Tips preparing for Professional AWS Solution Architect Exam

I recently cleared my AWS Solutions Architect Professional Exam with a total of 948/1000 and thoroughly enjoyed preparing for the exam. I spent a total of 6 months of preparation. This is in spite of the fact that I got 1000/1000 in the Associate Architect exam last year. 

The exam as such is really tough. It not only evaluates one's knowledge and experience on AWS, but one also has to strategize for reading lengthy questions, time each question, and also be prepared to sit continuously for 190 minutes to finish the exam. 

Below are some of the learnings and tips that I can share so that one can make good use of and benefit from studying for the exam. Preparation of the exam can be divided into basically 3 phases 

Phase 1 Preparation

To start with, the exam requires considerable experience on the platform, I would say at least 2 years of hands-on experience on core AWS services. I would definitely recommend passing the Associate exam as the Professional one is way too tough. 

a) Plan for taking a course and stick to the same. Select a course with a good rating on popular training sites like Udemy/Coursera or Udacity. Try out different courses for few days and choose a course where you are comfortable with the language and flow of the course. The basic content of all the highly rated courses is more or less the same. Also, choose a course that has practical samples on the topics that one is not comfortable with or has not worked on. 

b) Plan a date and book the exam date. Choose somewhere between 2 to 3 months. AWS allows you to change the date twice for a booked exam. 

c) Create a personal AWS account to practice as the exam covers way too many services which one may not have implemented in day-to-day professional work. 

d) The exam is not theoretical and requires vast experience in the services. There are several real-world scenarios based questions and there are multiple ways to solve a specific problem. Read through a lot of use cases from different organizations especially the ones from the latest AWS re: Invent.

Phase 2 Preparation

In this phase, get deeper into the course and practice the below points in structuring and helping to know the services better. 

a) AWS adds new services very frequently and one has to be well versed with each and every service that is present especially the new ones. AWS updates all the latest services in the below white paper. 

AWS overview - https://d1.awsstatic.com/whitepapers/aws-overview.pdf 

b) Each of the areas has several services that can perform the same task. Try to analyze which services are the best fit when considering Non-Functional requirements of Cost Optimization, Scalability, Performance, Duration, Automation, Scalability, Availability, Reliability, Security.

For example, S3 buckets are the most durable and cost optimization in terms of storage. But when it comes to performance EBS/EFS is better. Another example is when it comes to databases DynamoDB gives near real-time performance, but has limited data support. Aurora on the other hand is the most scalable when it comes to multi-region databases but is less scalable. 

c) Try to understand what combination of all of the services is the best fit for requirements.

How to migrate on-premise systems and data to the cloud. It could be using a physical device in Snowball, or Server Migration service or Database Migration service or how to transform content using AWS Transform or AWS DataSync or Storage Gateways.

d) Start attempting to write practice tests and get the feel of the exam complexity. Slowly improve the ability to attempt more and more questions using a stopwatch.  

Phase 3 Preparation

In this phase ensure that you have gone through the course and have a very good hold on the fundamentals of all the areas and are well versed with all services. 

a) It is very difficult to master each and every service in depth. So, it is absolutely ok if one knows just the basics of certain services.  

b) During this phase ensure you are at ease writing practice tests and are able to attempt 45-50 questions in a single sitting.  

c) Your accuracy has improved and so has your reading speed. When attempting questions you are now more confident eliminating the wrong options. 

d) By this time you will know that you have the confidence and better hold on the exam. If time is not a barrier, based on your comfort level try to push yourself to prepare and postpone the exam by a week or 2. This will just help you revise multiple times and improve the chances of clearing the exam.