Prepping for a certification exam
The process is always similar
Most technical certifications require passing an exam made up of multiple-choice questions.
Think AWS, Azure, Google, Cloud+, A+, MCSE, or even when applying for the thrill of babysitting cats. (OK…not as many questions, but still hard)
The list of valid certifications in today’s world is endless, but the endgame is the same.
Successfully answering roughly 37 out of 50 questions in a couple of hours while locked in a small room without water, coffee, or treats indicates to the vendor or cat lady that you have just enough common sense to be proclaimed “Certified.” Roughly 72% worth of common sense.
Therefore, to pass any technical certification exam, you must practice by answering multiple-choice test questions. Over and over. It's part of the deal. Training your brain to adapt to answering test questions successfully while under pressure.
Your brain will take its time to get used to reading technical questions and being able to pick out key concepts or phrases that will reveal which of the answers are probably right and which questions are probably wrong and not worth considering.
I say “probably” because a certification exam is usually not straightforward. Questions are typically designed to be tricky. Some questions will require two or more answers; these questions will require a little more thought as you will need to choose a series of steps that are part of the solution process.
(Just for clarity, dry cat food is NOT better after being warmed in the microwave for 5 minutes. Who knew?)
So, where should you go to get valid test questions that will match up with your certification?
For AWS certifications, I would suggest signing up at AWS Skill Builder.
The current associate certifications offered by AWS for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate and the AWS Certified Solutions SysOps Associate and other associate certifications offered by AWS are very well supported by AWS Skill Builder. (AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate, AWS Certified Developer - Associate, and AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate).
Even if you don't use AWS Skill Builder to help you prep for your test, you will need to sign up to register to take your certification exam.
You can sign up for AWS Skill Builder here.
Why should you use AWS Skill Builder when there are so many other online resources?
The answer is kind of obvious when you think about it: Amazon Web Services is AWS Skill Builder; it’s the educational Training and Certification department over at AWS. AWS Builder ID is a personal profile that provides access to AWS Training and Certification.
If AWS can't help you prep for their certifications, we've got a problem.
There are several types of courses offered by AWS Skill Builder. Exam Prep Standard Courses are available to anyone who creates a free AWS Skill Builder account. For example, there are free exam questions, typically 20 questions, for the associate certification selected.
Paying for a subscription gets you access to Exam Prep-enhanced courses that include additional labs, exam-style questions, and flashcards.
The subscription will cost you $29.00 a month, but it's not necessary to start off with the subscription. Free gets you access to a wide variety of resources, including test questions.
Once you have a subscription, you will have access to full-length exam simulations. When you are getting within a month of taking the exam, I would consider getting an AWS Skill Builder subscription.
If you are planning to get certified by the end of the year (2024), here’s a link to get a 50% discount voucher for the associate certification exam of your choice.
· AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate
· AWS Certified Developer - Associate
· AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate
· AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
· AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate
Here's the link to join the Get AWS Certified: Associate Challenge
If you want test questions without paying, try using Grok or ChatGPT.
Here’s the prompt: create 20 exam questions for the AWS-certified sysops associate exam SOA-C02. provide details on the correct and incorrect answers provided.
As Grok explains: Grok is now available for free to some users on the X platform, but with certain limitations. As of the latest updates, free users can ask Grok up to 10 questions every two hours, analyze up to three images per day, and their account must be at least seven days old with a phone number linked to it. This rollout began in select regions, and not all users might have access immediately.
Next up: Creating a study plan for success.