The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) is one of the most valuable cloud certifications. With dedication and the right study plan, you can pass this exam in just 30 days.
Week 1: Foundation Building
Days 1-3: Core AWS Services
- EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)
- S3 (Simple Storage Service)
- VPC (Virtual Private Cloud)
- IAM (Identity and Access Management)
Days 4-5: Networking Fundamentals
- Subnets, Route Tables, Internet Gateways
- NAT Gateways and NAT Instances
- Security Groups vs NACLs
Days 6-7: Storage Deep Dive
- S3 storage classes and lifecycle policies
- EBS volume types and performance
- EFS and FSx file systems
Week 2: Advanced Services
Days 8-10: Database Services
- RDS (Multi-AZ, Read Replicas)
- DynamoDB (Global Tables, DAX)
- ElastiCache (Redis vs Memcached)
Days 11-12: Application Integration
- SQS, SNS, and EventBridge
- API Gateway and Lambda
- Step Functions
Days 13-14: Monitoring and Troubleshooting
- CloudWatch (Metrics, Logs, Alarms)
- CloudTrail and Config
- X-Ray for distributed tracing
Week 3: Architecture Patterns
Days 15-17: High Availability and Fault Tolerance
- Multi-AZ deployments
- Auto Scaling Groups
- Elastic Load Balancers (ALB, NLB, CLB)
Days 18-19: Security Best Practices
- IAM policies and roles
- KMS and encryption
- AWS WAF and Shield
Days 20-21: Cost Optimization
- Reserved Instances and Savings Plans
- Spot Instances
- Cost monitoring and budgets
Week 4: Practice and Review
Days 22-25: Practice Exams
- Take daily practice exams
- Review incorrect answers thoroughly
- Focus on weak areas
Days 26-28: Hands-on Labs
- Build a 3-tier web application
- Implement disaster recovery solutions
- Practice troubleshooting scenarios
Days 29-30: Final Review
- Review AWS Well-Architected Framework
- Final practice exam
- Get plenty of rest before exam day
Study Resources
- AWS Free Tier: Hands-on practice with real AWS services
- AWS Documentation: Comprehensive service guides
- Practice Exams: Essential for identifying knowledge gaps
- Video Courses: Visual learning for complex concepts
Exam Day Tips
- Read questions carefully and identify key requirements
- Eliminate obviously wrong answers first
- Flag uncertain questions for review
- Manage your time effectively (130 minutes for 65 questions)
With consistent daily study and hands-on practice, passing the AWS Solutions Architect exam in 30 days is absolutely achievable. Stay focused, practice regularly, and you'll be AWS certified before you know it!