How To Study for Any AWS Exam and Easily Pass on Your First Attempt

People sometimes overcomplicate preparing for an exam.

They waste time using ineffective methods that still end in a fail score. I used to be one of them.

But there’s a quick and simple way that guarantees results and helps you to stop overthinking everything. Over the past few years, I’ve studied for multiple exams using this method and passed every time on my first attempt.

Each time I walked into the exam room, there was never a doubt in my mind that I could fail.

I’m currently studying for the AWS Solutions Architect and I’ve been using this method which I’m confident will yield results.

If you’re struggling with exam prep, consider following these 9 steps.

1. Pick a Platform

Pick a video learning platform that has a course for the exam you’re studying for.

This includes free platforms like FreeCodeCamp or YouTube or paid options like Udemy. But my personal favorites are A NetCom Learning and Exam Pro.

Once you've picked a platform and found the course you want to follow. Start watching while paying close attention throughout. Also, make sure to complete any lab exercises they include.

Something I like to do to help me focus and get through the videos quickly is watch them at 1.5x or 2x speed. This ensures I’m paying attention. Because If I zone out, I’ll have to rewind. But it will be much quicker than zoning out and then replaying back on normal speed.

2. Only Write Notes on Chapter Summaries

While taking your preferred course, write down most of your notes on the last video of a module.

This is a better use of your time and speeds up studying.

I’m using A Cloud Guru’s AWS Solutions Architect Associate course to prepare for the exam. The last video in each chapter repeats everything that was covered.

For example, If I’m about to finish the chapter on S3, the final video in this section will briefly summarize everything about this service. This is where I take my notes.

Instead of constantly starting and pausing on every video, I only need to do this once on the sections for IAM, S3, EC2, and every other service the course teaches.

3. Find a Set of Mock Exams

After you’ve completed all the videos, find some mock exams to practice with.

Some course providers bundle this as part of their offer. Alternatively, you can find vendors who offer a set of practice tests as a stand-alone package. Ideally, you want to use at least 2 different vendors to get a good variety of questions and their delivery styles.

You never know what the exam will throw at you so it’s best to account for this in your preparation.

4. Review Your Performance

Once you have completed a few of them, review your scores. What domains are you struggling with the most?

Take note of these areas.

5. Revise Your Study Notes

Return to your study notes and revise the areas you’ve scored the lowest. Do the same thing with the videos you watched.

Use this as an opportunity to compare your notes with the course material to see if there’s anything worth adding. For example, I’ll go back to watch the videos related to questions I struggled with.

Once you’ve found what you’re looking for, update your notes.

6. Consider Using Flash Cards

Flash cards are one of the most powerful ways to memorize new information.

Using them to study is a technique known as active recall. It takes more effort for your brain to recall something you learned which makes it much more effective at committing the answer to memory.

Any time, you have 10 minutes of your day to spare, consider doing some flashcards to improve your success rate in the exam.

7. Repeat Steps 3–6

Repeat these steps 2 times a week. Ideally, it would be worth spacing them out, to allow your brain to relax.

8. Get Your Average Up

The passing score for the exam is 72%. To play it safe, I prefer to get my average score on practice tests up to around 85% before I am confident to sit and pass the exam.

I’ve used this same approach across 3 different certification providers — CompTIA, Azure, and AWS and it has worked every time.

9. Book the Exam

Now you’re ready to book the exam. Leading up to the date, continue studying and practicing for it. Repeat the above steps and you’ll easily pass the exam.

Thanks for reading.