In February 2023, I embarked on a challenging journey starting with the Machine Learning Specialty (MLS) certification. After seven months, by September 2023, I finally achieved the milestone of acquiring all AWS certifications.
Defying the common belief of it being an overwhelming task, I chose a unique approach to my learning. Instead of following the typical advice found in study blogs – such as reading two or three reference books before tackling practice questions or extensively watching Black Belt videos – I focused primarily on solving practice problems. This strategy led me to efficiently complete all certifications in a surprisingly effective manner.
My Background
I'm in my fourth year as an engineer, primarily focusing on AI research and infrastructure redesign and construction. Occasionally, I also engage in application development, both front-end and back-end. I've been with my current company for about a year now, but before that, my main role involved developing mobile applications. Although I had some experience with a few AWS services like SQS and S3, it's only in the past four months that I've started using AWS more extensively.
During this period, I've had the opportunity to work with a wide range of AWS services, gaining extensive experience with EC2, IAM, VPC, VPC Endpoint, S3, ECS (Fargate), ECR, Athena, Glue, Lambda, API Gateway, Route53, RDS, WAF, Config, GuardDuty, EventBridge, CloudTrail, CloudWatch, Amplify, Cognito, CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodePipeline, Cost Explorer, Budgets, SNS, Systems Manager, and SageMaker.
Why I Aimed for All Certifications
The primary reason was the cost-effectiveness of these certifications as an asset, especially since my company was willing to cover the examination fees.
Since joining my current company and taking on AI-related tasks, I've had the benefit of the company sponsoring certification exam fees as part of our welfare program. This encouraged me to deepen my knowledge in machine learning, so I started with the MLS certification and passed it relatively easily. Knowing that acquiring all certifications could lead to significant recognition and appreciation, and considering that each could be achieved with 2-3 weeks of study, I saw great value in pursuing them all and decided to take on the challenge.
Certification Schedule
Here's my exam history:
I passed the Specialty exams from MLS to DAS in succession but overconfidently failed the SOA on my first attempt. I passed all other exams on the first try. Despite major life events occurring between March and May, I commend myself for consistently taking exams without breaks.
Learning Tools
I primarily used online question banks for my studies. Sometimes I referred to textbooks when explanations in question banks were unclear, but mostly, I dedicated my time to solving practice questions (about seven rounds in two weeks). When textbooks didn't clear up my doubts, I turned to ChatGPT for questions.
For the initial exams (MLS, SCS, DBS, DAS), I used Tech Stock’s question bank (in Japanese, apologies). After failing SOA with Tech Stock alone, I switched to CloudTech’s question bank. CloudTech was excellent in terms of explanation quality and accuracy of questions. I relied solely on it for SOA, DVA, SAP, PAS, DOP, and CLF.
However, I felt CloudTech's ANS question bank was more like a terminology quiz and didn't align well with the actual exam trend, so I used it in conjunction with Tech Stock. This strategy proved more effective for ANS.
While many AWS-certified professionals recommend watching Black Belt videos and reviewing English materials, my experience suggests that, except for ANS, such extensive time investment isn’t necessary. Efficient study is paramount, especially when balancing work and learning. I recommend mastering question banks and only delving into additional study when the exam content directly relates to your job.
Challenging Exams
In my experience, the difficulty level of the exams is as follows: ANS>>>>>SAP>=SCS>SOA>DOP>>SAA>DBS=DAS>MLS>DVA>CLF>PAS
ANS and SAP are notoriously difficult, so I prepared accordingly (barely passing ANS). I underestimated SCS and CLF and almost stumbled, actually stumbling on SOA.
Particularly in SCS and SOA, narrowing down from two choices was challenging. In CLF, there were many abstract questions like "Which principle of the Well-Architected Framework does this apply to?" which was unexpected. Don’t get complacent even if you have higher-level certifications like SAA or SAP.
Positive Outcomes
The most significant benefit I’ve noticed is the smoother engagement in my work. Since there were no team members knowledgeable in infrastructure at my company, the knowledge gained from certifications and ChatGPT’s support significantly improved my work efficiency. This allowed me to maintain project pace while tackling more advanced tasks. Certifications in SCS, DBS, SOA, DVA, and DOP particularly helped improve the quality of my work.
Study Order
Since you can pass any exam in 2-3 weeks (CLF, PAS, DVA even less), the order of taking exams doesn’t really matter.
In my case, I started with MLS (excluding SAA, which I had long before) and ended with CLF, an unconventional order, but I didn’t find it inefficient. Each exam has its unique characteristics and required knowledge/skills. It’s probably best to plan your exam sequence based on your experience and strengths.
Disappointment
After achieving all certifications, I thought I could apply for the 2024 Japan AWS All Certifications Engineers but realized I didn’t meet the application criteria. The annual $2,500 USD for an early startup is steep. Moreover, I’ve already spent more on exam fees! I feel like I deserve some recognition!
Also, it seems there are more certification exams recently. There’s no end to this...
https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-data-engineer-associate/?nc1=h_ls
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