This document provides guidance for preparing for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate certification exam. It outlines several benefits of obtaining the certification such as exam discounts and free practice exams. Resources recommended for exam preparation include the exam guide, AWS online courses, Pluralsight courses, Qwiklabs hands-on labs, exam-focused books, AWS documentation like FAQs and whitepapers, and courses on Udemy and ACloudguru. It emphasizes focusing on a manageable set of preparation resources and provides contact information to provide feedback to improve future presentations.

1. Preparing for AWS Certified
Solutions Architect - Associate
(SAA-C02)
Note: SAA-C02 is the successor of SAA-C01 and is currently in Beta
as of Nov-2019

2. Why certify?
There are many benefits other than the usual bragging rights and validation among
your peers:
Exam Discount: Get access to a 50% discount voucher to apply toward recertification
or any other exam.
Free Practice Exams: Prepare for your next AWS Certification with a practice exam
voucher.
and more.. See: Benefits for AWS Certified Individuals

3. Exam guide
See: https://d1.awsstatic.com/training-and-certification/docs-sa-assoc/AWS%20Certified%20Solutions%20Architect%20-
%20Associate%20Exam%20Guide_v1.1_2019_08_27_FINAL.pdf

4. AWS Resources
See AWS Learning Library
Classroom or online Courses are very effective and are recommended. The materials in
these courses are vetted by Amazon and are kept updated. The courses can get
expensive if you are on a budget and are ideal if you need to complete certification in a
short time or if your employer is sponsoring.
There are many free courses listed there. Also check out the “AWS Certification Quiz
Show” content on the website - these cover a few questions in each show and discuss
each question in detail.

5. Pluralsight
Pluralsight is an excellent source of quality courses on AWS. There are hundreds of
high quality courses.
Price of a monthly subscription is about $29 per month. They have a 10 day free trial
and student discounts. See here.

6. Qwiklabs
Qwiklabs provides a lab environment which includes the cost of resources used during
the lab. To start with there a number of free labs. See here.
If you like the format, you can either purchase more credits or pay for a monthly
subscription. The monthly subscription is very attractive as you can repeat the labs as
needed, unlike the credits which pay for only one timed lab.

7. Books
Needless to say, there are a large number of books on the exam. But the below are
noteworthy:
https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-
Architect-Practice-Tests/dp/1119558433
https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-
Architect-Study-Guide/dp/111950421X
https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-
Architect-Official-Study/dp/1119138558

8. AWS FAQs and Whitepapers
Every AWS service has a comprehensive FAQ that is worth reading. As you study,
make it a point to go through the important ones.
You should read the relevant whitepapers available here. At a minimum you should
read these:
Overview of Amazon Web Services
AWS Well-Architected Framework
Building Fault-Tolerant Applications on AWS
Modern Application Development on AWS
AWS Well-Architected Framework – Reliability Pillar
AWS Well-Architected Framework – Operational Excellence Pillar
AWS Well-Architected Framework – Performance Efficiency Pillar
AWS Well-Architected Framework – Cost Optimization Pillar

9. Udemy, ACloudguru
Udemy and ACloudguru courses are very popular among AWS test takers. They are
very economical and effective:
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Practice Exams
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate 2019
In the end, be aware that there are lot of resources out there, but it is important to
narrow your focus and stick to a manageable set.

10. Good Luck!
Do leave me feedback so I can improve my presentations!