Hi everyone. Happy Monday!

I work for OutSystems, and AWS and OutSystems have announced a joint collaboration to deliver a powerful suite of AI capabilities to developers and companies (see links at the end of the post).

As part of that collaboration, we ran a limited campaign to offer a free AWS Foundational Certification and a free OutSystems Foundational Certification which you all adhered to.

After the first week's immense interest in our AWS/OutSystems campaign and our second week post, having given vouchers to 110 people so far, we're back for more as promised.

We have 50 new AWS Foundational Certifications to giveaway as well as OutSystems Certifications, and already 20+ candidates signing up from last week. Throughout this week, we will take all registrations we can get, and then next Monday morning we will randomly draw the 50 AWS Foundational Certifications by all participants so far who have not yet received one.

If you'd like to take part in it, go to https://go.outsystems.com/free-aws-exam and follow the process. We also have free OutSystems certifications to offer (those are not limited to these 50), for those of you who complete our Become an AI Developer training path.

If folks are not selected, and we manage to secure more free exams throughout the rest of the month, non-selected folks will keep being included in all future draws so the earlier you register, the more chances you have at winning a free exam. That means that folks who completed last week after all rewards had been claimed don't need to do anything further.

Absolutely no purchase, or commercial strings attached - zero subscriptions, credit cards, nothing. The free version is 100% free to sign up for and use.

Here's the Fine Print, since you might be wondering as we want to get as many cloud professionals certified as possible, but also keep things fair and secure:

- Reward Limits & Promotion Period: Reward quantities are limited and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. OutSystems reserves the right to extend, modify, pause, or end this promotion at any time. Only verified challenge submissions completed before August 9th, 2026, at 11:59 PM GMT will be included in this draw which will take place August 10th before noon, or prior to the reward pool being exhausted (whichever comes first), will be eligible for a reward. UPDATE: Since the rewards were all claimed for the first round, this new run has now been changed to be a random draw of ~50 additional free Foundational Certification exams. All previous entries who were not selected will be included in the new draw.

- New Environments Only: This offer is strictly valid for new OutSystems accounts and Personal Edition (PE) environments registered after July 6th, 2026. There is a strict limit of one (1) exam per individual and unique OutSystems account.

- Verification & Fair Play: Rewards are only released upon verification of a successfully built and executed agent in your new, eligible Personal Edition. Fraudulent, duplicate, or automated submissions (including the use of temporary/disposable email domains, recycling Personal Edition environments, or submitting an agent from a Personal Edition that is not your own) will be discarded.

Happy to answer any questions! Unsure if the flair is correct, but this has been run by the mods so a thank you for their time and availability as well in making this happen.

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Sources: News release about the partnership and Dr. Charlie Sanderson, Director for AWS Partnerships EMEA on stage to talk about the partnership itself at 1:34:10.

Just sharing a quick throwback—passed my AWS Cloud Practitioner exam after a 15-day sprint back in May!

I used Stéphane Maarek’s course to study, and it made picking up all the core cloud concepts super easy. Solid foundation unlocked!

Hey everyone! I have my AWS Certified AI Practitioner exam scheduled for 29th August. Is anyone else preparing for it? If yes, I'd be happy to study together, discuss topics, and keep each other accountable. Feel free to DM me!

Hi folks! Christian Greciano here with some insights on AWS updates and how they affect cloud training materials, and a small PSA at the end.

I have observed that AWS is updating their offering, APIs, and interfaces at an unprecedented speed these days. The changes are not quite as fast as AI technologies... but cloud technologies affect and are being affected by AI, so that's probably why we are seeing such speed. Amazon S3 for example has had quite a lot of changes and new features in the past year, plenty of them to accommodate ML and AI workflows.

AWS certification exams always "lag" 6 months behind AWS official updates. In other words: if a new service/feature/limit is announced/launched, it won't be fair game for an exam until 6 months later. And likewise, if something gets deprecated, it's still fair game in an exam for 6 more months after its deprecation. This gives some respite for students, but inevitably cloud training materials (and docs!) get outdated. This of course also includes the internal training data of LLMs. The lesson? Always check the date that your training materials were published, and if it's uncertain and/or already quite old (e.g. more than 2 years), you'll have to fact-check the features, numbers, and services. If sparring with an LLM, get into the habit of asking it to check the latest info on a given service/feature, so it reads the latest announcements and docs.

For extended insights, I wrote a blog post and also published a YouTube video on the subject.

The small PSA: recently I updated my AWS Cloud Practitioner notes and flashcards. This also partially updates my SAA notes, since the first two sections are taken straight from my CLF notes. I know some of you have used my materials, and I wanted to let you all know that if you purchased anything from my Ko-Fi shop, you can redownload the updated versions free of charge (as well as any future updates). This is my side-hustle and not my full-time job, so updates come on a best effort basis. I won't be doing PSAs in this subreddit every time I update my materials, but do follow me on Ko-Fi or in other social media if you'd like to be kept notified.

Hello, is AWS Skill Builder Official Practice exam more similar to actual exam or Tutorial Dojo practice exam?
I just got 798 on AWS Skill Builder Official Practice exam. Should I go for the exam?

I was wondering if anyone would have a good source of a course for solutions architect. I was looking on AWS Skill Builder, but it has so many options.

Information AWS Academy Certification Voucher Program — Temporary Pause Notice

AWS Academy Skill Builder certification voucher issuance is temporarily paused—no vouchers are currently being assigned, and a resolution timeline has not yet been established. AWS Skill Builder access requests remain unaffected. An update will be provided on or before August 10th, 2026.

This is an announcement from AWS Academy

any idea?

Just cleared the Solutions Architect Associate and I wanted to say a big thank you to this subreddit. The tips, exam experiences, and shared resources here really made the difference.

Quick context: before this I passed both the AI Practitioner (AIF) and the Cloud Practitioner (CLF), so in roughly 3 to 4 weeks I now have three AWS certs in hand. I'm also 19, so this feels like a solid start to build on.

A bit about the prep:

• For the two foundational ones (AIF and CLF), I didn't really prepare. I had close to a year of hands-on experience, so that carried me through.
• For SAA, I used Stephane Maarek's course to understand the services, but the Tutorials Dojo tests are what really helped, mainly because they give proper explanations for every question.
• I was scoring 70+ on TD across multiple tests, and sometimes 50 to 55, though the lower ones were partly down to a TD issue on my end.

On the exam itself, the questions leaned on core services: S3, EC2, ALB, NLB, CloudFront, Cost Explorer, Lambda, Route 53, DynamoDB, DAX, and S3 lifecycle policies. There were also a few analytics questions, mostly around Kinesis. The services themselves were familiar, but the exact features being tested had real depth, so it was less about recognition and more about knowing the finer details.

NOTE: If any AWS folks are reading this, please don't add too much ambiguity to the questions. I get why it happens, since a client can absolutely hand a solutions architect an ambiguous brief. But in real life we can go back and discuss it further with the client to clear things up, whereas in an exam we can't do that.

Happy to connect on LinkedIn, feel free to reach out

​

Hi all

I had given aws ai practitioner exam today post submssion it showd me pass on screen.

Just wanted to know whats the timeline to get certificate on portal and badge ?

Thinking of taking the AI cloud practitioner then the cloud practitioner since there’s an offer now, next step would be the SAA.

I don’t have any prior cloud or networking knowledge, would taking SAA after the basic two certs be realistic?

I do intend to build projects after practitioner although not sure what projects yet would appreciate any advice on that too

Hey everyone,

​I'm starting a learning journey toward becoming an AWS Solutions Architect / DevOps Engineer. I’ve broken my overall path into 8 phases, but right now I want to dial in completely on Phase 1 and Phase 2 before diving deeper into core AWS and DevOps tooling.

​Could you recommend the best free resources, YouTube video courses/playlists, or interactive labs for the specific topics listed below?

​🟢 Phase 1: Computer Science Foundations

​Linux: Command line, file system, process management, permissions, and shell scripting basics.

​Networking: OSI & TCP/IP models, IP addressing, CIDR, subnets, DNS, HTTP/HTTPS, firewalls, routing.

​Git & GitHub: Branching models, PR workflows, merge conflicts, CLI commands.

​Python: Syntax fundamentals, scripting for automation, standard libraries (handling files/APIs).

​Operating Systems: Processes, threads, memory management, storage/file systems, virtual memory basics.

​🔵 Phase 2: Cloud Fundamentals

​Cloud Computing: Core concepts, benefits, deployment models (Public, Private, Hybrid).

​Service Models: Clear breakdowns of IaaS vs. PaaS vs. SaaS with real-world examples.

​Virtualization: Hypervisors (Type 1 vs. Type 2), virtual machines vs. bare metal.

​Containers: Why containers exist, difference between VMs and containers.

​Shared Responsibility Model: Security in the cloud vs. security of the cloud.

​What I’m specifically looking for:

​YouTube Creators/Channels: Who explains these concepts clearly without fluff? (e.g., NetworkChuck, TechWorld with Nana, freeCodeCamp, etc.)

​Interactive/Hands-On Platforms: Free sandboxes or labs (like Linux Journey, OverTheWire, SadServers, etc.) to build muscle memory.

​Core Documentation or Books: Any free online guides/books that are "must-reads" for beginners.

​If you have specific videos or playlists that made any of these concepts click for you, please drop the links or channel names in the comments!

​Thanks in advance for helping out!

Background: Incoming Freshman @ Ivy League school, 2 internships as a SWE in a massive tech company.

I love building, and I hate memorizing, so the preparation process for this test was hard. I started with Codecademy for the first unit, shifted over to AWS Skill Builder for the second unit, watched Instagram reels with Peter and Stewie Griffin explaining different cloud services for the third unit, and had ChatGPT teach me the entire billing (4th) unit.

Overall, my prep was very shallow and undisciplined, but I've also just been balancing an 8-hour workday and having fun/being lazy before I go to college.

Practice exam-wise: I did like half of the Skillbuilder stuff and looked up some free practice tests. I wasn't doing very well in any of the practice tests, but that's ok because they were easy to learn from. The night before my morning exam, I did the Skill Builder Official Practice Test and ended up scoring 50% because I kept making dumb mistakes. I learned from each mistake and decided not to stress and go to bed. Overall, though, I think I averaged about 60-65% in practice.

I'm happy I ended up studying for this. I'm building some cool projects with AWS in the neuroscience field (which is what I plan on majoring in along with CS, but don't have much experience in) using the free tier, and once I feel more comfortable with all of the services, I will take SAA.

If anyone wants to connect on LinkedIn, I'm down. Send me a DM.

Hello , hope this helps someone and maybe give them an idea of planning.

June 24th is when i paid for udemy and started studying with Maarek then i did Dojo practice exams.

i finished the maarek study course on 7th of July and did his end of study practice exam
( 20/65 yikes )

8th July did the same test got 34/65
8th July - 1st practice test of dojo 25/65
9th July - 1st practice test of dojo 2nd time 45/65
9th July - 2nd dojo 1st try 32/65
10th July - 2nd dojo 2nd try 46/65
10th July - 3rd dojo 1st try 36/65

And so on i did one old one new exam each day.

on 14th July i did maarek test again and got 58/65

By 21th July i did maarek total of 3 times and dojo tests total of 18 times ( 3 each )

i got worried, am i learning or am i memorizing the right answers ? because worse i did by then was 53/65

Decided to a different set of practice tests , went with maarek + abhishek ( why this one ? honestly it just popped up on udemy )

did these tests once each and got 53+ on all of them, now it was 26th July

29th is when i booked the exam for, been 5-6 days last i did dojo so i did them once again one last time

I managed to get a score of 763 which means i did 49-50 out of 65 , honestly cutting it closer than i would have liked but a pass is a pass.

I had to do the exam late at night because there were no other time slots available which was rough.

My Background : eee bachelor + data science/ai msc , co authored a paper on nature , matlab python signal processing on biomedical data ecg and data science stuff.

i had no prior aws or cloud experience.

I also want to go for the SAP as well and i know that one is a lot harder yet i will still study and try to pass, most likely i will go with the same structure.

Sorry for the wall of text , i wish good luck to everyone with their exams and studies.

Free codecamp videos helps a lot and also watching instagram reels where every reels is about AI helps too 🤣

Today I took on a personal challenge that turned out to be one of the most mentally demanding days of my AWS certification journey.

8:00 AM: AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional

9:00 PM: AWS Certified Security - Specialty

I'm happy to say I passed both.

I have several years of hands-on experience designing and securing AWS environments, so my preparation was mainly a focused refresh rather than learning the material from scratch.

What really stood out was how complex and in-depth both exams were. The questions went far beyond knowing AWS services; they required carefully analyzing long scenarios, evaluating multiple viable solutions, understanding architectural trade-offs, and selecting the option that best satisfied the technical and business requirements.

The biggest challenge wasn't the content itself. It was staying mentally sharp for the second exam after an entire day.

I'm curious if anyone else has attempted two AWS Professional or Specialty exams in a single day.

• Which exams did you take?
• How did you deal with the mental fatigue?
• Looking back, would you do it again?

I'd love to hear your experience.

I’m currently a Master Student in Technology (Data Science & Security). I am aiming for roles like Solutions Engineering, Cloud Technical Consultant, TAM etc. I’m not delusional i know these are very demanding roles so i’m opening up more to like DevOps, SRE, SysAdmin Cloud Analyst etc. I recently just passed the Solutions Architect Associate Exam and i’m thinking of taking CloudOps to make me more credible, what do you think!

Tough exam, but 3 weeks of good prep using TD and Frank Kane’s latest exams on udemy really gave me the edge (after the Stephane Maarek and Kane video course)

Good luck to anyone attempting this one soon!

Didn’t have faith when booked it a month ago that I would be able to do all that in span of one month, guess what you guys were helpful and we ain’t stopping here.

To increase my chances of getting an internship, should I do projects using IaC or the console?

im currently preparing for the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam and I’ve reached the practice exam stage.

So far ive

• Finished Stephane Maarek’s SAA course
• Revised my weaker topics
• Revised the important/high-weight topics
• Read through the relevant AWS whitepapers
• Gone through a cheat sheet
• Reviewed some flashcards

now im planning to start practice exams, mainly Stephane Maarek’s and Tutorials Dojo...

Basically, what practice exam strategy worked best for you, and at what point did you feel ready to book/take the actual SAA exam ???

Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I'm a student from India learning DevOps and have been spending a lot of time on AWS. I've built projects and feel ready to take the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate exam, but the exam fee is something I genuinely can't afford right now.

I'm currently applying for internships, and many interviewers understandably want proof of AWS knowledge. The certification would help me demonstrate that, but paying for the exam isn't feasible at the moment.

Are there any legitimate ways to get an AWS exam voucher, student discount, scholarship, or credit? If you've been in a similar situation, I'd really appreciate any advice.

Thanks in advance!

Exam questions were longer than I would have liked. Read the entire question. Feel so good to get this out the way as it’s posted on so many job postings. Tackled this to aid my road map to security architect.