Follow This and You Can Pass: My AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03) Exam Experience

I recently took the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) exam, so I am sharing what it was like. Since the exam changed from SAA-C02 to SAA-C03 in September 2022, I will also share my impressions of the feel of the new exam.

Table of Contents

Exam Results

• Score: 736/1000 (passed)
• Exam date/time: Thursday, September 29, 2022, from 15:00 (test center)
• Pass notification (email): Thursday, September 29, 2022, 18:55

Prerequisite Knowledge

• I only had a rough understanding of what the major services (EC2, S3, SQS, etc.) are.
• I had no experience designing or building infrastructure with AWS, and I also had no knowledge of AWS’s recommended Well-Architected Framework.
• This was also my first AWS certification exam.

Study Method (Conclusion: Just One Udemy Course)

I used only the Udemy course below. Udemy’s SAA-C03 Version AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Exam: Short-Term Pass Course (300 Practice Questions)

How I Used It

1. Watched the course explanation videos at 1.25x speed.
   • Only during spare moments, such as while walking or taking breaks.
2. Went through the course practice tests repeatedly.
   • Frequently tested areas: 3 rounds
   • Other areas: 2 rounds

The Actual Exam

• The exam had especially many questions about EC2 and S3.
• I felt the actual exam questions were slightly easier than the course’s practice tests. If you take this course, I think you can pass the actual exam relatively easily. (direct marketing)
• Even on simple questions, I sometimes noticed that I had chosen the wrong option because I was influenced by the previous question, so if you have time, I strongly recommend you always review your answers.
  • Note: The result does not show which questions you got wrong, so I do not actually know whether I really had selected the wrong choices…

Impressions

For various reasons, I had not solved any practice tests at all until two days before the exam, and I started panic-studying from the evening before the exam. Because I went into the real exam after almost 1.5 nights of cramming, what I struggled with during the exam was not so much the content of the questions, but simply reading the questions themselves. (I was so sleepy that nothing would go into my head…)

That said, many of the exam questions were straightforward, and it felt easier than I expected.

Finally

Finally, the most important thing I felt through taking this exam was:

“Sleep properly the day before the exam, get yourself in good condition, and then take the exam.”

That is it.

For preparation itself, narrow your study materials down to one resource and repeat the practice questions is enough. I hope this helps anyone planning to take the exam.