AWS Exam Tips
12 tips that could come in handy during an exam.
Published Oct 22, 2024
Summary (see my original article for full details):
- Service or Feature: Choose the AWS service or feature of a service that best fits the scenario. Depending on the certification, at least 50% of the questions fall into this category.
- Identify Key Services: Focus on native AWS services to solve the problem.
- Recognize Familiar Options: Quickly scan for known services or features.
- Eliminate Incorrect Answers: Dismiss distractors to narrow choices.
- Avoid Complex Solutions: Simplicity often signals correctness.
- Multiple-Select Clarity: Ensure all selected steps are correct.
- CLI/SDK Equivalency: Console actions can also be done via CLI/SDK.
- Understand Requirements: Focus on key adjectives in the question's stem.
- Best Fit, Not Best Sounding: Think practically given the specific requirements.
- Keywords Matter: One word can change the solution.
- Leverage Answer Choices: Scanning options before reading the question clarifies the question.
- Non-Serial Reading: Rather than reading serially, focus on just the differences first to save time, especially when questions are long.
A couple of things that I didn't mention in the original article that I should mention now:
1. Today I reflected back on the energy I wasted in exams trying to see if convoluted solutions were viable, only to spot the known good solution right after. "Recognize Familiar Options" ("Look for Familiar Services or Features") can be extended to apply to best practices or patterns involving the best fit service or features. This is where informed OJT, AWS Whitepapers, AWS Prescriptive Guidance, AWS User Guides, and labs can help. Being influenced by the good stuff may nudge your mindset in the right direction when the answer doesn't seem clear cut at first.
2. When scoring your practice tests, determine whether your incorrect answers boiled down to just two choices: one correct, one incorrect. If almost all your incorrect answers fall into this category, you may be close to sitting the test. For the incorrect answers that didn't fall into that category, determine if you have a knowledge gap, requirements interpretation error, or human error due to time constraints.