If you’re preparing to take an AWS certification exam, congratulations! You’re stepping up to learn one of the most valuable skills in today’s tech industry. AWS powers significant parts of the internet, and having an AWS certification can open doors to better roles, more pay, and projects that actually excite you.
The tricky part is figuring out how to prepare in a way that fits your life. Most people who enroll for an AWS certification already have a busy job, family commitments, or a to-do list that could fill a small novel. This AWS study guide is designed to help you create a focused, realistic plan that works for you.
We will look at how to choose the right certification, AWS exam tips to pass with less stress, the best study tools for learning the content quickly, and how to use powerful study methods backed by cognitive science to learn faster (and retain for longer).
Let’s dive in!
TL;DR: AWS Study Guide Highlights
- Choose the AWS certification level that matches your current skills and your future career goals.
- AWS exam tips: know that AWS exams focus on real-world scenarios and best-fit solutions, not just facts.
- Build a realistic AWS certification study plan that combines courses, reading, flashcards, and practice tests.
- AWS digital flashcards are your best tool for quickly retaining the knowledge you need to answer the more complex questions posed by AWS exams.
- Take practice exams early so you can identify your knowledge weaknesses and get used to AWS-style questions.
- Learn the core service categories: compute, storage, networking, security, and billing.
- Be consistent. Short, daily study sessions are more effective than long cram sessions.
- On exam day, manage your time, flag tricky questions, and keep calm.
Why Should You Get AWS Certified?
An AWS certification shows that you understand the tools, services, and thinking behind the most widely used cloud platform in the world. That credibility can lead to promotions, career changes, or a salary bump. It also compels you to learn in a structured way, so that you come to understand how cloud services fit together.
AWS certifications include:
- Foundational (2): Cloud Practitioner, AI Practitioner
- Associate (5): Solutions Architect – Associate, Developer, SysOps Administrator – Associate, Machine Learning Engineer – Associate, Data Engineer – Associate
- Professional (2): Solutions Architect Professional, DevOps Engineer Professional
- Specialty (3): Security Specialty, Advanced Networking Specialty, Machine Learning Specialty
Which AWS Certification Should You Start With?
AWS offers four main certification levels, each designed for a different stage of your cloud journey:
- Foundational: Think of this as your AWS 101. It’s perfect for people who are brand-new to cloud computing, or for non-technical roles (like project managers or sales teams) who need to “speak cloud” but not necessarily get their hands dirty with deep technical work. The exam covers core AWS services, the shared responsibility model, and general cloud concepts. (Exam format: 65 questions, 90 minutes)
- Associate: This is the next step up, aimed at those who already have some hands-on AWS experience or a technical background. These certifications start to test how well you can apply cloud concepts in real-world situations, such as designing secure architectures or deploying applications. (Exam format: 65 questions, 130 minutes)
- Professional: These are for seasoned cloud professionals who live and breathe AWS. Expect complex, multi-step scenario questions that require you to make trade-offs between cost, performance, and security. If Associate-level exams are a sprint, Professional-level ones are more like a marathon. (Exam format: 75 questions, 180 minutes)
- Specialty: These focus on deep technical knowledge in specific areas. They are a great option if you already work in a niche field and want to prove your expertise to employers or clients. (Exam format: 65 questions, 170 minutes)
If you’re just starting out, the Cloud Practitioner or AI Practitioner exam is a safe and confidence-building first step. It will give you the language and concepts you need to tackle more advanced certifications later. On the other hand, if you have some technical background (or are impatient to get into the “meat” of AWS architecture), you might start with the Solutions Architect Associate.
What Makes AWS Exams Challenging (and How Can You Beat Them)?
AWS exams are not about rote memorization. You will face:
- Scenario-based questions where you have to choose the best solution among several correct ones.
- Integration questions that test how services work together.
- Time pressure with long, detailed question stems.
To prepare effectively, it helps to start thinking like an AWS solutions architect. That means approaching each question as if you were designing a real system for a real client, weighing up cost, performance, security, and scalability.
For example, imagine you’re asked about storing terabytes of archival data at the lowest possible cost. You’d need to know the differences between Amazon S3 Standard, S3 Glacier, and perhaps even S3 Glacier Deep Archive. Each service has its own pricing model, retrieval time, and ideal use case. An architect’s job is to pick the one that balances budget with business needs.
This is exactly the kind of decision-making you’ll face on the exam.
Pro Tip: it helps to break all of this complex information down into bite-sized flashcards that go beyond simple dry definitions but also present mini-scenarios, training you to quickly recognise the “best fit” answer under exam conditions. (You can find flashcards like that here.)
Over time, this style of practice strengthens both your recall and your instincts, so that when the real test throws a tricky question at you, your brain is already in problem-solving mode.
What’s the Smartest Way to Study for an AWS Certification Exam?
A good AWS certification study plan blends different resources and study techniques so you’re building (and reinforcing) knowledge from multiple angles.
Start by getting your study materials in order. Many learners choose a structured course from a trusted provider like Digital Cloud Training, which specializes in AWS exam prep and produces content that reflects the latest changes to the platform. Begin with a high-level overview of the AWS landscape using videos, whitepapers, or service summaries.
Once you’ve got the big picture, start drilling the core concepts with flashcards. Whether you make them yourself or find a flashcard app that offers already-made flashcard sets, the idea is to use these alongside your course material so you can reinforce each concept as you encounter it. Importantly, choose a flashcard app that has spaced repetition baked into its study algorithm, like Brainscape or Anki.
Spaced repetition is a study method that delivers concepts at a frequency that matches your unique strengths and weaknesses: more often if you don’t know a concept well and less often if you do. This not only drills you on your weak areas, quickly turning them into strengths, but also ensures that you don’t waste any unnecessary time on reviewing content you already know well.
Take practice exams early and repeat them regularly. This will help you spot weak areas, get used to AWS-style questions, and build your timing strategy. AWS exam prep providers like DCT offer free practice questions you can use to benchmark your progress and target your revision effectively.
Finally, make sure you’re covering the core categories that appear across all exams: compute (EC2, Lambda), storage (S3, EBS), networking (VPC, Route 53), security (IAM, KMS), and billing. Most people spend 30 to 60 hours preparing for Associate-level exams and over 100 hours for Professional or Specialty certifications, so pace yourself with a realistic schedule and stick to it.
Why Use Flashcards for AWS Exam Prep?
Digital flashcards are a great tool for AWS exam prep because the exams demand precise recall: the exact name of a service and what it does, which pricing model fits a given scenario, the right CLI command syntax, service limits and defaults, SLA numbers, and the difference between a region and an Availability Zone.
Skimming whitepapers or watching a video lecture can feel productive, but those details fade quickly without structured review. You need repeated, targeted engagement with the most testable concepts until you can retrieve them fast, even under exam pressure.
This is where flashcards (preferably digital and with a built-in spaced repetition algorithm) come in. Flashcards are perfect for swiftly learning (and remembering):
- Service names and purposes
- Pricing models (on-demand vs reserved vs spot)
- CLI commands
- Limits, SLAs, regions vs AZs, and other key specs
So why do digital flashcards work so well? Two proven learning techniques do the heavy lifting: spaced repetition and active recall.
Spaced repetition: Your memory is selective. Review a topic too soon and your brain decides it is already stored; review it too late and you are relearning from scratch. Brainscape’s spaced repetition algorithm finds the sweet spot, resurfacing each card right before you are likely to forget it. This timing optimizes learning efficiency.
After each review, you rate your confidence, which adjusts the schedule. Harder cards come back more often, while easier ones return less often, so you spend the bulk of your time on what needs the most work. Over time, the “forgetting curve” flattens, and those details start to feel automatic.
Active recall: You see the prompt, such as, “What’s the cheapest storage class for long-term archives with hours-level retrieval?” and must produce the answer before flipping the card. That mental effort strengthens the neural pathways you’ll rely on when you are facing a 65-question clock.
Flashcards blend these cognitive science techniques automatically, zeroing in on your weak areas so that every minute of study delivers maximum return. By automating the decision process behind what to study, you can put more mental energy into learning, which in turn makes you more likely to study.
How Should You Structure Your AWS Study Plan?
A smart AWS study plan helps you build your knowledge layer by layer. Here’s how a six-week schedule might look in real life:
Weeks 1–2: Build your foundation. Start with videos, diagrams, and service overviews to get familiar with the AWS landscape. Think of this as learning the “map” before you start memorizing the street names. Watch tutorials, read AWS whitepapers at a high level, and jot down any terms or acronyms that pop up repeatedly. These will likely be core to your exam.
Weeks 3–4: Deepen your understanding and add active practice with flashcards. Now that you’ve got the big picture, it’s time to start drilling. Begin your flashcard study sessions to reinforce key facts, and take your first practice test to see where you stand. Don’t stress if the score isn’t perfect. This is just your diagnostic. Use the results to identify weak areas, then prioritize those in your flashcard reviews and reading.
Weeks 5–6: Put yourself to the test and troubleshoot weak spots. Shift your focus to high-priority topics and any stubborn problem areas. Keep taking practice exams to refine your timing and question-reading skills, and maintain your daily flashcard routine. This is also a good time to review AWS Well-Architected Pillars and common service integrations, since these often show up in scenario-based questions.
Weeks 7–8: Refine and review. Use these final weeks for a concentrated review of your flashcards and AWS documentation. Go over the Well-Architected Framework, read any last-minute notes, and make sure you can explain core services out loud without looking them up.
Use daily review sessions with flashcards to keep your knowledge active and fresh. Even 15 minutes a day can make a huge difference.
How Do You Know You’re Ready for the AWS Exam?
You will know you are ready when you:
- Score consistently above 80% on practice tests.
- Can explain core services (such as EC2, S3, or IAM) in your own words, without looking at notes.
- Understand the AWS Well-Architected Framework and can apply its pillars to example scenarios.
Can You Pass Without AWS Experience?
Yes, you can absolutely pass an AWS certification without prior hands-on experience if you study well and use the right resources like flashcards and practice tests. The key is to follow a structured, deliberate study plan that builds both your knowledge and your ability to apply it under exam conditions.
Start by choosing a reputable AWS course that clearly explains the services, best practices, and exam domains in a logical order. Pair that with scenario-based flashcards so you’re not just memorizing definitions, but actively learning how to apply concepts in realistic situations.
Practice exams are your third essential tool. They prepare you for the question style, time pressure, and tricky “best fit” answers AWS loves to use. Review every wrong answer until you can explain why the correct one is best, then revisit that topic in your flashcards until it sticks.
If you’ve never worked with AWS before, this mix of structured learning, active recall, and exam-style practice will help you bridge the gap between theory and experience, so you can walk into test day feeling confident and prepared.
Test Day Strategy: What to Expect and How to Stay Focused
AWS exams are proctored, which means you’ll either sit for them in person at a testing center or take them online under remote supervision. Both formats have their quirks:
- At a testing center, you’ll have to store personal items in a locker and follow strict rules about breaks.
- For an online proctored exam, you’ll need a quiet, private space, a stable internet connection, and a working webcam, and you’ll be monitored the whole time.
Expect 65 to 75 questions, most of which are multiple-choice or multiple-response, with about 130 minutes to complete the test. That gives you roughly two minutes per question, so pace yourself. If you hit a tricky one that’s eating up time, use the “flag” feature to mark it and move on. You can come back later once you’ve knocked out the easier ones.
Your mindset on test day matters as much as your knowledge. Stick to a familiar pre-exam routine: get a good night’s sleep, eat a balanced breakfast, and give yourself time to settle in before the clock starts.
Remember: AWS doesn’t expect perfection. Even top scorers guess on a few questions. Focus on doing your best with the ones you know, make smart guesses on the rest, and keep your cool from start to finish.
Final Thoughts: Your AWS Study Plan Starts Now
You’ve got your map for success, from picking the right certification to building a study routine that actually sticks. The hard part isn’t figuring out what to do anymore. It’s simply showing up every day and following the plan you’ve built.
So, take a deep breath. Picture yourself sitting down for the exam, calm and ready, knowing you’ve already practiced for every scenario AWS might throw your way, even if it involves a service with a name like Glue or Snowball. And when that passing score hits your inbox, you’ll be giving your past self a silent high-five for every coffee-break quiz, bus-ride review, and late-night flashcard session instead of another scroll through social media.
You got this—good luck!
Free Resources for AWS Exam Prep
- Free AWS Practice Questions
- The Top 15 AWS Services You Need to Know
- Free AWS Projects Guide to Build Real Cloud Skills
References
Ebbinghaus, H. (1913). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.
Explore all AWS certification exams | Validate AWS Cloud Skills | AWS. (n.d.). https://aws.amazon.com/certification/exams/
Job, V., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2010). Ego depletion—Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686-1693.
Lally, P., & Gardner, B. (2013). Promoting habit formation. Health Psychology Review, 7(sup1), S137-S158.
Orbell, S., & Verplanken, B. (2010). The automatic component of habit in health behavior: Habit as cue-contingent automaticity. Health Psychology, 29(4), 374.