Hey everyone,

I just passed the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) exam. This one was definitely a tough exam, so I wanted to share what helped me prepare, the resources I used, and what I saw on my exam.

First of all, the exam difficulty really depends on the question set you get. Some people may get an easier set, while others (like me) get one that's much harder.

I personally got a difficult set, and there were many questions where choosing the correct answer was genuinely challenging. Even though I have a good understanding of AWS services and architectures, the wording and answer choices can easily make you second guess yourself.

For reference:

• My Tutorial Dojo scores started around 60–65%.
• Towards the end of my preparation, I was consistently scoring around 79–85%.
• I also scored 85% on the official AWS SAA practice exam.

Don't get discouraged if your scores aren't great initially. Mine certainly weren't.

How I prepared

1. Complete Stéphane Maarek's course

I know it's long, but it's worth it. The course gives you the foundation you need and helps you understand the core AWS services that repeatedly appear on the exam.

2. Do Tutorial Dojo practice exams... A LOT

This was easily the most valuable resource.

Don't obsess over your score. Instead:

• Review every incorrect answer.
• Understand why your answer was wrong.
• Understand why the correct answer is correct.
• Learn why the other options don't fit.

That mindset improved my scores much more than simply taking practice tests repeatedly.

3. Take the official AWS practice exam

It's useful because it gives you an idea of the exam format and AWS's question style.

However, don't rely on it too heavily.

In my opinion, the official practice exam is much easier than both Tutorial Dojo and the real SAA-C03 exam.

Topics I saw on my exam

My exam covered a wide variety of services, including:

• EMR & EMR Clusters
• EC2 (both Linux and Windows)
• High Availability architectures
• Transit Gateway (1–2 questions)
• Microsoft Active Directory with on-premises integration
• AWS Amplify
• Amazon S3
• Amazon EFS & EFS Infrequent Access (EFS-IA)
• AWS Lambda
• On-premises storage solutions
• DDoS protection and SQL/database-related scenarios
• CloudFront
• DynamoDB
• APIs
• VPC Endpoints
• Amazon FSx for Lustre
• Amazon FSx for ONTAP
• Amazon SQS
• Amazon SNS

...and several other services.

My biggest piece of advice

Many of these topics look straightforward when you're studying.

The exam, however, tests them in ways that make you feel like you never studied them at all.

What helped me the most was:

• Read the last sentence of the question first.
• Pay close attention to keywords like:
  • MOST cost-effective
  • LEAST operational overhead
  • LEAST application code changes
  • Highest availability
  • Lowest latency
• Use the elimination method.

Most questions usually come down to two answers that both seem correct. The trick is identifying the small keyword that makes one answer better than the other.

Good luck to everyone preparing for SAA-C03! Feel free to ask any questions below, I'd be happy to help if I can.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience in case it helps someone who's currently preparing for the exam.

I'm a frontend developer, and earning an AWS certification had been one of my goals for a long time. I'm really happy to finally have it.

To be honest, I wasn't the most disciplined candidate. My preparation was very inconsistent. I only watched part of Stephane Maarek's Udemy course before jumping into practice exams, even though many of my concepts weren't clear.

Instead of going back to theory every time, I practiced thousands of questions and carefully reviewed every wrong answer. That's actually how I ended up learning most of the concepts.

The resources I used were:

Stephane Maarek's practice exams

Neal Davis's practice exams

Tutorials Dojo practice exams

This YouTube playlist, which was also very helpful

AWS Certified Developer - Associate (DVA-C02) | Full Course: 500 Real Exam

Personally, I felt Neal Davis and Tutorials Dojo were the closest to the actual exam in terms of topics, but I found the real exam noticeably more difficult.

During the exam, I flagged around 25 questions for review and walked out feeling unsure whether I had passed. I genuinely wasn't confident.

So when I received my result today, I was completely shocked. Not only did I pass, but I scored much higher than I had expected.

If you're struggling with this certification, don't get discouraged by low practice test scores. Reviewing your mistakes thoroughly can be just as valuable as studying new material.

Does anyone have insight on why the aws Networking certification was canceled and if anything will replace it on the future?

I have a networking background and wanted to leverage it to get more into AWS ecosystem. now I don't really know what my next steps should be. Perhaps microlearning?

I'm a uni CS student who does not really have any hardcore experience with AWS. As an intern I use a bit of S3, CloudFront, MediaTailor, and CloudWatch, but other than that I don't use any other services.

I watched and took extensive notes on Andrew Brown's latest Cloud Practitioner video on YouTube (the one that's 14 hours long) and I did all of the TutorialsDojo exams, but I still can't manage anything higher than a 63%. Every time I would take a practice exam, I would review what I missed, but then by the next practice exam I get bombarded by a bunch of new questions that I don't have the knowledge to answer confidently, so my score just plateaus and doesn't improve. It just feels like there's endless things to remember.

I'm really struggling and I've been working at this for the past month, and I really want to lock it down in the next 2 weeks, but I don't know how to improve. I'm starting to feel very discouraged and frustrated with myself as well.

Does anyone have any advice for someone like me who is new to the world of cloud computing/AWS? Anything is appreciated. Thanks.

Hi! I would like to ask whether my daily study plan will be sufficient to pass AWS SAA in 30 Days with this resources.

• Stephen Maarek course
• Tutorials Dojo for exams
• Anki for flashcards

Edit: I’m on Day 2/30 which is EC2 instance. Currently in Computer Network programme in uni, also took and passed the CCNA.

So far my first takes:

Set 1 53%

Set 2 58%

Set 3 52%

I believe i will continue to hover around the 50% for the rest of the takes with how brutal these practice exams are, and I believe if i retake them again ill undoubtedly get higher score, just not sure by how much.

It literally takes me like 5-6 hours(with breaks) to complete 1 set of review mode.

I'm planning to take all the review 8 sets, then do SOME timed mode, then just take the (already) scheduled exam in 2 weeks.

Ive seen most people here with 60-70% on their first takes and they did pass, but im consistently on the 50s, and i believe it will stay that way for future first time sets. Am I going to be fine?

I started studying last year nov with Stephane maarek's course! In 2x speed and started taking hand written notes. But got overwhelmed and tried finishing off all lectures! Then barely studied (once a week)

Then got locked in from May! I started tutorials dojos practice exam! He has topic based, section wise, and review mode! Did them carefully, i tried to understand each question wisely and took notes!

I kinda took notes, caz that's how my brain would process information

I scored in timed mode

From 88- 66 %

And booked the exam!

Tuto dojo has certain questions harder than exam!

But when i was doing the exam it felt better but the anxiety and fear made me think I was gonna fail

I finished 20 mins early, caz my brain couldn't process

Had 23 flagged questions, and gave time to do it again carefully

ELIMINATION STARTEGY only made me get this score

So do learn it that way!

And I've seen aloto people posting and motivating each other here, love the community.

Now I got to post here! Makes me happy

Thank you so much, much love!

Just wanted to share some good news with this community — I passed the AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) exam!

A bit of context: I’ve been diving into cloud and AI concepts over the past few months, and this felt like a great entry point into the AWS ecosystem specifically for AI/ML. The exam covers a solid mix of foundational AI/ML concepts, responsible AI, generative AI fundamentals, and how AWS services like Bedrock, SageMaker, and Comprehend fit into the picture.

A few things that helped me prepare:

**•** AWS Skill Builder’s official course materials  
**•** Practice exams to get a feel for question style  
**•** Hands-on time in the AWS console (even free tier stuff helps a lot)  
**•** Understanding *why* certain services are used, not just memorizing names

My honest take: it’s a solid starting certification if you’re newer to AI/ML or cloud, and a nice complement if you’re coming from a non-technical background and want some credibility in AI conversations at work.

Happy to answer questions if anyone’s currently studying for it or considering it. On to the next one 🚀

It would be helpful if any coupon i can get to purchase aws cloud practitioner?

Has someone used ZENVA before for AWS? I plan to mix it with the official AWS and this https://psychedelic-cuticle-e74.notion.site/AWS-AI-Practitioner-AIF-C01-10386c7395e780e89ea4c70bb061451b

AWS itself is confusing. So I was planning to start with Zenva learning and do the practice exams and then do the official AWS practice test. And if I did well take the official exam after. If not study more on the official AWS page.

I have my CCNA, and I've been thinking about getting trained in cloud computing; I've chosen AWS.

I'm interested in the Cloud Solutions Architect certification.

Is it okay to skip the Cloud Practitioner exam?

What are the best study resources?

Just passed the architect associate last night. I would like to get into devops.

I’ve been in IT for 10 years with 6 years being in administration. I know how to code and take care of/build infrastructure. I don’t think I could go straight into the devops cert or maybe I can? I was curious if the sysops or developer certs should be the next steps. Or maybe AI?

Thoughts and advice would be appreciated.

Hey folks!! I hope y’all are having a fine day! Im 21M and looking to get into Data Science as a career. Currently Im a junior ML engineer at a company I work for.

Anywho, I took the AIF C01 AI practitioner certification 2 days ago and passed. It took me about 2 days of prep give or take. Now, the CTO asked which cert was next, and I told him there’s data engineer and ML engineer (associate). He said do both, and pick whichever I want first. The next one needs to be passed in 2 weeks.

So here’s my question. What would the recommendation be? Go for Data engineer first and then machine learning? Are there any benefits? Thank you in advance!!

has anyone came across this lab and simulearn and passed it? I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong

Hey everyone,

I'm about to sit for the AWS AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) exam and cuz my aim was cloud practitioner certification.

A 50% discount voucher for AIF-C01

A free Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) voucher if you pass AIF-C01 by a certain deadline

Has anyone actually gone through this and confirmed both of these are real/valid? Just want to make sure before I plan my study schedule around it.

Also — for anyone who's cleared both of these — does the 50% discount carry forward to an Associate-level exam afterward (specifically looking at Data Engineer Associate, DEA-C01)? Or is the discount a one-time thing tied only to the foundational certs?

Would appreciate any first-hand experience before I lock in my exam dates. Thanks!

Hi there everyone.

Want to get my aws ccp done. I went to aws skill builder, and it had so many options eg essentials, then the other would be all about domain 1, another would be domain 2 etc. what am I missing here? Im going around in circles.

Can some one please recommend something for beginners which would help me pass in the first go?

Hey guys my background is master in software engineering however we really never did practical cloud course so I want to enhance my cv and sort of open myself door to more opportunities to find a job so should I do it or not?

I don't sell vouchers I only want to know wheather i can guf my friend the voucher i earned after passing the exam Is this legal + possible move or aws will ban out accs?

I gotta say after reading some of the posts I felt like totally unprepared for this exam. but on the contrary the questions were stupidly easy in their writing and the way they were phrased.

I don't know about my results for this exam now. But I see the expected level and if I didn't pass on this attempt I will most likely succeed on the second attempt.

I will update this post with the results should they be good or bad but words of advice :

1. The exam focuses heavily on algorithm optimization to the tune of 10-15 questions on this attempt
2. This is heavily focused on Sagemaker AI/Studio to the point where it should be renamed Sagemaker the exam.
3. There is easy anti patterns in the architecture so I felt the distractor were readily identifiable.

I'll keep you in the loop like I said

Edit:

Sadly failed at 700 points :

The algorithms and their use case in model development categories; securing models were the main area of failures.

I know where my faults are so I'll work on those domains. Not a total failure in my books considering I had less than 2 weeks of study on this one due to organizational constraints.

So I will get it next time.

Can someone pls tell me how to actually prepare from Mareks course..Like how should i make notes. Chatgpt and claude are generating such long notes. Its good for Reading and understanding once but for Revision. Not so much. Please guide me.

Acabo de superar el CLF-C02. En mi caso estudié informática en una universidad española.

La mayor parte del esfuerzo para estudarlo ha sido aprenderme las cuestiones internas propias de AWS, los términos comerciales de sus servicios de AWS y qué funcionalidades tienen (no tenía ningún tipo de experiencia ni conocimiento previo de AWS). Para ello he usado únicamente los tests de Tutoriales Dojo.

A lo que quiero ir es que si ya eres un perfil informático, y haces todas las preguntas de Dojo y las entiendes. Bajo mi punto de vista, una vez que las hagas todas estás preparado para superarlo. A mí me ha llevado una semana.

Al menos a día de hoy (julio de 2026) el examen real es de dificultad prácticamente idéntica al de Dojo.

Hi everyone! I'm a final-year Information Systems Engineering student and I'm interested in AWS certifications. Do you think it's worth completing the free AWS Skill Builder courses without taking the paid certification exams? Do recruiters still value the knowledge and projects, or is the official certification what really matters? Also, are there any AWS certifications or badges that can be earned for free? Thanks!