How I Passed All 12 AWS Certifications in 1 Year (My "Reverse" Strategy) 🚀
1. Introduction & Profile
Hi, DEV community! 👋
I'm Maruchin Tech, a Udemy instructor specializing in AWS.
In this post, I am sharing my journey of achieving all 12 active AWS Certifications within about a year (from 2024 to 2025). On Udemy, I create courses focused on AWS exam prep, IT, and Manufacturing/SCM Digital Transformation (DX). I hope this guide helps you map out your own learning journey!
About the Author (Maruchin Tech)
After graduating with a degree in Computer Science, I worked at an automobile manufacturer for 7 years, an IT consulting firm for 1 year, and a System Integrator (SIer) for 4 years before going independent in 2024.
I have been involved in AWS system development (primarily as a developer) since my time at the auto manufacturer in 2018. In 2022, I started teaching on Udemy alongside my full-time job. I've released several public cloud courses and currently have over 90,000 students enrolled.
My AWS Certification Journey
I took a "reverse" strategy. I figured, "If I pass the exam with the broadest and most difficult scope (SAP) first, the rest will be a breeze."
â–¼ Timeline of My Certifications
SAP (Aug 2024) -> SAA -> DEA -> AIF -> MLA -> SCS -> DVA -> SOA -> DOP -> ANS -> MLS -> CLF
(Note: Some of these include recertifications).
2. Exam Difficulty (An Instructor's Perspective)
Here is my honest assessment of how difficult each exam really is.
🟢 Foundational Level
- CLF (Cloud Practitioner): If you are an engineer who understands basic public cloud concepts and AWS service use cases, you'll pass without breaking a sweat. However, to get a perfect score, you need to study specific frameworks and contracts (like the Cloud Adoption Framework, Well-Architected Framework, and detailed support plans) that you rarely focus on in daily hands-on work.
- AIF (AI Practitioner): Added in 2024 for AI engineers and business professionals. Reflecting the GenAI boom, it tests concepts like Amazon Bedrock (Guardrails, Agents), SageMaker JumpStart, and Responsible AI. It requires AI-specific knowledge (like basic prompt engineering) completely separate from infrastructure, so even seasoned infra engineers cannot pass without dedicated prep. (I took it during the Early Adopter phase, so the sheer volume of questions was surprisingly tough).
🟡 Associate Level
- SAA (Solutions Architect - Associate): Considered the gateway to AWS certs, but the difficulty has spiked since version C03. Gone are the days of simple "name the service" questions. It now demands near-professional-level judgment on containers (ECS/EKS), serverless (Lambda, Aurora Serverless), and cost optimization. Even experienced engineers shouldn't underestimate it.
- DVA (Developer - Associate): Personally, I found this to be the hardest of the Associate level. On top of changes to the Code Family (like the deprecation of CodeCommit/CodeStar), it requires high-resolution knowledge as an "implementer"—CLI command options, writing IAM policies in JSON, Lambda version control, and debugging with X-Ray.
- SOA (SysOps Administrator - Associate): This was the only exam where I scored a perfect 1000. I took the C02 version, but note that the C03 (releasing late 2025) will be harder. The key here is operational automation skills: multi-account management with AWS Organizations and CloudFormation troubleshooting.
- DEA (Data Engineer - Associate): Because I've used data analysis tools extensively in my career, this was smooth sailing. It feels like a restructured version of the old Data Analytics Specialty (DAS). Expect heavy focus on Glue (Crawler, DataBrew), Athena, Redshift, and Lake Formation permissions. Basic SQL knowledge is also required.
- MLA (Machine Learning Engineer - Associate): It’s all about understanding Amazon SageMaker. Knowledge of MLOps features like SageMaker Data Wrangler, Feature Store, and Pipelines is mandatory. It acts as a higher-tier AIF, but the scope is different: AIF focuses on foundational GenAI concepts, while MLA focuses on machine learning pipelines via SageMaker.
🔴 Professional Level
- SAP (Solutions Architect - Professional): Generally known as the final boss. The scope of services is massive, and the questions are paragraph-long. By passing this first, I comprehensively inputted the entire AWS ecosystem. Tackling the highest mountain first to lower the psychological hurdle is a highly effective strategy for experienced engineers. Key topics include Disaster Recovery (RPO/RTO) design, migration strategies using Migration Hub, and heavy emphasis on AWS Organizations for multi-account/multi-region deployments.
- DOP (DevOps Engineer - Professional): Personally, I found this to be the hardest out of all 12. Because my hands-on experience with native AWS dev tools was limited, I really struggled to grasp the behaviors of CodePipeline/CodeDeploy deployment strategies (Blue/Green, Canary, All-at-once) and CloudFormation StackSets.
🟣 Specialty Level
- SCS (Security - Specialty): Tests security services (GuardDuty, Security Hub, KMS, WAF) and incident response procedures. Since I was used to security design in real-world projects, this was relatively smooth. Deep understanding of IAM Permissions Boundaries and trust policies is an absolute must.
- ANS (Advanced Networking - Specialty): The hardest of the Specialty exams. You need to mentally visualize complex "multi-region, multi-VPC, on-premises" network architectures using Transit Gateway and Direct Connect while reading the questions. It’s an exhausting, right-brain-heavy exam that cannot be passed with mere memorization. BGP and Route 53 DNSSEC are also in scope.
- MLS (Machine Learning - Specialty): Feels like an extension of AIF and MLA. If you take it right after MLA, it feels quite easy. (Note: This certification is scheduled to be retired in April 2025).
3. FAQ & Tips
Here are my experiential answers to common questions I get on social media and in student communities.
Category 1: Career, Value, and Cost
Q. Is it worth getting all 12 certifications?
Opinions are divided.
Pro-value: "Great for job interviews," "required for promotion," "self-improvement."
Anti-value: "It's just desk-learning; real-world experience matters more."
Ultimately, you have to find the value yourself. I got my SAA and SAP to get promoted during my corporate days, but I got all 12 to build authority as an instructor. For most people, there is no need to get all of them. Just focus on the ones that align with your specialty (e.g., DVA/DOP for devs, SAA/SAP/ANS for infra).
Q. How much did getting all 12 cost?
Roughly $2,000 - $3,000 USD / 300,000 - 400,000 JPY in total (excluding taxes, assuming no retakes).
(Note: I kept actual costs down by applying the 50% off voucher you get every time you pass an exam to the next one).
Q. How did your company evaluate you after passing?
Honestly, not much changed. At the companies I worked for (NTT Data, Accenture), many engineers already held AWS Pro certs or advanced national IT certifications, so passing an exam wasn't a huge differentiator. It mostly just satisfied promotion criteria or project prerequisites.
Q. I have no IT experience. Will getting certified help me change jobs?
It depends on the company level, but for upstream roles (consulting, SIers), certs alone rarely serve as a massive advantage. The field values real-world experience (client communication, internal coordination—the gritty human skills). However, it does help with career matching and project assignments after joining. Consistency between your claimed specialty and your certs is what matters.
Category 2: Study Methods & Techniques
Q. Should I study using English or localized (Japanese) resources?
Always keep English in your sights. New exams like AIF and MLA often have shaky translations and lack localized resources. Even during the exam, if a question feels weird, get into the habit of clicking the "English" button to check the original text—it saves you from bad translations. Plus, AWS docs and service names are inherently English.
Q. Can I trust the "This exam is easy/hard" posts on the internet?
Difficulty is completely subjective and depends entirely on your work experience. As I tell my Udemy students: even the CLF is a massive hurdle for someone with zero IT experience. I found Data/Security easy because of my job history, but Network/DevOps were brutal because I lacked that specific hands-on exposure. Don't rely on others' evaluations; identify your own strengths and weaknesses.
Q. What's the ideal ratio of Input (Videos/Books) to Output (Practice Tests/Hands-on)?
In the beginning (up until SAA), heavily weight your Input. Once you grasp the AWS ecosystem, gradually increase your Output. See the forest first, then the trees. If you jump straight into the official AWS whitepapers on day one, you will burn out.
Q. Can I pass by just "memorizing" without doing hands-on labs?
You can probably pass the exam. But if you get certified without hands-on experience, you will suffer in the real world. Fieldwork isn't just about building things; it's about explaining, reporting, and verbalizing your architectures.
Category 3: Exam Day Tips
Q. Test Center vs. Online Proctoring (OnVUE)?
I took all my exams at home purely because I was too lazy to travel to a test center. However, if your home environment is distracting, renting a quiet workspace or going to a center is better.
Q. Any tips for time management and mental prep on test day?
It sounds cliché, but good sleep and preparation are everything. For exams like SAP and DOP, you will likely run out of time. Pro exams are a grueling 150 minutes, and your focus will drain. I always drank a caffeinated energy drink (like Monster) 30 minutes before taking a Pro exam.
Category 4: Motivation & Mindset
Q. Do I need to keep renewing my AWS certs?
Consult your wallet. As mentioned, it’s not cheap. Just renew the ones you actually need. If your company subsidizes the cost, then by all means, keep taking them!
Q. How do you get through periods of low motivation?
When I have zero motivation, I sleep. Proper rest, resetting your brain, and taking naps are crucial.
Q. How do you keep up with constantly updating AWS services?
Follow the AWS News Blog and tech influencers on social media. But accept this: it is impossible to catch up perfectly. Aim for an 80% understanding. Don't burn yourself out trying to memorize everything, because services will update or disappear in a few years anyway.
4. Summary & Next Steps
AWS Certifications aren't the end goal; they are simply a "passport" to help you master AWS in the real world. Getting all 12 helped me systematically organize and verbalize my cloud knowledge.
In my Udemy courses, I don't just teach to the test—I include heavy hands-on labs so you learn "AWS for the real world."
If you feel stuck studying on your own or want the shortest path to passing your exams, I’d love to see you in my courses!
👇 Links to my Udemy Courses & YouTube (I regularly share discount coupons in Udemy promotional emails and YouTube community posts!)
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