Passing the AWS Solutions Architect - Professional exam isn't just about knowing which services to use, but about understanding how to interconnect them under pressure and with cost, security, and scalability constraints. After weeks of intense preparation, I want to share the path that allowed me to obtain the certification.
I prepared for three intense weeks, and I want to share exactly how I approached it—what worked, what didn't, and how I leveraged AI to make the process much faster and more effective.
Here are several key points that helped me achieve this:
1. The Theoretical Foundation: Ultimate AWS Certified Solutions Architect
The first thing I did was familiarize myself with the official AWS documentation, because I knew this exam wasn't just about memorization. It's about understanding the trade-offs, architectures, and design decisions at a deep level.
So I focused on reviewing the service documentation for topics I wasn't entirely confident in, such as migration strategies, hybrid architectures, cost optimization, and security patterns.
2. Leveraging Structured Guidance and Prior Experience
I studied Stéphane Maarek's Udemy course course as my primary study framework. I didn't watch the videos because my main interest in the course was the course documentation and the practice exams.
3. The Trial by Fire: Exam Simulations
The difficulty level of the questions on the actual exam is significantly higher than at the Associate level. I used Jon Bonoso's Practice Exams (Tutorials Dojo) and those included in the Udemy course.
Strategy: Don't try to memorize answers. The important thing is to read the explanations of why the incorrect options are wrong.
Success metric: Don't schedule the exam until you're consistently averaging 85% or higher on practice tests.
4. Use AI to Support Your Studying
This was the first time I seriously used AI as part of my study process, and it made a huge difference.
Whenever I didn't fully understand a scenario or an architectural trade-off, I would ask the AI to:
Provide similar real-world use cases
Discuss design options with me
Explain complex services as if they were being deployed in production
It became like having a personal study partner and technical reviewer available 24/7. That constant feedback loop helped me internalize the reasoning behind AWS best practices, not just memorize facts.
In Notebook LLM, add the information sources you use for studying and use different formats. It currently supports Latin American Spanish.
Create flashcards to review definitions or important information.
Generate an audio summary, similar to a podcast, of the longer or more complex topics.
Slides because the best way to internalize the content is by teaching it to others.
Infographics to reinforce a service or topic and validate it concretely.
Audio summaries a podcast-style conversation where a topic is addressed.
You can use these resources to understand various topics more easily. You can also ask about the differences between services or use cases of a particular architecture.
When a question is very long, mark it to review it at the end so you don't waste valuable exam time.
5. Techniques for surviving the exam
The exam lasts 180 minutes and consists of 75 questions. That's less than 3 minutes per question, which are usually two- or three-paragraph scenarios.
Back-reading: Read the last sentence (the actual question) first, then the scenario. This helps you filter out irrelevant information.
Aggressive elimination: Look for keywords like "more profitable" or "lower operating overhead." Often, two answers are technically correct, but only one meets the business constraint.
6. Elimination Technique
One of the best ways to simplify the process of choosing answers is to eliminate incorrect options, thus reducing the likelihood of errors. To do this, you must understand the requirements of the problem statement and look for keywords such as: cost optimization, scalability, and latency. Then, review the provided options and easily identify the services that do not apply to solving the problem so you can focus on differentiating those services.
7. Leveraging Official Resources (Free!)
Many are unaware that AWS has hidden gems in AWS Skill Builder.
Exam Prep Standard Course: It's free and gives you a clear overview of the exam domains (Design for Organizational Complexity, New Solutions, Migration, Cost Control, and Continuous Improvement).
Whitepapers: Take a quick look at the pillars of the Well-Architected Framework, especially Security and Operational Excellence.
8. Intentional Review
In the last week, I shifted my focus from learning to reinforcement.
I reviewed all the services covered in the exam syllabus, even those I was comfortable with, and made sure I understood:
When to use it?
Why use it?
What are its limitations?
This deliberate repetition built confidence and made me feel more at ease on exam day.
9. Exam Day and the Conclusions
The exam itself was long and mentally demanding, but familiar. Many questions reflected the complexity of Maarek's mock exams, and the time I spent analyzing "why not the other options" during practice paid off.
After three hours of deep concentration, I saw the word "Congratulations."
That single word felt like validation not only of my technical knowledge but also of the strategy and mindset behind my learning.
Final Thoughts
If you're preparing for SAP-C02, here's my top piece of advice:
Don't just memorize; instead, understand the architectural trade-offs.
Use mock exams strategically to identify gaps.
And if you can, use AI as a learning amplifier—not for shortcuts, but for deeper understanding.
Scheduling the exam is the best way to get serious about studying.
Conclusion
Make sure you thoroughly understand AWS Organizations, SCPs, hybrid architectures (Direct Connect/Transit Gateway), and migration strategies.
References:
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/aws-certification/latest/solutions-architect-professional-02/solutions-architect-professional-02.html
- https://skillbuilder.aws/learning-plan/2WE6EHYVK5/exam-prep-plan-aws-certified-solutions-architect--professional-sapc02--english/FY9X4K2SVJ
- https://skillbuilder.aws/learning-plan/X34U4HHQ76/aws-solutions-architect-advanced-learning-plan-includes-labs/88TUXWD6NV
- https://skillbuilder.aws/learn/EYASYZ3JP6/exam-prep-plan-overview-aws-certified-solutions-architect--professional-sapc02--english/XJUD8GCGF6
- https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-solutions-architect-professional/
Are you preparing for this exam?
Leave your questions in the comments and I'll gladly help!
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