💡 Introduction

Welcome to the world of cloud computing and certifications!
In this blog, I’m excited to share my journey of preparing for and clearing the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) exam. I’ll walk you through the strategies, resources, and practical steps that helped me succeed — insights that I believe can serve as a helpful guide for anyone aiming to strengthen their AWS skills and gain hands-on experience with core services.

Whether you’re just starting with AWS or looking to validate your cloud knowledge through certification, I hope this post will offer practical direction and boost your confidence.
So, without further ado, let’s dive in.

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💡 Youtube Demonstration

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💡 What is the AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) Certification?

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) is a mid-level certification designed for individuals who want to demonstrate their ability to design well-architected, cost-effective, scalable, and secure solutions on AWS. It's ideal for candidates with prior cloud knowledge or strong on-premises IT experience looking to validate their architecture skills in the AWS ecosystem.

One of the key advantages of this certification is that it doesn't require deep programming expertise. However, having a working knowledge of programming concepts (especially related to APIs, automation, and infrastructure-as-code) can certainly help during both the preparation and the exam.

This certification validates your understanding of a broad range of AWS services and how to design architectures that meet specific business and technical requirements. In short, it positions you as someone capable of designing reliable cloud environments at scale.

💡 Before diving into your preparation, I highly recommend reading the official exam guide:
AWS SAA-C03 Exam Guide PDF

📘 Exam Overview

• Number of Questions: 65
  (50 scored + 15 unscored experimental questions — all are presented equally, so aim to answer all 65)

• Question Types: Multiple choice and multiple response

• Duration: 130 minutes (You can submit early)

• Cost: $150 + taxes

• Passing Score: 720/1000

🧠 Exam Domains Breakdown

Each domain is deeply tied to AWS best practices, the Well-Architected Framework, and real-world solution design scenarios.

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💡 My Preparation Journey: From Community Builder to Certified Architect

My certification journey began with a moment of gratitude and opportunity.

In March 2025, I was honored to be selected as an AWS Community Builder under the Containers category. One of the perks of this program is a 100% discount voucher for any AWS Certification exam—an amazing benefit AWS offers its builders every year. I knew I wanted to use it wisely.

By the end of June, I made up my mind to take on the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam. Since this was going to be my first cloud certification, I wanted something both challenging and meaningful—something that would push me to understand AWS at a deeper architectural level. And SAA-C03 was exactly that.

📚 Getting Started: The Right Learning Path

I kicked off my preparation with Andrew Brown’s 50-hour AWS Solutions Architect Associate course on FreeCodeCamp’s YouTube channel:

This course turned out to be a goldmine. It covered all the essential AWS services—EC2, S3, VPC, RDS, IAM, CloudFront, and many others—along with real-world architecture use cases and hands-on labs. I dedicated two hours every day, and in about 25 days, I was able to complete the entire course. I then spent two additional days revisiting my notes, reinforcing the concepts and focusing on my weak areas.

❌ No Mocks? Here's What I Did Instead

Now, here’s an important point:

I did not take any full-length mock tests during my preparation.

That said, I strongly recommend that you do! Mock tests are incredibly useful for identifying gaps in your understanding and getting familiar with the exam pattern.

Instead, I practiced with over 350 questions from this curated YouTube playlist:

These questions were aligned with the topics covered in the exam and gave me enough confidence to evaluate my readiness.

🔍 Bridging the Gaps with Tutorials Dojo

Even after all that practice, there were still a few services that seemed overlapping in functionality, and I wasn’t entirely sure when to use which. That’s when I turned to one of the most reliable resources in the AWS certification world: Tutorials Dojo.

Their Cheat Sheets helped me quickly compare services, understand real-life use cases, and sharpen my differentiation skills between similar offerings like S3 vs. EFS vs. FSx, or ALB vs. NLB vs. Gateway Load Balancer.

🧠 Visit Tutorials Dojo – Highly recommended for last-minute revision and concept clarity.

Here is my CheatSheet:

🗓️ The Final Step: Booking the Exam

On August 2nd, feeling confident and well-prepared, I used my AWS-provided voucher and scheduled the exam for the very next day—Sunday, August 3rd.

With solid prep behind me and a calm mindset, I was ready to put my knowledge to the test.

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💡 Exam Day: Nerves, Questions, and a Surprise Ending

The big day had finally arrived — Sunday, August 3rd. My AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam was scheduled from 12:30 PM to 3:00 PM. I had already set up Pearson VUE’s OnVUE application the night before, so by 12:00 PM, I logged in, completed the identity verification and system checks, and waited as the proctor launched my session.

Right on time, at 12:30 PM, the exam began.

The interface was clean, and I quickly found my rhythm. I worked through all 65 questions, staying focused and managing time carefully. I made sure to flag any questions I wasn’t fully confident about, which helped during the review.

With just five minutes left, I had completed the exam and went back to review all the questions once. Even though I felt I had performed well, imposter syndrome started to creep in — that familiar self-doubt whispered that maybe I’d misunderstood the questions, or worse, wasted my only voucher.

The exam results weren’t immediate; AWS mentioned it could take up to five business days to receive the score. So, to calm my nerves, I decided to distract myself by watching one of Kevin Hart’s comedy specials — and thankfully, it worked. I was laughing and had finally started to unwind.

But then, at around 5:00 PM, I casually checked my email — and there it was.

The first email was from Credly, notifying me that I had earned the badge for AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate. My heart raced. I immediately logged into the AWS Certification portal using my Community Builder ID, and downloaded the results.

To my surprise and delight, I had scored 800 out of 1000.

It was a proud and fulfilling moment. All those hours of study, practice, and note-taking had paid off. Not only had I cleared the exam, but I had done so with a score that validated my understanding and effort.

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💡 What’s Next?

Clearing the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam has not only boosted my confidence but also deepened my understanding of AWS architecture and services. I now feel more prepared to take the next step in my cloud journey.

Up next on my roadmap is the AWS DevOps Engineer – Professional (DOP-C02) certification. This aligns perfectly with my passion for DevOps, automation, and building scalable, reliable infrastructure using AWS-native tools. I’m excited to explore how AWS can empower and streamline modern DevOps workflows — and of course, I’ll be sharing my preparation journey with you along the way.

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💡 Conclusion

I hope this blog gave you a clear and practical roadmap to prepare for the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam. Whether you’re just starting out or looking for motivation to get back on track, remember — consistency and the right resources make all the difference.

If you found this helpful, please give this blog a thumbs-up, share it with your network, and consider subscribing to my newsletter for more AWS, DevOps, and cloud-related content.

Feel free to connect with me here:
🔗 Website: praveshsudha.com
📝 Blog: blog.praveshsudha.com
🐦 Twitter: praveshstwt
💼 LinkedIn: Pravesh Sudha
📺 YouTube: Pravesh Sudha

Thanks for reading, and best of luck on your AWS certification journey! ☁️🚀