As someone who has been a cloud fanatic since 2020, one of my best highlights last month was passing the AWS Certified Cloud Practioner exam. The journey from studying to taking the exam was incredible and I am proud of myself for persevering. The journey started last month at my university. I had the chance to join a free AWS summer class which was hosted by Dr. Gokop Goteng. It was a two week course and the most important thing to mention is that, the course demonstrated a foundational understanding of Cloud principles, AWS Services, and other aspects of the Infrastructure as a Service platform that AWS offers, including billing, pricing, and security. It was designed for students to take on the AWS Certified Cloud Practioner Exam.

My preparation for the exam was a little intense because I did not trust myself to go for the exam after taking the course for 2 weeks. In addition to that, there was a two price package for the course which I wanted to win so I really put in the extra work. The price packages were:

• City University of London AWS Best Scholar: This award was given to the student who got the highest mark in the practice exam after the two week course.
• City University of London AWS Most Engaged Student: This award was given to the student who contributed a lot in class, completed all the lab exercises first and scored a good mark in the practice exam.

I used extra resources from udemy and AWS Skill Builder to learn and also prepare for the practice exam. They helped a lot and after the two week course, I was very confident in my AWS skills as a beginner. I was able to pass the practice exam with a 96% mark. Although, I was not able to secure the best scholar award because two course mates had 100% in the practice exam, I did secure the most engaged student award because I worked hard to compete in class with my extra knowledge from resources outside. I was the first person to finish all the labs and had a pretty high mark in the practice exam. I registered and passed the exam the following week after the course. I may have gone a bit overkill with my preparation but it paid off in a good way.

Exploring AWS without prior knowledge is an experience. When it comes to understanding cloud computing and how AWS provides services, there is a lot to learn. The CCP exam focuses heavily on definitions, acronyms, and differentiating between different offerings. With hundreds of acronyms, it quickly becomes a word jumble. It’s difficult at first, but as you explore and practise, you’ll get the hang of it. Studying for the exam boils down to one thing and that is practice. Once you start learning, make sure you play around with the AWS console. I recommend the extra resources that I used to pass the exam which are:

• Stephane Maarek’s AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Course : This course is available on udemy and it is one of the best on the platform. It offers an in-depth of all cloud services for the foundation level and it will teach you how to prepare for the exam. It is also packed with practical knowledge and lab exercises for you to practice. Furthermore, it comes with a lifetime access, which means all future updates on the course will be available for free.
• Stephane Maarek’s AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Practice Exams : This course is also available on udemy and it contains 6 practice exams that mimic the real exam from AWS. It also contains detailed description, references to AWS documentaion and explanations for every single question. Whether you get a question correct or wrong, all the choice of answers are explained in details with extensively referenced AWS documentation. It also comes with a lifetime access.
• AWS Cloud Quest: Cloud Practitioner : This resource right here is a game changer. It is an open world role playing game developed by AWS. It teaches you how to build real world AWS solutions using cloud concepts and exercises. It is a very fun and interactive way to learn about cloud computing and AWS.

If you’re interested in becoming an AWS CCP, I hope you find this useful. If I can do it, I believe anyone can! It all comes down to hard work and making an extra effort to get what you want. I feel a lot more confident in using AWS after taking this exam, and I’m also a lot more motivated to study for the other certifications. My next goal is Solutions Architect Associate, which I hope to achieve by August. Starting with the CCP is a great way to get started with AWS and is the first step toward achieving industry-recognized certifications that demonstrate your Cloud Computing and problem-solving competencies. You’ve got this!