Where to start with the AWS Certs

For my career the Sysops Associate cert is more in line with the work that I do, but I have read that it is also the most difficult and the SA cert is recommended by others to start with. I don't work with AWS yet, but I do have some members on my team that do work with it and it's likely that I may end up cross training in that realm and want to get into that side anyways long term.

I have time to study at my own pace and no rush to really burn through all these certs at a blazing speed. I want to make sure that I fully understand everything involved though and if the SA cert lays a great background and exposure it would be worthwhile to pursue I think. Or would one recommend to suck it up and just go Sysops off the bat. I'm not afraid of hard exams (I did pass the 2012 MCSA server upgrade exam in one shot even though I had bought the retake pack) and know that I won't jump into anything until I'm certain on how well I will do.

Thoughts?

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Clm

I would say at least take the training For SA first. It breaks down the fundamentals on how everything works. I failed my sysops exam with a 71 and have seen others fail it with a 74 so its definitely the hardest of the three. but most of the training and books for sysops makes assumptions of the knowledge you already know.

MeanDrunkR2D2

Thanks. I guess for me the question is more along the lines of do the certs kind of build off each other. From my understanding the SA gives you the base knowledge about AWS but doesn't dive deep into anything.

Just not sure if doing all 3 is worthwhile, but if it makes me more well rounded I'd definitely be more open to going that route especially if I can cut down the time between exams once I have that base knowledge down more and hopefully more hands on with work. I currently have a sub to Linux Academy and Pluralsight for learning.

Clm

I believe it will definitively give you a well rounded start if you get all three. The SA exam is basic covers general knowledge of all the core services EC2, S3, IAM, RDS etc it shows you from a high level how to build a secure , available and elastic deployment. Dev-A goes into more of how to use AWS in working to deploy apps how they connect and how everything works. The Sysops is all about administrating and metrics. so they all mount onto each other.
I use Linux Academy for a deeper dive they explain things out a little more for my own understanding and acloud guru (to Me) is more of exam focused to pass. There is one class im going back through that is like a deep dive It is a 63 hour deep dive and explains alot more.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (2019)
https://www.udemy.com/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-exam/learn/v4/overview

MeanDrunkR2D2

Thanks for the advice. I was debating on that and of course I don't want to do the certs just to show a piece of paper that I know it. I want to know it and how it all ties together so I can actually do the work and not just show the cert to say that I should know how to do it in theory.

lacagrl17

Here are some success stories and tips for passing the SysOps exam!

AWS Sysops Passed

Passed AWS SysOps

I passed AWS SysOps Exam today.

dony2015

I am using Dolfined which I bought from Udemy. Dolfined is not only preparing one for the exams, it shows you how to do the job two. I used another one I bought from Udemy too and failed Solution Architect Associate. I will not name the one but, I think it is a light-weight compared to Dolfined. I will do the Solutions architect first, followed by Devops, and Sysops before I look to Solution Architect Pro.

ITSec14

A Cloud Guru is a really great resource! I haven't taken the exam yet, but I've been watching their courses and they are fantastic.

MeanDrunkR2D2

I've heard great things about acloudguru, but have been using LinuxAcademy and really like the courses and labs that they have on their site. I've deviated a bit on my path for the AWS certs and have just been rolling through the courses that they have that tend to go hand in hand with cloud technologies. I do have an interview this afternoon with the DevOps/AWS team at my work which I've been prepping for more than anything else.

JDMurray

I like acloud.guru a lot for AWS material, but the presenter, Ryan Kroonenburg, talks too quickly and energetically for my taste. Slowing the player down to x0.8 or x0.75 really helped make his material more palatable for me.

dony2015

My best material on the AWS Associate exams is one from Dolfined. Try it and get an i depth knowledge of AWS.

Clm

MeanDrunkR2D2 said:

I've heard great things about acloudguru, but have been using LinuxAcademy and really like the courses and labs that they have on their site. I've deviated a bit on my path for the AWS certs and have just been rolling through the courses that they have that tend to go hand in hand with cloud technologies. I do have an interview this afternoon with the DevOps/AWS team at my work which I've been prepping for more than anything else.

Best of luck to you on your interview.