PASSED: SOA-C01 AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate Exam
Today I successfully added another AWS certification to my tool belt by passing the SOA-C01 AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate exam!
The SOA-C01 exam has a reputation for being difficult, and today I found that out first-hand. This exam was a doozy, and definitely goes down as one of the harder certification exams I have taken. I went into this exam feeling confident. I have spent a lot of time studying and have utilized a lot of resources. Similar preparations left me feeling that the Solutions Architect exam was a breeze - but I was not feeling that way by the end of this test. I am definitely glad I listened to more seasoned AWS professionals and had tackled the SA exam first!
While the previous two AWS exams only took me roughly 45 minutes to complete, this one took me 75 minutes, and like the SA exam, this one was also 65 questions. This one definitely required a lot of analytical examination.
Study resources I utilized for this exam were:
- The SysOps Administrator - Associate Exam course through Linux Academy
- The official study guide from Wiley/Sybex, which can be found here
- Sample questions from the exam information page on AWS
- The exam readiness review found on the AWS training website
- The Well-Architected Framework whitepaper from AWS
Also, prior to this exam, I studied for and passed the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exams. Resources and information on study materials for those exams can be found here and here, respectively.
As always, I really enjoyed Linux Academy's course. Nearly 30 hours of videos, hands-on labs, and quizzes/tests. I always find more information is needed though, which is why I also will incorporate a study guide.
Originally my plan was to wait until November to pursue the SysOps certification, because the 2nd edition of the official study guide was supposed to be released then, and the exam has changed since the first edition. Unfortunately, the 2nd edition has been delayed until March, and I didn't want to wait that long so I opted for the 1st edition. I really was not a fan of this book. As mentioned, the test has changed since its release, so you do have to be careful of out-of-date information, but the book itself, how it was written and organized, I was not a fan of. It was also very repetitive, making the book much longer than it needed to be. The authors try to make the guide be an "every day reference", which I appreciate, as I would rather have more knowledge available than not enough, but it just went too far in-depth in all of the wrong areas, not the ones most applicable to the test. Some of the quizzes were excellent help, others not-so-much - either due to poor wording, or because it was asking for knowledge not covered in the chapter, or at all. I don't think investing time with this book was a mistake, but I don't think it was as beneficial as it could have been for being the official study guide of the exam.
The exam readiness review on the AWS training site is a 90 minute video that goes over all of the modules of the exam and covers a large number of review questions. This is great to provide familiarity with how questions will be asked on the exam, and gives hints on phrasing to look out for. If you haven't taken an AWS exam before, these readiness videos are definitely worth the time.
AWS also offers sample questions on the exam information page. These are free and are a great way to become acclimated with the question formatting, and to get an idea of some areas you may need to brush up on. Unlike the sample questions for the SAA-C01 exam, the English version of the SOA-C01 sample questions does not provide answers to the questions, however if you download the Japanese version, you can find the answers there.
Lastly, for any AWS exam it is always a good idea to reacquaint yourself with the AWS Well-Architected Framework, as this is a core element to everything done in AWS, and it is has a heavy presence in the exam questions.
Even with all of the above, I definitely felt like there were areas represented on the exam that did not have sufficient presence within the study materials. Based on the materials, I was definitely expecting an exam that more closely resembled the Solutions Architect - Associate exam. While reading and watching the review information is critical, I would recommend much more lab-time than is offered via the Linux Academy course. Every task the course and book talks about, not only do it for yourself in AWS, but become intimately familiar with the minor details and options, and how the different AWS services interact with each other. Then, when taking the test, careful reading will be paramount, along with your ability to utilize the process of elimination.
I am so relieved to have this exam out of the way! I am definitely looking forward to continuing learning about AWS, but a short break is due as I continue to expand my Linux and Python skill set.
Until next time -