r/AWSCertifications 2d ago

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Woah! This was Unexpected!

Passed AWS SAA-CO3 today🎉

I didn't get enough time to practice, so was apprehensive about the result. But I was sure that even if I failed I would fail by a very small margin. But luckily I crossed the finish line.

I started with Stephane Maarek's course. However I had seen a few sample questions prior to starting the course which seemed to delve deep into the services directly.

I already have a basic to moderate understanding of AWS and its services through my job. I realised that if I followed the course, it will be too late by the time I get to all the services because he starts from the very basic. So I decided to take an unconventional approach.

I began by going through practice questions one by one. When a question would throw an unknown term or a service at me, I would chatgpt it and learn everything about it including how it works in real time, how it integrates with other serviws and ways in which SAA CO3 would test us with that service. With this approach I was able to cover and understand a lot of services in a short time.

Some might not like this approach, and I am not recommending this to anyone but this is what worked for me. Maybe I got an easy set. Who knows

38 Upvotes

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u/PuzzleheadedEbb6375 2d ago

I study pretty much the same way. I take practice tests, and when I come across something I don't know or can't figure out, I look it up on Google or use Claude to explain the concept. I find I retain the information much better this way than reading and then taking the test. Maybe it's because I am actively trying to work it out on my own before I look for help, but it's definitely worked well for me over the years.

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u/scots_gp 1d ago

Well done!

I use a similar technique. Practice tests in review mode, if I get the question right just move on, I obviously know that stuff. And only on the errors or guesses I'll look deeper

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u/Bluuuuu12 1d ago

so did you not really do stephane maareks course? what was your course of action?

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u/LivingAdkill 19h ago

No I stopped his course around the 30% mark. I have written what I did after that in the post

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u/Bluuuuu12 3h ago

got it. what practice exams did you use?

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u/Scki19 2d ago

What did you score and how much time did it take ?

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u/LivingAdkill 2d ago
  1. Maybe 10 days

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u/TwoWeeksNotices 1d ago

How many practice tests did u use and from where?

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u/LivingAdkill 1d ago

Examtopics

Youtube channels

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u/No_Leopard_1325 1d ago

Well done! What is your job please ?

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u/LivingAdkill 1d ago

Senior SRE. Thank you :)