Introduction
I recently passed the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam. I'd like to share my thoughts on what I did to pass and some notes I kept along the way. Before beginning, it's worth considering what this exam is about.
AWS Certified: SAP on AWS - Specialty is intended for individuals in roles that require experience with both SAP and AWS.
Organizations can now identify and develop the right talent with critical knowledge and skills in optimizing SAP workloads on AWS. This certification validates expertise in designing, implementing, migrating, and operating SAP workloads on AWS.
This article gives you an overview which content and training material I used to prepare myself for the AWS PAS-C01 exam.
Exam Prerequisites
Before you take this exam, AWS recommends you have:
- Five or more years of SAP experience
- One or more years of experience working with SAP on AWS
- Ability to design an SAP solution that runs in the AWS Cloud in adherence with best practices laid out in the AWS Well-Architected Framework, and SAP certification and support requirements
Exam overview
Level: Specialty
Length: 170 minutes to complete the exam
Cost: 300 USD
VisitExam pricing for additional cost information.
Format: 65 questions, either multiple choice or multiple response
Delivery method: Pearson VUE and PSI; testing center or online proctored exam
Exam Outline
This exam guide includes weightings, test domains, and objectives for the exam. It is not a comprehensive listing of the content on the exam. However, additional context for each of the objectives is available to help guide your preparation for the exam.
The following table lists the main content domains and their weightings. The table precedes the complete exam content outline, which includes the additional context. The percentage in each domain represents only scored content.
Domain | % of Exam |
Domain 1: Design of SAP workloads on AWS | 30% |
Domain 2: Implementation of SAP workloads on AWS | 24% |
Domain 3: Migration of SAP workloads to AWS | 26% |
Domain 4: Operation and maintenance of SAP workloads on AWS | 20% |
TOTAL | 100% |
๐ More Information on the exam guide can be found here.
How did I prepare ?
I spend a considerable amount of time learning AWS before attempting to take the Certification Exam. It is important that you spend time with AWS for you to be good at it. The Resources I used while preparing I am linking them below one by one.
1) ๐ Courses I took: Initially, I enrolled in a course called โCertified SAP on AWS - Specialty (PAS-C01) Certification Preparation for AWSโ by Cloud Academy which is a very good course and covers all the most important aspects of the AWS and the fundamentals of SAP and it is a very good start towards the certification.
๐ More Information on the course can be found here
2)๐ ๏ธ hands-on projects: Learning only theory won't help , you must work on some hands-on AWS projects. I would recommend you to practice some of the AWS projects from here or you can practice them from skills builder learning Center.
๐some of the projects I practiced are mentioned in my github repository.
3)๐ AWS Ramp-Up Guides: Your guides to learning the AWS Cloud.
- AWS Ramp-Up Guides offer a variety of resources to help you build your skills and knowledge of the AWS Cloud. Each guide features carefully selected digital training, classroom courses, videos, whitepapers, certifications, and more. Explore the guides below by role, solution, or industry area.
๐ more details can be found here
4) ๐ค being part of a Study Groups: I also recommend you to be part of a study groups. it helps you stay focused, probably having study groups with people studying for the same exam is an added benefit.
Study Groups I was part of:
- Cloud and DevOps Babies:
Cloud and DevOps Babies are a global group of babies with curious minds to learn/decode Cloud, DevOps and Microservices tech stacks.
๐ more details can be found here
- Tech Study Slack: TechStudySlack is a Slack for people studying Tech
๐ more details can be found here
5)โ๏ธ practice tests: Lastly I recommend all of you to pass these practice exams before attending the real exam. It provides simulated questions that are very similar to the actual exam.
One of the selling points of this practice exam is that each question contains detailed explanations that will help you gain a deeper understanding of AWS services. It not just explains what the correct answer is, but also explains why other answers are wrong. It is extremely helpful to make you recognize the difference between similar services.
- Tutorials Dojo Practice Exams:
๐ more details can be found here
6)๐ Notes: I outlined the resources I would use and a rough guideline of how I would approach studying. You should find something that works for you but have structure and commit to it.
Useful Study tips and tricks
As usual, more study tips and tricks to help you with the exam:
- This exam is available through online proctoring so that you donโt have to travel to the nearby testing center to take this exam.
- Additional handicap of 30 minutes for non-native English speakers is still available, so make sure that you have requested that.
- Make sure you will use the flagging mechanism and reiterate the questions if you have time.
- There is no penalty for guessing.
- You can and should apply the same rules as in the other exams look here for more details regarding how to read a question and answers.
Additional Resources
Cloud Academyโs Certified SAP on AWS - Specialty (PAS-C01) Certification Preparation for AWS
Andrian Cantrill's AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C02)
I hope this will help you to prepare and evaluate your knowledge. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section ๐ And if you haven't yet, make sure to follow me on below handles:
๐ connect with me on LinkedIn ๐ค connect with me on Twitter ๐ฑโ๐ป follow me on github โ๏ธ Do Checkout my blogs
Like, share and follow me ๐ for more content. Good Luck with your exam! Have Fun. ๐ช