A PR recruiter's experience passing the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam

My name is Umi Fujisawa, and I am in charge of public relations and recruitment

I have passed the AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF) exam

I hope this will be helpful to anyone who is about to take the exam and is determined to pass on the first try (especially non-engineers)

1st time: Fail

The procedure for the exam on the day is as follows:

1. 65 exam questions
2. Exam questionnaire responses
3. Pass/fail result display

After answering all the questions, I sent the questionnaire as if praying, and then the impersonal "Failed" jumped into my eyes. For a while, I couldn't move a single step, and I became just a soulless object.

2nd time: Passed

Not wanting to see the nightmarish "fail" sign again, I submitted the survey, but instead it "passed ." After giving a silent fist pump so as not to disturb the person next to me, I grinned for a while to calm down before getting up from my seat.

My specs

• Non-engineers
• I've never touched a console
• Have you seen the billing dashboard?

My general understanding was that AWS seems to be popular

I heard within the company that there was an AWS certification for non-engineers, and the CEO suggested that I take it, so I gave it a try

First study method

1. AWS Certification Exam Text
2. Mock exam
3. Udemy mock test questions

1. AWS Certification Exam Text

Amazon: AWS Certification Exam Textbook AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

I was given this book by my company and read it for two weeks

At the time, our technical sales staff told me, "Just read this book and you'll pass!" However, I now realize that this was only for people who already had some knowledge of AWS

2. Mock exams

This is a mock exam (2,000 yen) provided by AWS

Test your knowledge in a timed online environment. To register, visit aws.training

Once you take the test, your results will be sent to you by email

I thought, "Wow, 80% of it is good!" and maybe I got a little carried away

At that time, I thought that if I continued at this pace, I would pass the actual exam

3. Udemy Mock Test Questions

Pass the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam with just this question! AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Mock Exam Questions (7 sets, 455 questions)

To be honest, it's extremely difficult

Book ≦ Mock exam <<< Actual exam < Udemy

*This is my personal opinion

• That wasn't written in the book!
• Is there such a service?
• There are a lot of trick questions

There were many times when I felt this way

So Udemy

• Read and study the explanations for the correct answers
• Practice reading long-form questions
• Immune to trick questions

I recommend using it for the following purposes

Second study method

1. Solve Udemy questions

After feeling the frustration of failing with 673 points and thinking about what I was lacking, I decided to try Udemy

Udemy has six practice tests

• Practice Test 1: Mock Test (Basic Level 1) 65 Questions
• Practice Test 2: Mock Test (Basic Level ②) 65 Questions
• Practice Test 3: Mock Test (Advanced Level 1) 65 questions
• Practice Test 4: Mock Test (Advanced Level ②) 65 Questions
• Practice Test 5: Mock Test (Advanced Level 3) 65 Questions
• Practice Test 6: Additional Questions (High Difficulty) 130 Questions in 2 Mock Exams

The first time I took the test I only did one week of each, so I did three weeks in preparation for the retake

The important thing to read and study the explanations for the correct answers .

The explanations include a description of the correct service as well as an explanation of the incorrect service

I had never seen or touched AWS's vast array of services before, but I kept imagining things like, "Wow, there are services like that," and "I bet these are the services," and cramming them into my head right up until the day before

Other things you should do

Get direct advice from an engineer

Studying for exams is a lonely experience, so I recommend sharing your study progress with someone

Our company is primarily engaged in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of cloud services. We are fortunate to have many talented engineers who have passed the AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA) certification, so we were able to get help with any problems or services that we found difficult to understand

I found it easier to remember when I had the explanation explained to me directly than when I read it in a text

Read other people's success stories

If you search for "AWS Cloud Practitioner" you will find many articles

There are also many success stories from non-engineers who have passed the exam, which gives you the reassurance that there are other people out there who have passed

An IT dictionary that makes you feel like you understand something even if you don't

I suddenly wondered, "What are middleware, OS, and software? What's the difference?", so I googled it and found a website that is helpful for non-engineers

They also include pictures, so your "I kind of don't understand" turns into "I kind of get it."

URL: https://wa3.i-3-i.info/index.html

What you gain by obtaining a qualification

• I felt that IT is amazing
• I was able to understand some of my company's business
• I feel like I've become closer to the engineers

Since I passed the Cloud Practitioner exam, I'm thinking of taking the Solutions Architect exam as well, but I think it will probably be extremely difficult, so I'll study hard and take my time so that I can pass it on the first try

Even if you have never used AWS before, you can obtain this certification, so if you're interested, why not give it a try!