How I passed the CLF-C01 AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam

June 28, 2021 Peter Girnus

Background

On the backend of achieving my Cisco Certified CyberOps last week, I decided to push myself with some basic cloud certifications. I decided to go for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam to brush up on some basic cloud knowledge as well as lay the groundwork for more advanced certifications. I gave myself a week to study for this exam. I have experience using AWS and hold the AWS Certified Developer - Associate certification, so I thought this was a fair timeframe. If you don't have any experience with AWS, your mileage may vary but push yourself as the exam is foundational, especially if you have basic IT knowledge.

Exam Details

You can find more information on the exam details here.

The test consists of 65 questions, either multiple choice or multiple responses.
You can take the exam at a testing center or as an online proctored exam.
You have 90 minutes to complete the exam.
A passing score of 700.
The exam costs $100.

Abilities Validated by the Certification

Define what the AWS Cloud is and the basic global infrastructure

Describe basic AWS Cloud architectural principles
Describe the AWS Cloud value proposition
Describe critical services on the AWS platform and their everyday use cases (for example, compute and analytics)
Describe basic security and compliance aspects of the AWS platform and the shared security model
Define the billing, account management, and pricing models
Identify sources of documentation or technical assistance (for example, whitepapers or support tickets)
Describe basic/core characteristics of deploying and operating in the AWS Cloud

Exam Core Domains

You can download the AWS AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam blueprint here.

The exam contains the following domains:

Cloud Concepts - 26% of the exam.
Security & Compliance - 25% of the exam.
Technology - 33% of the exam.
Billing & Pricing - 16% of the exam.

My Study Method

I used the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Guide: CLF-C01 Exam 1st Edition from Sybex as my primary reading material, which I read from front to back. You only need to read about 220 pages, which is significantly less than most certification guides. I felt like this was a great book to lay the foundation for further learning. It turns out I bought the 2019 version, so you may want to invest in the 2020 version or a more recent study guide. While the content was great, I noticed a few things mentioned on the exam that I did not come across through this guide.

After reading the study guide, I went through the review questions at the end of each chapter to test my knowledge. At the end of each chapter, there is also a chapter summary as well as exam essentials. I took notes using my Notion account and used the summary and exam essentials sections as a jumping-off point for reading AWS whitepapers. AWS whitepapers are a treasure trove of valuable information that will help you significantly across your cloud journey. I will link the whitepapers I found most helpful at the end.

After I took notes and felt confident on the questions from the study guide, I used the study tools provided by Sybex. If you bought a Sybex book, you'll need to register your book, which will give you access to electronic flashcards and two practice exams. I used these in conjunction with AWS references and whitepapers to further cement my knowledge.

Note: If you’re new to AWS be sure to set up the AWS Free Tier this will give you a chance to play around with the AWS ecosystem using minimal configurations, for free! The study guide I used even has some useful exercises you can use in conjunction with the free tier to gain practical knowledge of the material.

My Testing Experience

I scheduled my AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam at my local PearsonVue testing center on June 25th, 2021, @ noon. This date also happens to be my birthday! Yay! As I noted earlier, some material I came across on the exam was not mentioned in the study guide due to the study guide being from 2019. With that in mind make sure your study guide or course material is up to date, you've read the critical AWS whitepapers, and you have a foundational understanding of different AWS components, services, and aspects of AWS.

All in all, it was a good testing experience. I scored 964/1000 in about 36 minutes. At the end of the exam, you'll receive a pass/fail message and a print it out from the testing center. AWS validates scores and says it can take up to to 5 days to post scores to the AWS Certification portal. I received my official score the next day!

I hope this was helpful to you on your learning journey. Good luck, everyone, and happy hunting! I will be taking my AZ-900 - Microsoft Azure Fundamentals next week so stay tuned for an update. Feel free to shoot me any comments or questions.