AWS Solution Architect Professional exam - Lessons Learned

Summary

The speaker shares their experience of failing the AVS Pro exam, offering a detailed analogy to the school system to explain exam difficulty levels. They discuss their preparation using a Udemy course and test sets, and the technical issues faced during the exam. The lack of immediate results and the challenging questions left them disappointed. Despite the failure, they received a score report and sectional details to improve. They question the value of the certification and suggest that confidence and preparation are key, recommending test centers for difficult exams and emphasizing that certification should be a validation of knowledge, not the primary goal.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker failed the AVS solution Pro exam but encourages learning from the experience.
• 🏫 The difficulty levels of the exam are compared to educational levels: Foundational Cloud Practitioner (grammar school), Associate level (high school), and Pro level (university degree).
• 👨‍🏫 The speaker recommends a course on Udemy by Stefan Marek and his example sets for exam preparation.
• 🔄 The speaker refreshed their knowledge by retaking the Udemy course before the exam due to gaps in learning.
• 💳 The speaker used a voucher to get a discount on the exam fee but faced issues with the exam version's end of life.
• 🚫 Technical difficulties on exam day included problems launching the proctor application and having to use a mobile app for checks.
• 👀 The speaker found the exam questions to be very difficult and different from what was expected.
• 🖥 The speaker suggests using a notebook with better monitor resolution for online exams to improve readability.
• 🏢 For those who prefer not to use a personal computer, scheduling the exam at a test center is recommended.
• 📉 The speaker received immediate feedback of failure but had to wait for the official email for detailed results.
• 🔄 The speaker is considering whether to retake the exam, reflecting on the value and difficulty of the certification.
• 🤔 The speaker questions the value of the certification, suggesting practical experience and Google searches might be more beneficial.

Q & A

What exam did the speaker fail to pass?

The speaker failed to pass the AVS Solution Pro exam.

How does the speaker compare the difficulty levels of the certification?

The speaker compares the difficulty levels to educational levels: foundational Cloud practitioner is like grammar school, the associated level is like high school or secondary school, and the pro level is like a university degree.

What resources did the speaker use for preparation?

The speaker used a course on Udemy from Stefan Marek and example sets from the same instructor for preparation.

What was the speaker's previous experience with the certification?

The speaker had previously passed the associate architect level and had made a video about it.

Why did the speaker retake the course from Stefan Marek before the exam?

The speaker retook the course to refresh their knowledge due to gaps in their learning.

What platform did the speaker use for the exam?

The speaker used Pearson VUE for the exam.

Why couldn't the speaker reschedule the exam?

The speaker couldn't reschedule the exam because it was version one and had an end of life date by the 14th of November.

What technical difficulties did the speaker encounter on the exam day?

The speaker had trouble launching the proctor application for connectivity checks and had to use a mobile application for pre-checks.

What was the speaker's experience with the exam interface?

The speaker found it difficult to read the questions and answers on a small notebook screen and was not allowed to use a second monitor.

How does the speaker feel about the immediate feedback of the exam results?

The speaker was disappointed with the lack of immediate results and the need to wait for an official email.

What was the speaker's final score and the passing requirement?

The speaker scored 699, which is less than the passing requirement of 750.

What advice does the speaker give about retaking the exam?

The speaker suggests that if one is not confident, they should rationalize the exam and learn more before attempting it again.

What is the speaker's overall opinion about the value of the certification?

The speaker believes that the certification has a small edit value and that most of the knowledge can be found through Google or other resources.

What is the speaker's recommendation regarding the certification goal?

The speaker recommends that the certification should not be the primary goal but rather a proof of knowledge that is externally validated.