[24th graduate] AWS Cloud Practitioner passing experience by new graduate [Shikoku Office]

Introduction

Hello!
I'm Okarin, a graduate of 2024 from the System Solutions Department in the Shikoku office.

will talk about
the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner ( CLF , the first certification I obtained after joining Beyond Inc.

In this article, I will describe how I studied to pass the CLF

this article will be useful for people who
have the time and can study continuously every day When I started studying for this certification, I had no knowledge of AWS at all.
So, I think this information will also be useful for non-engineers who have a similar study method to me.

Beyond Inc.'s blog also has past articles about
CLF If you find this blog difficult to study, please also take a look at the following blog:

AWS Cloud Practitioner Pass Experience for Public Relations Recruitment

[Study method disclosed] I tried to obtain the AWS Cloud Practitioner qualification even though it was a public relations job after 3 months of joining the company.

is a little more serious than
the last one I wrote If you're interested, please check it out!

[24th graduate] [Shikoku Office] I tried office relocation work [Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture]

Phase 1: Reference books

In order to obtain the certification, I first started by reading a reference book.
The reference book I used was " AWS Certification Exam Textbook AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Revised 3rd Edition ."

This reference book is for the "CLF-C02" exam, which began in 2023, and features very detailed explanations.
I tried to read this book at the following pace:

1. Read through the book roughly
2. Read each unit carefully
3. Repeat the above steps

Read the book through

In the first step, "Reading through the book roughly," it's fine to just skim through the contents.
Here, you're not expected to read it from cover to cover and understand everything.
What's required is the feeling that " I've finished reading this book ."

If I try to read a book from cover to cover all at once, I get tired and give up.
However, if I have already seen all the pages once, I can get an idea of ​​how many pages there are left in the book.

In other words, what I have done here is to " lower the barrier to reading books ."

As I've said many times before, you don't need to memorize everything here.
Of course, it's okay if you don't understand the meaning. It's fine if
you've vaguely heard the words.

Let's continue to lower the hurdles to studying

Read each unit carefully

Now, what should you do next after you've finished reading this book?

The next step is to do the old-fashioned " memorize what's on the page " method.

This reference book is divided into units.
When I was studying, I tried to read one unit per day.
Just one unit per day is fine.
Each unit in the reference book does not have many pages.

I've studied for various qualifications up until now, and the hardest thing about it has been continuing.
For example, have you ever thought, "I couldn't do it yesterday, so I'll do what I did yesterday today," or "I have time today, so I'll do more today," and found yourself studying?

In my case, with that kind of thinking, there were many times when I forced myself to study too hard and ended up spinning my wheels

What I want to say here, and it may seem like I'm being persistent, is to set low hurdles for studying.
Of course, there will be times when you're not satisfied with just one unit.
There will also be times when you want to do one more unit. I won't stop you from doing that.

However, this is only possible if you have read the reference book over and over again and are able to memorize the contents

Pushing yourself too hard at the beginning will only affect you later.
So, focus on studying one subject and spend the rest of the time on your hobbies or sleeping.

By the way, I haven't explained about the time of day I study.
I think the time of day when I have time to study varies from person to person.
I studied at night before going to bed.
After finishing a unit in a reference book, I immediately set off to dreamland, even though I still had some regrets.

In my case, I tend to push myself too hard, so I continued by forcing myself to shut down

1-3: Repeat

All you have to do is repeat the above two steps until you feel satisfied.
Before you know it, reading the textbook will become a daily routine, and you will be able to talk about the contents without the textbook.

For reference, it took me about a month to memorize the contents of the reference book

Once you feel like you've finished reading the reference book, you're ready to move on to the next phase.
Even when you move on to the next phase, make sure you continue reading the reference book from Phase 1 at the beginning.

Phase 2: Take the mock exam

Mock exams may sound difficult, but the point is to use Udemy courses to advance your studies

I took the following course:
[CLF-C02 Edition] This is all you need! AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam Pass Course (Includes 300 Exam Questions)

As many of you know, Udemy often has sales.
Before you move forward with this phase, I recommend buying a course on sale day. Once
you've purchased it, you'll be forced to study, and you'll be less likely to slack off.

2-1: Memorize the answer roughly

Again, this is essentially the same as what we did in Phase 1

The Udemy course I purchased includes six practice questions.
I should point out at the outset that even at the final stage of this course, you will only be given one practice question per day.

The first thing you should do is try to solve the problems roughly.
Naturally, there will be many things you don't understand.

It's no wonder that , "I read so many reference books, but I only got 30 points!"
or "I honestly don't understand it at all, I feel like I'm going to give up!"

But that's no surprise:
this Udemy course incredibly challenging .

It's a good price (assuming you bought it on sale) but the difficulty is high.
It's like a Steam sale!

That aside, the number of correct answers is not important .
What's important is the answers and explanations that follow the questions.
What you need to do here to remember the "correct answers .

You can also just skim through the explanations.
If you do read them, make sure you read the explanations for the correct answers, not the explanations for the incorrect answers.

You don't need to look at the incorrect answers this time.
...We'll focus on the incorrect answers later, so for now, just focus on the correct answer patterns.

It's often said that "the important thing about studying is the process of how you arrived at the answer!", but your level isn't high enough to step into that realm yet. There are
no creatures like metal slimes in studying, so you'll need to steadily raise your level.
You need a level even to challenge enemies you can't defeat.
First, let's carefully build up the basics!

2-1: Study seriously

Once you have completed this course several times and memorized the correct answers, you can move on to the next step

In this Udemy course, if you achieve a certain score or higher, you will be marked as passing.
If you have only memorized the correct answers, your score at this point will probably be just short of the passing mark, or just barely passing.

The next thing to do is to try the course again, thinking carefully

"This is the answer in this case, but why is it the correct answer?"
Keep this in mind and take your time as you proceed.

Also, when checking your answers, be sure to read the explanations carefully.
This time, read not only the correct answers, but also the explanations for the incorrect answers.

Unfortunately, it's time to say goodbye to your daily study guide.
Instead of spending time reading study guides, spend time reading explanations on Udemy.
Unlike Chairman Netero, this is not time to pray, it's just more time to read explanations.

Read the explanations carefully in this way, and keep practicing until you see the word "pass" on the course results page and get a score close to or even 100.
Even if you have a bad day studying, it's okay to do it just barely, so keep going until you can get a passing score.

Once you've reached this point, move on to the next phase

Phase 3: Take the exam

Finally, we've reached the final phase!!!
Now that you've come this far, all you have to do is give it your all.

3-1: Apply for the exam

Anyway, you can't go any further unless you apply for the exam

Search for "AWS Cloud Practitioner" and sign up for the exam

You will now be presented with two options for how to take the exam

1. Testing Center
2. Remote

You may be torn between these two options, but for reference, I will tell you my choice.
I chose to take the test at a "test center." I
was also attracted to the idea of ​​taking the test remotely, but because it takes time to set up the environment, I felt that taking the test at a test center would be easier.

Personally, I find it much easier to take the exam at a test center.
Unless you have a strong preference, I recommend taking the exam at a test center.

I also highly recommend taking the test at a testing center, as it helps you to prepare mentally for the next exam. This
may not be something I would write in a success story, but if things don't go well, you can reset your mind on the way home from the testing center.

3-2: Last Struggle

We recommend that you wait 3 to 7 days between the date of application and the actual exam

If it's too short, you won't be able to make final preparations, but if it's too long, you'll feel discouraged.
Choose a length that's neither too long nor too short, just right.

Have you ever seen someone like this in junior high or high school?
"I didn't study at all" or
"I didn't even sleep last night"

This qualification requires an exam fee, so I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to pass it on the first try.
During this final stretch, I'll do some final cramming, but the most important thing is to be in good physical condition. It's
no laughing matter if I don't do well on the exam on the day due to lack of sleep or something.

When it comes to cramming, I recommend reading the Udemy explanation pages until you memorize them.
Make sure the knowledge you've crammed up until now is correct, correct any mistakes, and memorize them, literally making a "last ditch effort."

How to prepare yourself for the exam is up to you.
In my case, I made sure to get plenty of sleep a few days before the exam so that I would be sharp at the time of the exam.
I think that each person has their own way of preparing themselves, but the one thing that everyone has in common to "be able to perform to the best of their ability at the time of the exam ."

3-1: On the day of the exam

Let's bring everything we've got up to now to this day

You will need to bring two of the following items with you on the day:

① Group A (Government-issued photo)

Japanese government-issued driver's license, passport, basic resident card with photo, register card, residence card, special permanent resident certificate, various disability certificates, My Number card

② Group B (employee ID or student ID that meets the requirements)

1. A photograph of the face is attached
2. a. It is printed on a plastic card, b. It is laminated, or c. It has a stamp or embossed photo (paper is acceptable)
3. Both first and last name are listed
4. The name, logo, or school emblem of a company, organization, or educational institution is included

③ Group C

Pension book, health insurance card, credit card, various public facility user cards (with signature)

We recommend that you keep these documents together so that they are easy to present on the day and store them in a place where they can be easily accessed

Your photo will be taken when you submit your identification documents,
so if you want to look cool, it's a good idea to get your hair cut or groomed.

Generally, you will be asked to put your belongings in a locker.
When you do so, you will be asked to empty your pockets and remove any items such as your watch.

The staff will wait for you to pack up. However, considering that it is the day of the exam, you may feel a bit rushed.
If you don't want to bother with all the hassle, I recommend bringing as little luggage as possible when you take the exam.

After completing the exam, whether you passed or failed was displayed on the computer screen after the test ended.
Regardless of the result, there will be other test takers in the exam room.
If you fail, resist the urge to punch the machine and leave the room quickly. It's not good to hit things, but if you want to vent your frustration, please do so at home.
If you pass, resist the urge to scream with joy on the spot and leave the room. I think it's inevitable to smile with joy. When I passed, I was so happy that I practically skipped from the exam center to my house.

summary

How was it?

This time, I created a blog titled ``My Experience Passing the AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam.''

Thank you for reading to the end.