Over six months ago, I began studying for the AWS Solutions Architect Associate certification. Along the way, priorities shifted, and any studying got sidelined.
In a quest to motivate myself, I scheduled the test for April, then re-scheduled it for May, and then June. Each time, I delayed the exam because I didn’t want to fail and I thought that I hadn’t spent enough time studying.
While I’d love to tell you that in June, I finally found the courage to sit for the exam, that’s not true. A week before the June exam date, when I logged in to reschedule, I couldn’t.
Some last-minute motivation kicked in, and I resumed studying again. However, my husband’s hectic work schedule, a long commute, writing deadlines, and some promised time with my daughter created a serious scarcity of available studying time. I studied, but it was nowhere as much as I would have liked. I did the best that I could do with the time that I had.
No shocker with the blog post title and feature imaged, but I failed. It wasn’t the end of the world.
In being forced to take the exam, I realized that the Solutions Architect – Associate exam wasn’t the frightening test that I had imagined. The exam was well-written and seemed completely absent of any trick questions. The test seemed totally passable.
My regret isn’t that I didn’t study enough to pass; it was that I didn’t fail soon enough. Fear of failure and study time expectations prompted me to delay taking the test…. for months and months. I could have had this certification months ago.
So, what’s next? After reading more AWS White Papers, doing some more Qwik Labs, and focusing more on understanding services and concepts, I’m retaking this exam by June 15, 2019.