AWS SA Pro: half-done studying

A few times ago, I received an email from AWS Certifications warning me that my current AWS Solutions Architect Associate was about to expire within six months.

I took the challenge to study the AWS Solution Architect Professional to recertify.

About the AWS SA Pro

This is one of the most demanding AWS certifications comparable to Cisco CCIE regarding expertise. You’re required to master each AWS service, and able to pick up the most cost-effective, secure solution for different scenarios.

The final exam is a list of multiple-choice questions with extensive context scenarios. 65 questions. 2 hours. The score is between 100 to 1000, and the requirement to 750 to pass.

Adrian Cantrill for highly material course content

Adrian is a veteran AWS instructor based in Brisbane, Australia. He creates high-quality video courses. Along with the methods come labs that you can reproduce by yourself.

All the slides are crystal-clear with interactive diagrams.

Courses are charged from 48 to 96 USD per certification, and cheaper bundles are also offered.

Even if you are not getting into the certification exam, these courses are highly instructive and worth any penny.

Networking Fundamentals are not left away; you can discover these courses for free on Adrian’s Youtube Channel.

AWS SA Pro is Marathon… how to keep-up the pace

The total Adrian’s lecture duration for AWS SA Pro is 70 hours, including about 21 hours of demo practice.

The advised daily study duration is about 2 hours a business day (and 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday), during 8 to 10 weeks.

On almost any e-learning system (including Teacheable, used for Adrian’s courses), you can retrieve the realtime progression objective.

A dedicated Google Sheet to follow your progress

In order to keep my completion objective, I’ve created a Google Sheets that you can retrieve, and duplicate for yourself.

Initial setup

Enter the start date of your studies, with the initial objective (gray) /progression status (yellow column).

The first day, your completion and objective should have the same values.

Find your completion objective date, and write down 100% facing the date. The date is colored in pink. VLANs

Day after day, observe your objective progression

Then Every day, you just have to enter your current (yellow) daily completion. If you did not study on a given day, just repeat the completion percentage.

Informations delivered by the Google Sheet :

• Daily progression
• Your current status versus your objective (ontime/ahead/behind)
• Your estimated completion date
• The trend versus your objective

Conclusion

It’s easy to deviate from your long-term objectives, by lack of motivation or because of everyday’s chores. Having a visual representation of your progress can be helpful to keep going.

Feel free to copy the Google Sheet for your own needs, any feedback is welcomed.

Let’s discuss again for the Exam readiness preparation… in 30 days based on the current forecast 😜