Note on AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C01) Exam

Takahiro Iwasa

Dec 10, 2019

3 min read

AWS Certification

I successfully passed the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C01) exam and want to share tips to help you prepare and succeed.

Prior to taking this exam, I had experience using AWS services and had already passed the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C00) exam back in March 2017.

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Note on AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C00) Exam | wasabee.dev

When preparing for the Associate exam, my primary focus was to pass before my company’s AWS Partner status expired. This time, however, my focus shifted towards gaining a deeper understanding of cloud-native architectures.

I began considering the Professional-level exam in July 2019, planning to take it in September. However, the exam was updated in February, introducing changes in topics and a 10% higher passing score.

The lack of updated resources initially stalled my progress, but I discovered Jayendra’s Blog, which proved invaluable. This blog offered a structured learning path for the updated exam.

I took the official AWS practice test on October 13th for 4,400 yen. My results were as follows:

1.0  Design for Organizational Complexity: 0%
2.0  Design for New Solutions: 80%
3.0  Migration Planning: 75%
4.0  Cost Control: 50%
5.0  Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions: 85%

These scores highlighted areas requiring improvement, especially Design for Organizational Complexity.

I attempted the exam on October 27th but unfortunately did not pass, scoring 684 out of 1,000. Time management was a significant challenge; I managed to answer only 32 questions in the first 90 minutes of the 180-minute exam.

Based on lessons learned from my first attempt, I adopted a strategy of answering each question in 2 minutes during the exam. On December 8th, I passed with a score of 902 out of 1,000.

• Jayendra’s Blog: A detailed, well-organized guide covering all exam topics. Highly recommended.

• Exam Guide
• AWS Whitepapers & Guides
• AWS Documentation
• AWS Architecture Center
• FAQ
• AWS Official Practice Test

• Udemy - AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional Practice Exam: Udemy’s detailed explanations and time-management features were instrumental during my preparation.

Through studying for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional exam, I gained a deeper understanding of cloud-native architectures not only on AWS but also on other cloud platforms like Azure and GCP.

For those preparing for this exam, I recommend focusing on understanding core concepts, practicing time management, and leveraging resources provided by online learning platforms such as Udemy.