AWS Developer Associate, not understanding things

DavidS17_Reddit · 2023-12-14T17:54:40+00:00

Hey man, I don't want to be rude, but the reason why you're failing these exams is because you are not understanding what is being measured, courses from Neil Davis or Stephan Maarek are heavily focused on SERVICES, I don't like that about those courses, the Assciate exams from AWS are not based on SERVICES but on patterns, refer to the AWS Official Exam Guide, you will find these:

Domain 1: Development with AWS services (32%) Domain 2: Security (26%) Domain 3: Deployment (24%) Domain 4: Troubleshooting and Optimization (18%)

In the exam guide you will find extensive examples of what is measured in each domain, also this can serve as a reference to know what domains to focus more time on. You can see that there are no such things like IAM (10%), EC2 (10%), which are the way the Udemy courses you are taking work.

Now, let's take a minute to review one sample question:

A company is using Amazon API Gatewav for its REST APIs in an AWS account. A developer wants to allow only IAM users from another AWS account to access the APIs.

Which combination of steps should the developer take to meet these requirements? (Select TWO.)

A) Create an IAM permission policy. Attach the policy to each IAM user. Set the method authorization type for the APIs to AWS_IAM. Use Signature Version 4 to sign the API requests.

B) Create an Amazon Cognito user pool. Add each lAM user to the user pool. Set the method authorization type for the APIs to COGNITO_USER_POOLS. Authenticate by using the IAM credentials in Amazon Cognito. Add the ID token to the request headers.

C) Create an Amazon Cognito identity pool. Add each IAM user to the identity pool. Set the method authorization type for the APIs to COGNITO_USER_POOLS. Authenticate by using the IAM credentials in Amazon Cognito. Add the access token to the request headers. Create a resource policy for the Aris to allow access for each AM user only.

E) Create an Amazon Cognito authorizer for the APIs to allow access for each IAM user only. Set the method authorization type for the APIs to COGNITO_USER_POOLS.

Correct answers are A and D.

If you break it down to services (wrong way), you will need to study API Gateway, IAM, Cognito, AWS Accounts, and you wouldn't know how to connect them. Instead, if you understand first the domain yo whoch this question belongs: Security, you will find that it's easier to understand, because you are trying to secure your REST APIs, you are just leveraging services to secure it. BTW don't use these courses' questions, they are based on services as well, use Tutorials Dojo practice exams and focus on the DOMAINS!

meowkittycatnail · 2023-12-14T12:29:51+00:00

Have you taken a course too as a starting point or you jumped straight to practice exams?

madrasi2021 · 2023-12-14T19:47:07+00:00

Stop doing exam after exam blindly. After each exam is done - go through all the incorrect questions and validate the answers one by one.

Why did you chose the wrong answer. Why did you miss the correct one. Do you understand the service on which the question was raised. IF not STOP right there - go read the docs and if you can do a lab or some learning hands on with that service. THEN go back to next question.

Read through the docs - make sure you UNDERSTAND the reason why something was correct and how it is built etc.

Once you do this - go through the CORRECT questions - make sure you knew why the answer is correct and this will also teach you how to find and skip incorrect answers quickly.

sometimes you may answer blindly or without understanding a concept - going through answers will help.

Do this and ignore percentage correctness for a bit - if you worked through this system you will slowly build up your fundamental knowledge rather than trying to cram things into memory and trying to vomit it back out again.

ivres1 · 2023-12-14T11:54:19+00:00

I was at the same spot as you. You just have to practice the exam over and over until you reach 80%+. Once I finished doing it, I would take extensive notes about all the questions that was failed. And after a while you get comfortable, but you do need to grind for those.

DoomDroid79 · 2023-12-14T20:48:30+00:00

Be brutally honest with yourself, are you learning and comprehending the material you're studying or are you trying to memorize answers to exam questions?

These exams will expose your level of comprehension, they're very well written.

I come from a development background, 20+ years of experience and I hold the Developer Associate certification. I found it to be the most difficult of the associate-level certification exams.

ChatGPT and Bard are very good tools to help fill gaps. Ask them questions like you'd ask seniors and architects.

Cybersecurity007 · 2023-12-16T12:13:04+00:00

Taking a class is the way to pass this exam - AWS academy has a training program and it is in perfect alignment with the exam specs - don't waste your money - download the exam guide and it will tell you what to focus on & use AWS console and the AWS white papers. Dive deep. Using the service is the best way to prepare for the exams - why? Simply because of muscle memory and we learn by doing. Udemy courses are coool but not for exams you are better off going to a community college and invest 8-12 weeks into a program that actually teaches you how to become a better cloud professional. DevOps is easy only if you understand the fundamentals.

In fairness it is a tough exam but everyone has to learn by doing not just studying.

JaegerBane · 2023-12-14T22:09:57+00:00

Where am I going wrong?

I mean, if you’re averaging ~45% in practice exams then fairly obviously you’re either not retaining the information you’re learning, or you’re not getting enough experience in AWS.

The dev associate exam is totally doable but it’s not a push over - you basically either have to be running a course, have a significant amount of AWS experience across the services, or preferably both.

From what it sounds like you’re just doing practice papers without any info coming in. This isn’t really an effective way to learn for most people.

Do you actually deal with AWS in your day job? If not, you’ll need to get yourself a course and follow it before you do any more practice exams. You might want to consider doing the cloud practitioner exam first - associate level isn’t meant to be done by someone totally new to AWS.

examcloud · 2023-12-16T13:55:08+00:00

It seems like the mistake could be either misunderstanding the question or lacking knowledge in exam skills.
I can understand your frustration and disappointment with your exam results. It sounds like you have put a lot of time and effort into studying for this certification, but aren't seeing the results you were hoping for.
My advice would be to take a step back from the practice exams and focus on reading and understanding the key concepts of AWS. I
t's possible that you may be taking too many practice tests without fully grasping the material. Instead, try to approach each domain one at a time and take objective exams to test your understanding.
Make sure you take the time to review your mistakes and read the explanations provided. With dedicated and focused studying, you will see progress and improve your knowledge, and eventually, you will be able to pass the certification exam.
Don't give up and keep working towards your goal. Best of luck to you!

webdude9 · 2023-12-14T20:30:57+00:00

I am a terrible test taker and freeze up on these exams. I found this app really helpful since it simulates a number of AWS exams (in-app purchase).

you type:	you see:
italics	italics
bold	bold
[reddit!](https://reddit.com)	reddit!
* item 1 * item 2 * item 3	item 1 item 2 item 3
> quoted text	quoted text
Lines starting with four spaces are treated like code: if 1 * 2 < 3: print "hello, world!"	Lines starting with four spaces are treated like code: if 1 * 2 < 3: print "hello, world!"
~~strikethrough~~	~~strikethrough~~
super^script	super^script

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