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Daniel Brum
Daniel Brum

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What did I do to pass on AWS Certified Developer Exam?

First, some context: I'm a junior software developer with 1 year and a half of experience. I wrote this post because I want to help people that are willing to pass on the AWS DVA-C01 certification.

I chose this certification because I've been looking into cloud computing for a while, and the Developer certification was my choice because it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for as a developer. It made me study a lot of AWS services, how they work, how they interact with each other, and how I can develop solutions with AWS.

Before I start, just remember that this is my personal experience, it isn't a magical recipe that will guarantee your approval. Anyway, I hope that my tips will be useful for people who will read this article.

The first step to start studying was finding a course that would give me a "study path". I found a course on Udemy from Stephane Maarek and started doing it. It's a pretty solid course, it covers all the topics and services that may appear on the exam and it gives a nice foundation. I also bought a course with 5 sample exams.

After I finished the course, I started doing the sample exams. I did one exam per day, at the beginning my scores weren't good, so I kept practicing until I got a passing score almost every time I did a test. To improve my score, I took notes on what I was not getting right and read the docs to get a better understanding. After some time doing this, I started scoring 80%+ on the sample exams.

So, this was my experience studying and passing on the Developer Associate certification: If I could give some short tips, they would be:

  • Read the exam guide.
  • Take notes.
  • Do some hands-on labs on AWS, from my experience, only theory isn't enough.
  • Read the AWS documentation, it's very helpful and will probably help you to solve some doubts.
  • The services FAQS are very helpful as well, reading them will probably help you to answer some questions on the exam.
  • Consistency is key. I studied 45 minutes per day and it definitely helped me to pass on the exam.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to say what you think in the comments section. If you have any questions, feel free to ask as well.

Stephane's Developer Associate Course

Stephane's Sample Exams

AWS Certified Developer Associate Exam Guide

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