Slides from my talk at Big Data Manchester Meetup August 2022 on how to get AWS certified and why you should bother. https://meetu.ps/e/L9VcB/vPxbL/i

1. getting
and why bother?
certified
@mattdevdba

3. retired

4. what is it actually like to take an exam?
how are the questions written?
what are the restrictions on environment?

5. exam creation
12
months + job role
testing
the test
MQC
minimally qualified
candidate

6. question format
A web application allows customers to upload orders to an Amazon S3
bucket. The resulting S3 events trigger an AWS Lambda function that
inserts a message in an Amazon SQS queue. A single Amazon EC2
instance reads messages from the queue, processes them, and stores
them in an Amazon DynamoDB table partitioned by unique order ID. Next
month, traffic is expected to increase by a factor of 10. A Solutions
Architect is reviewing the architecture for possible scaling problems.
Scenario
Stem
Which component is MOST likely to need re-architecting to be able
to scale to accommodate the new traffic?
Question
A. Lambda function
B. SQS queue
C. EC2 instance
D. DynamoDB table

7. invalid answer format
true/false matching
drag and drop fill in the blank
arithmetic problems

8. cognitive levels
RECALL UNDERSTAND/APPLY ANALYZE/EVALUATE
identify determine troubleshoot
define use analyse
list classify assess

9. aligning complexity to role
FOUNDATIONAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONAL SPECIALIST
recall or
understand/apply
understand/apply analyze/evaluate analyze/evaluate
identify, defining,
recognising
may include some
analyze/evaluate
some limited
understand/apply
some limited
understand/apply
limited to a single AWS
service/feature
comparing,
demonstrating and
using
differentiating,
determining and
troubleshooting
differentiating,
determining and
troubleshooting
focused primarily
on a single service
multiple AWS services
and features
multiple AWS services and
features and also single
services when appropriate

10. hints and tips

11. hints and tips

12. why bother?

14. credibility
APN discount
career prospects
first job in IT
why bother?

15. @mattdevdba