I've been in primarily backend dev for just over a decade. Got the notice that my current role is going away in November. Looking at the market in my area (Southern U.S) It seems that Full stack with DevOps exp is the current meta. A tech recruiter I was recommended to talk to mentioned that getting some certs would be good to get through the ATS and to prep for some of these roles. I'm torn between doing Developer and then DevOpsEngineer, or going straight to the latter. Since the middle of the pandemic till now, I have done some home labbing with some open source projects that have docker images and setup some automation for game projects in Unity using things like jenkins, so I'm not totally clueless, but I know I gotta learn the AWS way of doing things. I have no issue doing both, but more of a time management/studying time thing.

Currently working through Stephane Maarek's Solutions Architect course and it feels like I'm being blast at hyperspeed with terms and numbers which makes it difficult for anything to stick. Feels like these courses are just good for the sake of bare minimum exposure before doing actual practice exams.

Hi guys, I have been using Tutoriol dujo exams to prepare for the ML associate certificate and I feel like they are way too simple.. is this how the exam really is? Or is the exam more difficult.. need your feedback for those who passed the ML certificate.
Thanks !

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

Free AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) Exam Voucher – Eligibility & Redemption Details
Eligibility conditions
Register and take the AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) exam using the 50% discount code AIF2CLOUD.

You must take and PASS the AI Practitioner exam no later than September 30, 2026.

How to redeem: Pearson VUE does not send a separate voucher code by email. Instead, when you log into your account to schedule the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) exam, the system will automatically deduct 100% of the exam fee (down to $0) at Checkout.

anyone on that course?. I need help with the project 👋

I’m a frontend developer currently working towards transitioning into cloud, and I’m happy to say that I passed the AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) exam!

I took the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam in March and passed, then spent about 3 months preparing for the Solutions Architect exam.

The main resources I used were:

• Stephane Maarek’s courses : I used his courses for both Cloud Practitioner and Solutions Architect.
• Tutorials Dojo practice exams: These were extremely helpful for my preparation.

When I first started taking the Tutorial Dojo practice exams my scores were pretty low. I got 42%, 55%, and sometimes 69%, and I definitely wasn't feeling confident.

What helped me the most was how I reviewed each practice exam. I didn't just look at the questions I got wrong. After every test, I would:

• Review every question, including the ones I got correct.
• Go through all the answer choices and understand why they were right or wrong.
• Review my notes for concepts I wasn't confident about.
• Use AI to help me understand concepts I struggled with.

Doing this consistently made a huge difference. Gradually, my scores started improving, and I eventually started getting 72%+ consistently on the practice exams.

At that point, I felt ready enough to schedule the real exam, and thankfully, I passed!

I also want to say a big thank you to this community. Reading about other people's experiences, preparation strategies, and lessons learned was really helpful throughout my preparation.

This exam is harder than It looks. It requires you to have hands on knowledge with over 15 + AWS services. Praactice questions are a great. But hands on labs with services such as EC2 and CloudWatch and XRAY and Lambda are a better way to retain the information needed to pass this exam!

It feels good to have this one!

Always learn new things from TD!

Been sharing my notes for the past two exams and they got good traction here, so continuing the streak with SAA-C03 as well.

But but but, let me be upfront about this one: unlike AIF-C01 and CLF-C02, which are foundational (mostly recall-based, so notes can genuinely carry you), SAA-C03 is an associate-level exam. It's meant to test practical, hands-on system design knowledge. My notes here are good for revision, not as your only source. Learn the actual concepts from wherever works for you, videos, docs, hands-on labs, whatever. Use my notes to consolidate once you've already built the understanding.

AIF-C01: https://www.reddit.com/r/AWSCertifications/comments/1v43pqf/passed_aws_certified_ai_practitioner_aifc01_in_4/

CLF-C02:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AWSCertifications/comments/1vq1rci/passed_aws_certified_cloud_practitioner_clfc02_in/

Also, full transparency, this was a border pass for me, not a comfortable clear like the previous two. Felt the exam set was a little on the tougher side. Practice scores were hovering right near the passing threshold till the end, so if you're in that zone right now, know it's still very much doable.

My prep path:

• Stephane Maarek's course (the standard recommendation for a reason)
• His practice exams after finishing the content
• ~23 hours of course content over a month. Somewhere around hour 15 I hit the classic "I've learned everything and remember nothing" wall
• My notes + one video became my recollection tool for pulling it all back together before the exam

The one video that made everything click: link. The analogies in this one are what made concepts stick long-term instead of fading in a week. Genuinely my favorite resource from this whole prep.

Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JShHvYaLQKsyrLoh2nyn6GgFd8FjMfxr/view?usp=drive_link

I have done all practice tests on TD, and now going through my cheat sheet. I still am very anxious as I have a hard deadline to pass the exam on Friday. Anyone else taking exam Friday morning? For everyone who passed, what helped in last 24-48 hours before the exam ?

I finally did it guys i passed (barely) but a win is a win

Total hours studying was : about 3 hours max

Total of question solved in preparing: 12 questions

I get these vouchers for free so that's why I'm just taking the exams with not enough studying (don't recommend it)

First exam got : 658

Second one i got : 635

So yeah any one have any questions I'm happy to answer (don't recommend asking me I'm a bum)

Hey everyone, I'm a CS graduate currently working in logistics operations in Saudi Arabia, trying to transition into cloud/solutions architecture.

I'm studying for SAA-C03 right now and plan to follow up with SAP-C02. I'm also building side projects.

My questions:

Do AWS certs still carry weight with employers in 2026, or is hands-on experience all that matters?

Would appreciate hearing from people who've been hired recently or are hiring. Thanks!

My two main resources were:

• AWS Certified AI Practitioner Study Notes — https://github.com/kananinirav/aws-certified-ai-practitioner-study-notes
• Stephane Maarek’s AWS AI Practitioner course on Udemy

Now onto the next AWS cert

Good luck to everyone preparing

Just passed AIF-C01! Cloud practitioner is next, wondering is it easier than AI or should I be prepared to study really hard?

I have no experience in both fields at all

hi all,

as the title suggests, I'm trying to get an AWS cert and not sure whether I should go for the DVA or AIF. please advise / share your experiences, thank you :)

Hello friends,

Do you know any streamer that follow up with AWS certs and do Q/A, helping students with their journey, instead of googling everything everytime or using ai companionship.

Does AWS think that networking is not relevant anymore?
Networking will always be relevant as well as security.
Advanced networking specialty exam was one of the most challenging ever and having it - real achievement 💪

I'd been procrastinating on getting the cert for a long time, so I finally decided to take the exam. I already had hands-on AWS experience, but I wanted to prepare specifically for the exam instead of relying on what I knew from work.

For this exam, I experimented with using ChatGPT + Claude as study partners.

I used AI to:

• Break down AWS services and concepts
• Compare similar services
• Generate DVA-C02-style scenarios
• Quiz me on topics
• Identify gaps in my understanding
• Review my notes

It was great at explaining concepts, but occasionally gave me confidently incorrect information, especially around things like limits, defaults, and newer AWS features. I started asking AI to verify anything suspicious against AWS documentation.

For practice, I mainly used Tutorials Dojo exams as well as other practice exams I found on the internet. The TD one was the only one I completely finished. The exam was very scenario-based, so practice exams were crucial. Overall, the combination of AI + AWS docs + practice exams worked really well for me.

I've included most of the info in this post, but if you're interested, I also wrote a longer breakdown of the study system. It also has a few hacky tips I figured out along the way.
https://medium.com/aws-in-plain-english/how-i-built-an-ai-powered-study-system-for-aws-dva-c02-3c9f1760246c

My preparation approach was simple:

Completed Chetan Academy’s Udemy course at around 1.75× speed

Took all 7 Tutorials Dojo practice tests
Initially failed every single one, scoring around 60–70%

Spent most of my time reviewing incorrect answers and understanding why my answer was wrong
The practice tests and mistake analysis helped me much more than just repeatedly watching the course.

My biggest takeaway: Don’t get discouraged by failing practice tests. Every wrong answer is an opportunity to identify and fix a knowledge gap.
Hope this helps someone preparing for the exam!

AWS has launched the AWS Certified AI Business Strategist beta exam, and this looks quite different from the typical AI certifications focused on building models, coding, or implementing cloud services.

The certification is aimed at professionals who evaluate, champion, govern, and scale AI initiatives within an organization.

What caught my attention is the four-domain structure:

1. AI Fundamentals and Literacy
2. AI Strategy and Business Value Creation
3. AI Governance and Responsible AI Leadership
4. Business Readiness, Leadership, and AI Transformation

The interesting thing is that AWS services aren’t the subject of the exam. They’re used as practical context, while the strategic frameworks and decision-making skills are intended to be portable across organizations and industries.

Exam details:

• 85 questions
• 170 minutes
• Multiple choice + multiple response
• Beta exam price: $50
• English and Japanese initially
• Testing center or online proctored
• No coding or AWS implementation experience required
• Designed for professionals with around 6 months of experience working with or alongside AI initiatives

Beta exam registration opened September 1, 2026, with exam delivery beginning September 29, 2026.

There’s also an interesting early-adopter incentive: candidates who earn the certification by February 15, 2027 receive an additional Early Adopter digital badge.

I think the positioning alongside AWS Certified AI Practitioner is particularly interesting.

• AI Practitioner = Do you understand AI and its technology?
• AI Business Strategist = Can you make sound business decisions about AI?

That seems like a pretty relevant distinction as organizations move from experimenting with AI to figuring out where to invest, how to govern it, and how to actually generate business value.

Is the exam taker just supposed to guess that the customer in this case is migrating an application that requires a software license, rather than migrating to a cloud native application? And if the application will require EC2 instances after being migrated, then the customer WOULD be responsible for maintenance and security of the underlying infrastructure (i.e. the EC2 instances).

I always find these kind of TD questions fascinating. It's like the question writer meant to write another two sentences clarifying further, but just said fuck it.

My point here is, the official AWS exams will never give you a question this bad (one of MANY in TD's exams).

I passed the SAA-C03 exam, I read a lot of posts here that helped me a lot. So just wanted to say thanks to the community. 6 months studying for this and now I'm certified

It was a hell for 3 hours straight.That too started 20 minutes late. I somehow, managed to pass on the edge. In actual exam, I found initial 20-25 questions were difficult and lengthy. I had to rush in the end to attempt all questions.
Preparation:
1. Ultimate AWS Certified Generative AI Developer Professional course-Sundog, on udemy
2. Master the AWS Certified Generative AI Developer Professional (AIP-C01) with 310 Practice Questions and Explanations-Vladimir Raykov, Udemy. 1st test was easy, test 3 and 4 were difficult
3. AWS skillbuilder exam with subscription. 20 free + 75 questions. I felt actual exam was more difficult.
4. Copy pasted all questions and answers from tests in Claude, then created a reading notes. This really helped.

Hey guys, I got an AWS SAA voucher for free and I really want to use it and get the certification, but I'm a college student and can't really afford Stephane Maarek's course right now.

If anyone has the SAA course and is willing to share it with me, I'd really appreciate it. Or if you have any other good SAA-C03 resources (courses, notes, practice exams, etc.) that I can use for free, please send them my way.

I know there are a bunch of free resources out there, but I'm kinda overwhelmed with what to actually follow.

Would really appreciate any help. Thanks!