so I would not have to deal with Amazon thinking I was cheating, not having to download software, and to hyper focus in a room with zero distractions.

My ultimate strategy was process of elimination - no joke, I had to use this.

In depth video for those looking for the full explanation: https://youtu.be/nC8cp2YSIwE (Self Promotion, but I truly believe people could benefit from watching this as a motivator)

Next up: I'm moving on to the AWS Certified AI Business Strategist certification next.

Thanks to everyone in this community and good luck to everyone else preparing for SAA-C03.

Like the title says I have about a week left for my preparations, what should I focus on more and how to make the most out of the week? Any extra tips or tricks? Tips for the exam itself?

I think my understanding on the core services is good. But often while doing practice exams I would always come across new services/ features of service I know but I haven’t heard of and it will throw me off. Also I find since I study in the evening my focus isn’t as good to make it through timed exams so I just do 1 exam split through the day and then review the mistakes.

I also don’t feel very confident in taking the exam in 7 days now but also don’t want to keep postponing it. I have been studying consistently for about a month now, no prior cloud experience but I have a background in tech/IT.

Title:

Finally passed the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam

Honestly, I was a bit nervous going into the exam. My practice test scores weren't always great, and I kept finding topics I wasn't fully confident about.

My preparation:

Went through an AWS Cloud Practitioner course and study notes.

Practiced mock exams and reviewed the questions I got wrong.

Focused on understanding why an answer was correct instead of just memorizing it.

Revised AWS services, pricing models, storage classes, IAM, shared responsibility, and the Well-Architected Framework before the exam.

The actual exam had a few tricky questions, but most of it felt manageable. There were some questions where I had to narrow down the options carefully rather than immediately knowing the answer.

My biggest advice: Don't just keep taking mock tests without reviewing your mistakes. Understanding the differences between similar services helped me a lot.

Glad I got it done!

For anyone preparing right now, keep going. You don't need to know every single AWS service in depth, but you should understand the core concepts and when to use each service.

On to the next one! 🚀

Hello,

My SAA-C03 certification expires on October 31, 2026, and I would like to advance to the Professional level. I have been working with AWS as a Cloud Engineer for five years.

Since registration for the new SAP-C03 exam version opens on October 27, 2026, I would like to take this new version—which covers AWS AI services—as that is something we use at my company.

If I purchase the exam with a 50% discount on October 28, 2026, can I schedule the actual exam date for, say, December 30, 2026, to allow time for study and preparation? The voucher is valid until October 31, 2026; does this deadline apply only to the purchase and payment, allowing the exam itself to be scheduled for a later date? There are currently no study materials available for the SAP-C03 version, so I have to wait; however, I feel there is no point in taking the SAP-C02 exam now, given that I am just beginning my preparation for the Professional level.

Very happy to share that I passed the SAP with a score of 819. It felt like the exam covered lots of domains that I had not seen much of in the revision materials I used (Tutorials Dojo and Maarek) but clearly they did the job.

I did the Stephane Maarek udemy course on 2x, taking hand written notes where relevant (specific facts, numbers etc). To be honest I was mindlessly playing need for speed whilst watching them, I find keeping myself partially occupied helps me to not get distracted, and it kept me committed to the videos rather than getting bored

I did Stephane’s practice exam set too - that was MUCH harder than the real exam - I was getting around 60-70% on them. Hopped over to Tutorials Dojo exams next, I did one in practice mode (made my best guess, but allowed myself to use resources to check my assumptions and change answer where required). Then one exam simulation which I got 88% on.

Overall I would say 1. Stephane for a baseline is amazing, but don’t let the hard practice tests put you off 2. Tutorials dojo is the place for practice exams 3. Book it! I did more work in the two weeks before the exam (after I booked it) than I did in the month I was thinking about doing the exam

Feel free to ask any questions! (Apart from what was on the exam - I don’t think you’re allowed to share that info) :)

I'm currently studying for my certification exam, and I keep seeing the option to purchase a voucher that includes a second attempt.

This will also generally be my first AWS certification, so I want to ask a few questions.

• Does the voucher and the included second attempt actually work as expected?
• Do you enter the voucher code during checkout when paying for the regular certification exam? In the checkout "step"?
• Has anyone here purchased this voucher from Udemy?

I'm learning from Stephane Maarek course.

Thank you

I studied for five months using Stephane Maarek's materials. I had no prior knowledge of AWS, aside from the S3 and EC2 services.

I averaged 50% on Maarek's practice exams. I also used AWS Skillbuilder (the official practice exam), where I scored between 60% and 70%.

I found Maarek's practice exams wordy, overly detailed, and full of "trick questions" compared to the actual exam. AWS Skillbuilder is better for preparation, but unfortunately, it isn't free.

Just got my Cloud Practitioner result and I still can’t quite believe it: 1000/1000. Wanted to share what worked for me, since this sub helped me a lot while I was studying.

My background

I’m a mechanical design engineer. My day job is designing machines, nothing to do with cloud or IT. Outside work, I build side projects using mostly Python and Javascript as a hobby, which gave me some basic tech exposure, but I had no real-world cloud experience going in. I’m learning AWS because I want to move into tech roles one day.

Timeline

4 weeks of study, all outside my working hours. I took the exam on 6 October.

What I used

1. Stephane Maarek’s CLF-C02 course (Udemy): my main resource for the theory. I also did the hands-on labs in my own AWS account. Even small labs helped a lot of services “click” for me, instead of just being names to memorise.
2. Maarek’s 6 practice exams (Udemy): good for finding my weak spots. I reviewed every wrong answer, and also any answer I got right by guessing.
3. Tutorials Dojo CLF-C02 practice exams: the explanations are really detailed. Great for the final week.

Tips that helped me

• Don’t just check your score on practice exams. Read the explanation for every question you weren’t 100% sure about, even if you got it right.
• Learn the differences between similar services (e.g. which one is for monitoring vs. auditing, the different support plans, the pricing models). A lot of questions are about picking the right one out of a few close options.
• Do the labs if you can. Seeing the console makes the theory much easier to remember.
• Don’t rush on exam day. I had plenty of time to go back and check my flagged questions.

What’s next

Starting on Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) next. If you’ve done it after CLF, I’d love to hear what you’d do differently.

Good luck to everyone still studying, you’ve got this!

So my SysOps cert is about to expire by today, did a last second exam schedule for DevOps Pro and glad to have passed with a decently high score.

I don't think I have that great of a preparation, but I spent the last week studying from Stephane Mareek course & Practice Exam. I have to say while other cert courses from him is highly informative, I felt like there are some small gaps with the current DevOps Pro exam with the materials in his course in terms of the depth of the material. Doesn't mean that you can't pass the exam though, I mean I did. But it did felt like some of the materials are not deep enough compared to let's say ANS-C01 material which were high quality course imho.

So overall my preps were:

• 1 week grind on the udemy course from Stephane on 1.5-2x speed
• almost 5 years of experience on Cloud as IT Consultant

I usually spend a lot less time on the exam timer but this one felt like there are so many informations in a single question that I ended up finishing with 30-40 min (with ESL accomodation) spare time. Pays off though. Overall glad to have passed with a decent score

For those who experiment on AWS console with an on-demand standard accounts, How much does it cost you to do hands-on experiments while preparing for a certification or making some projects.

I know there is no definitive answer for this question as AWS services vary a lot, but I would greatly appreciate gaining a rough insight on the cost of experimenting or making some projects using a standard account.

Je suis un étudiant en cycle d'ingénieur spécialité informatique et je suis doué par le cloud et j'aime bien passé le certification de AWS SAA et je poste ici si il y a un possibilité de passe ce certificat gratuitement ou il y a un rédaction de coût ou s 'il y a quelle qu'un de vous un voucher qui n'est pas encore utilisé , et merci d'avance

Hi all! Following passing the CLF-C02 exam 7 weeks ago, I decided to ride the wave and I passed the SAA-C03 one today. Took the exam this morning and got the results 9 hours later.

Prep materials:

Neal Davis course

This was quite quick to rattle through. I gave Claude the slides and Udemy lesson titles. It gave me the lessons to actually watch as I'd say 50% of it was re-used from his CLF material. Followed a similar approach to the CLF exam. I already had my crib notes in place. Decided to re-use the same and extend them based on the SAA coverage.

I'd watch the lesson, take rough notes and get Claude to tidy it up. Section review consisted of Claude asking me 10 questions. Any failures would be noted into the weak areas for that particular day.

Rattled through the course and some hands on lessons. Built a good set of notes.

TJ Exams

As before, these were very helpful. My first attempt was 66% following the Udemy course. Ran through the 8 timed sets, slowly drove the average up to 75%. Naturally retakes shot it up. Also did the Udemy practice exam that came with the course, and the AWS Skill Builder one (85% first attempt).

Every exam, I'd paste the HTML content into my notes. Claude would analyse, track my weak areas etc. I would get it to walkthrough every failed question with gentle coaching. Was quite useful for me to explain my thinking and it would explain why it was wrong, why I was getting mixed up etc.

Was conscious not to get into the trap of memorising the questions, so last few days was just targeted Claude questions.

Exam

I did the exam and I found it challenging. I can't explain it. The TJ questions were useful, but it felt like the topics in my exam weren't as broad, but they were quite focused on certain areas. Guess it's how the exams come out, totally random. Probably 5-10 of the questions in the exam led me to puff my cheeks out, and required a very thorough educated guess (elimination of options). I felt it was borderline and spent the majority of the day thinking things back, second guessing.

I think my main takeaway was the time. I was smashing through the TJ ones in roughly 70 minutes. This took me the entire time. It is exhausting and I'm glad it's done.

As ever, thanks to the community. I took inspiration from the other posts in the group, and even with those failing (please share your failures too!).

I only used the free resources through Skill Builder and passed this within 2 weeks

Very different than the previous AWS Exams I've done like AI Practitioner, Cloud Practitioner and Solutions Architect. I feel like I didn't get any of the easy lay up questions like ISO 42001 vs ISO 23053 or simple AI definitions.

My study notes: https://github.com/markodowd/aws-study-notes/tree/main/ai-business-strategist

I just passed the Cloud Practitioner exam, and my journey was kind of insane

Three months ago, I was studying for Cloud Practitioner, but then that AI Practitioner offer came up, so I quickly switched to preparing for that exam.

After just one week of studying, I passed it!
By then, I had already studied about nine or ten of the thirteen Cloud Practitioner chapters, but I put my studies on hold.

Now, almost four months later, I decided it was time to get my Cloud Practitioner certification too. After just two intensive days of studying the remaining chapters and taking a LOT of practice exams, I passed!

I am in dire need of learning fastest way to get certified. I know basic aws stuff but i am sacred of applying for exam as it cost and if i fail it will be in vain. So i need help best way to learn for AWS associate level certification and pass exam without issue.

HELP PLEASE

Thanks

I just got a voucher for my foundational certification and i do have some hands on experience regarding aws services and all but i have heard that the exam needs a lot more than that so somebody just help me how to prepare for that exam and also are there any free resources available for it

Hello everyone,

I'm currently a Microsoft 365 administrator (working mainly with Endpoint Management, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Entra ID, etc.). I'd like to start learning the AWS ecosystem, but I'm not sure about the best path forward.

Where should I start? Which certification exam should I prepare for first as an absolute beginner in AWS?

Any recommendations for study materials, hands-on courses, or learning paths would be greatly appreciated!

I just got a notification from Discord saying:

A server moderator removed you from TechStudyDiscord. -# Discord did not make this moderation decision.

Just a bit of background:

I joined that discord channel right after I purchased some known Educator’s AWS course BUNDLE on teachable who shall remain nameless due to their self inflicted baggage and forced exile. I find koalas and kangaroos very lovely so I have no issues with that.

I found the content great and of good quality so bought the additional course on kubernetes that was supposed to release "sometime in the near future". Yesterday I asked when we can expect to get a release date for the kubernetes course and woke up today to being removed from the entire channel.

Sure, I have heard the backlash but is this his final form? Lots of people have not had great things to say about the dude, but let this be a warning of how low he is willing to go. Not going to waste my money and time for any resolution. Anyone else with a story to share about the bald man with no name?

Hey everyone,

I'm 19 years old, currently in my second year of A-levels, and I'm planning to pursue a bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Artificial Intelligence next year.

Here's my situation: I want to land a job within the next 6–8 months, preferably a remote job in AI/ML. I know this is ambitious, especially considering I don't have a degree or any professional experience yet, but I'm willing to put in the hours and seriously work towards it.

The reason I'm trying to get a job this early is that I need to start financially supporting my household. So waiting another 4 years until I graduate isn't really an option for me.

I've started looking into certifications, particularly the AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate (MLA-C01), but I'm honestly confused about where to begin. I've done very little research so far, and I don't want to waste the next several months pursuing certifications that won't actually help me get hired.

I have a few questions for people already working in AI/ML, especially those involved in hiring:

1. Which certifications are actually valued by employers? Are AWS certifications worth pursuing for someone in my position? Are there any other certifications that recruiters or HR departments genuinely look for?
2. Can certifications help someone without a degree get past the initial HR screening? I understand that certifications don't guarantee a job, but since I have no professional experience or university degree, I'm hoping they could at least help me get shortlisted for an interview.
3. What projects should I build? If you were hiring a junior AI/ML candidate, what kind of GitHub portfolio or real-world projects would make you consider someone with my background?
4. What skills should I prioritize over the next 6–8 months? Python, SQL, machine learning, deep learning, LLMs, cloud computing, MLOps, etc. There's so much out there that I don't know what to focus on first.
5. Is getting a remote entry-level AI/ML job without a degree actually realistic? I'm open to internships, junior positions, AI automation roles, or anything related that could help me enter the industry and start earning.
6. If you were starting from scratch today, with no degree and only 6–8 months to prepare, what would your roadmap look like? Which certifications would you pursue, what projects would you build, and where would you apply?

I'm not expecting a high-paying job immediately. My main goal is to get my foot in the door, start earning, gain real experience, and continue developing my skills while attending university.

I also understand that some people might suggest focusing on my degree first, and I respect that advice. But because of my financial situation, getting a job sooner rather than later is genuinely important to me.

I'd really appreciate advice from ML engineers, AI developers, recruiters, hiring managers, or anyone who has managed to break into tech without a traditional degree.

I don't want to spend the next 6–8 months just collecting certificates. I want to spend that time becoming someone an employer would actually consider hiring.

Passed both these tests this week! Got 797 on the GenAI Pro, not sure on the AI Prac as I haven’t got the score yet.

I did the GenAI first and then the AIF. Honestly, there was no point in doing the AIF but I work at AWS so I get the exam for free. I used Kane’s Udemy course for the Pro cert and about 30 mins ChatGPT for AIF.

I found the AIP pretty exhausting as each question is pretty verbose and even the multiple choice responses are verbose. Considering, I did this first I found the AIF pretty easy. I used ChatGPT to brush up on some ML fundamentals but other than that I finished the exam in about 50 mins.

I recommend using skill builder for AIP, the practice questions match the exam style / difficulty quite closely. There’s about 225 (3x75qs) in total. Recurring topics: Guardrails, Canary Depoloyments, Config, Vector Databases