How Hard Is AWS Solutions Architect Associate Exam?

So you’ve made the decision to sit for the AWS Solutions Architect test. This is a fantastic choice! You’re ready to take your profession to the next level by diving further into the fascinating world of AWS.

The only problem is that you don’t know where to begin because you’ve never studied for a certification like this before and/or have no prior experience with AWS.

You may also ask, “How hard is AWS solutions architect associate exam?”. We’re here to assist you with your question.

Continue reading to learn more about the difficulty of the AWS solutions architect associate test and the 10-week study plan for this exam.

How hard is the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam?

Is AWS solution architect associate hard? This is one of the most frequently asked questions of many candidates.

The AWS Solutions Architect Professional exam is so challenging that passing it is nearly impossible.

The exam’s syllabus is extremely broad, covering a wide range of concepts and topics in the field of cloud computing. The exam assesses the candidate’s dedication, memory, grit, intelligence, brainpower, and planning abilities.

The AWS Solutions Architect Professional exam was created with the goal of pushing candidates to put up their best effort and challenging them to their boundaries and beyond. Few examinations are as difficult for applicants to pass as the AWS Solutions Architect Professional exam.

The exam’s failure rate is significantly above 72 percent. This indicates that just about 28% of those who take the AWS Solutions Architect Professional exam pass.

This is an intimidating figure. The difficulty level of the AWS Solutions Architect Professional test is clearly demonstrated by this statistic.

The AWS Architect Associate exam may be familiar to many of the readers of this blog. That exam is required if one wishes to become an AWS solutions architect associate. In comparison to the AWS Solutions Architect Professional test, that exam is an absolute cakewalk.

Is the AWS solution architect the hardest AWS exam?

Not at all. Every level of AWS certification can be challenging. In the market, these certificates have a lot of value.

The Associate level of AWS credentials includes certificates in Solutions Architect, Developer, and SysOps.

Exams at the Associate level are hard since they cover so much ground. Test takers who fail the first time report receiving questions regarding entirely different services the second time. This demonstrates how broad the testing goals might be.

The Associate-level AWS certification is your first step toward becoming a cloud specialist. Because it is the most common AWS certification, some study materials are accessible. Even if you put in hours of studying, this will not be a walk in the park.

AWS cloud practitioner vs solutions architect: which is harder?

#1 AWS Cloud Practitioner

This is an entry-level AWS certification that verifies a candidate’s knowledge of the AWS cloud in general. Anyone who works with AWS Cloud in a technical, managerial, sales, purchasing, or financial ability should get the AWS Cloud Practitioner certificate.

The AWS Cloud Practitioner exam verifies a candidate’s understanding of essential cloud infrastructure and architectural concepts, as well as key AWS services. 

You should also be able to define the basic security and compliance features of AWS Cloud Services. The certification provides an overview of AWS’ key services, as well as security, network and cloud pricing, and support options.

Exam prerequisites: six months of general AWS knowledge and AWS Cloud experience are recommended.

You’ll need to know the following to become a certified AWS Cloud Practitioner:

• What is AWS Cloud and how does it work
• Ability to recognize and describe AWS Cloud infrastructure on a global scale
• Describe the value proposition of AWS Cloud
• Familiarity with AWS Cloud architectural principles and the ability to convey them
• The AWS platform’s most important services and their most prevalent use cases (like computation and analytics)
• The AWS platform’s basic security and compliance features, as well as the shared security model
• Billing, account management, and pricing models in detail
• The basics of establishing and working in the Amazon Web Services Cloud.

Maybe you care about AWS Cloud Practitioner Study Guide.

#2 AWS Solutions Architect Associate

This certification demonstrates your ability to design, develop, manage, and deploy systems in the Amazon Web Services cloud. This exam is designed for candidates who have worked on distributed applications before. Before taking this exam, you should be familiar with AWS security and compliance rules.

One year of AWS Cloud experience or comparable coursework is required to take the exam.

To pass this certification exam, you’ll need to know the following:

• AWS Cloud network technologies, including configuration and management
• How to connect client interfaces to the AWS infrastructure and how AWS-based apps work
• How client interfaces connect to AWS, as well as designing and delivering AWS-based applications
• Create secure applications on AWS
• Using on-premises data and AWS components to deploy systems (hybrid)
• Data security and disaster recovery
• The infrastructure and principles of Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Read more: AWS Solution Architect Associate Exam Study Guide

Which one is harder?

AWS Solutions Architect – Associate.

While Cloud Practitioner focuses on learning about the various AWS services, Solutions Architect – Associate focuses on proving your abilities to build, manage, and deploy these services.

Cloud Practitioner is an entry-level course and certification that aims to provide an overview of the AWS cloud. This course is designed for those who are less technically inclined.

With the Solutions Architect – Associate program, developers and Dev Ops professionals can take their skills to the next level. This course was designed particularly for those who have prior experience developing and deploying applications.

Anyone with one or more years of hands-on experience available, cost-effective, fault-tolerant, and scalable distributed systems on AWS is encouraged to take the course. If you’re a developer, skip the Cloud Practitioner course and enroll in Solutions Architect – Associate instead.

AWS solution architect study plan in 10 Weeks

After getting the answer to the question “is AWS solution architect hard”, you should create your study plan most detailed and carefully to tackle the AWS solution architect difficulty level. 

Week 1: Go through the introduction of AWS and S3

We recommend that you take an entry-level course covering core AWS tools and technologies before beginning your studies, especially if you have no prior experience with AWS. It’s a good approach to gain a feel of the platform in general.

Another alternative is to sit for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification if you have prior AWS expertise. Although it isn’t required for AWS CSA certification, it does validate your AWS basic knowledge.

This is also an ideal time to review the AWS CSA – Associate exam guide. Examine the accompanying objectives to get a sense of what you’ll be learning over the next 10 weeks. You might want to consider investing in more study materials. Whether it’s a study guide or other video materials, they can all help you learn more effectively.

Week 2: Principles of Architecture and Storage

You’ll learn about account authentication and access techniques for AWS services this week. It’s critical to learn AWS Identity and Access Management before taking this test because it’s a key topic. This week, your learning goal should be to figure out how to create a network using AWS services.

Create flashcards that cover the subject from Week 1 as well as what you’ll learn this week. Whether you utilize traditional flashcards or an online flashcard service like Quizlet, flashcards will help you remember more material.

Week 3: New solution security requirements and design

It’s a good idea to look at AWS Whitepapers at this stage in your study to learn about AWS-related security best practices.

Concentrate on determining the security needs for the AWS fundamental services that you learned about in Week 1. You should be able to create an AWS deployment strategy that meets security and performance goals by the conclusion of Week 3.

Week 4: Migration planning

If you haven’t already, schedule your exam before starting this week. Setting a date can help you stay on track because you’ll have a deadline to prepare for the exam.

This week, you should read up on AWS migrations. The CSA exam has a strong emphasis on the tools and services available for moving existing workloads to AWS. Make sure you can analyze existing designs and create AWS baselines for a solution that already exists.

Week 5: Cost control

You should take more practice exams now that you’re halfway through your education. Your scores should give you a good indication of what you already know, what you still need to review, and what you still need to perfect.

At this point, you’ll be seeking to reduce expenses by optimizing the existing AWS architecture. This means you’ll need to know everything there is to know about AWS best practices. You’ll also need to be able to assess cost-cutting options in existing environments.

Week 6: Improving existing solutions constantly

This week, you should look at some of the AWS service FAQs. Sample examples highlighting methods to improve services utilizing AWS can be found in the FAQs, which can help you have a better understanding of the products.

Week 7: Get some hands-on experience

This week, you should devote a significant amount of time to virtual laboratory training. Pick each service/topic discussed in the training and read the technical documentation that corresponds to it. Then, using an AWS free tier account, try to use that service via the AWS Management Console. This allows you to begin developing on AWS without disrupting a live environment.

Week 8: Take a deep dive into databases

You only have a few weeks left, so now is the time to learn everything there is to know about the testing day. Exam details and format should be reviewed. A passing score, for example, is 750 or more, and you have 130 minutes to complete the exam.

Week 9: The final countdown

You’ll take your last practice exam this week. Use your results to pinpoint any areas where you still need to study before the exam. Then go over those sections again. To help you hammer down material even further, consider using a virtual lab.

Week 10: Exam day

You’ve made it to the last week of the game. Congrats. It’s time to brush up on your weak areas, which you discovered through practice exams.

Conclusion

So, how hard is the AWS solutions architect associate exam?

The difficulty level of AWS solutions architect associate is considered to be medium, but this depends on a number of factors.

The optimal approach is one that takes the best practices and guidance from a variety of sources and tailors it to your specific experience, goals, and timeframe.

If you have not had AWS certification yet and you are preparing for the exam, you can try to visit our websites to get more information and a free AWS Practice Test. To download, visit our website for your IOS or Android device.

Preparation will always require some of your time, and you may even have to give up part of your leisure time, but the benefits will be well worth it. All you have to do now is make sure that your study plan is well-organized and reasonable. Following our 10-week study schedule will save you time and help you enhance the quality of your studies. Best of luck!