How I passed the AWS Developer Associate in 3 months (Score: 869) - Tips for fellow devs.
I just passed the AWS Certified Developer Associate exam!
I wanted to share my experience and the path I took to get certified. I’ve been a developer for about 3 years, working with stacks like React, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Git, and TypeScript. This year, I decided to scale my skills to the cloud. Being a dev, this certification felt like the perfect entry point.
Background & Preparation I started with almost zero AWS experience. However, the more I researched, the more fascinated I became by how these services handle infrastructure and high availability, allowing us to focus on code.
- Timeline: About 2.5 to 3 months of consistent study.
- Course: I started Stephane Maarek’s course in February, dedicating 2–3 hours a day.
- Resources: I used some flashcards (though I wasn't as consistent as I should have been) and took extensive notes on core services.
The Turning Point: Practice Exams I completed every single test from Jon Bonso (Tutorials Dojo). I cannot stress this enough: DO THE TESTS! Failing a question, feeling that frustration, and then diving deep into the documentation to understand why you were wrong is where the real learning happens. It’s much more effective than getting a right answer without knowing the "why."
Tutorials Dojo exams are definitely harder than the real thing, which is great because they over-prepare you for complex scenarios.
The Exam Experience The real exam felt "easier" in terms of phrasing, but surprisingly complex when it came to choosing the best option among several correct-looking ones. That’s where your architectural understanding kicks in.
I walked out feeling uncertain, but confident that I had put in the work. Five hours later, the "PASS" email arrived—it was an incredible feeling to see months of discipline pay off with a score of 869.
My Recommendations:
- Prior Experience Matters: My dev background helped a lot. If you have zero dev experience, this might be a steeper hill to climb.
- Study Habits: Eat well, sleep well (rest is as vital as study time), and use flashcards daily if you can.
- The "Rubber Duck" Method: Try explaining concepts to a friend or even a wall. If you can explain it simply, you’ve mastered it.
- Deep Dive into Serverless: My exam was heavy on SQS, SNS, API Gateway, and Lambda. Understand the "when" and "why" for each integration pattern.
Final thoughts: If I could do it, you can too! Don't let your ego get in the way during practice tests—embrace the mistakes.
Good luck to everyone on their cloud journey! 🚀