AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate

Validate your technical knowledge and skills across the breadth of AWS services
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Exam overview

Category Associate
Exam duration 130 minutes
Exam format 65 questions; either multiple choice or multiple response
Cost 150 USD. Visit Exam pricing for additional cost information, including foreign exchange rates
Testing options
 Pearson VUE testing center or online proctored exam
Languages offered English, French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), and Traditional Chinese

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate is focused on the design of cost and performance optimized solutions. This is an ideal starting point for candidates with AWS Cloud or strong on-premises IT experience. This exam does not require deep hands-on coding experience, although familiarity with basic programming concepts would be an advantage.

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Prepare for the exam

Gain confidence by following AWS Skill Builder's 4-step exam prep plan. Enroll in the complete plan or choose specific courses tailored to your needs, ensuring you're ready for exam day.
1

Get to know the exam with exam-style questions

Follow the 4-step plan.

Review the exam guide.

Take the AWS Certification Official Practice Question Set to understand exam-style questions.

2

Refresh your AWS Knowledge and skills

Enroll in digital courses where you need to fill gaps in knowledge and skills, practice with AWS Builder Labs, AWS Cloud Quest, and AWS Jam.

3

Review and practice for your exam

Enroll in an Exam Prep course. The Exam Prep Standard Course is available to anyone with an AWS Skill Builder account. The Exam Prep Enhanced courses include additional labs, exam-style questions, and flashcards.

4

Assess your exam readiness

Take the AWS Certification Official Practice Exam.

Key FAQs to help you get started

Per the exam guide, the recommended experience prior to taking this exam is at least 1 year of hands-on experience designing cloud solutions that use AWS services. However, candidates with 1-3 years of IT experience have been able to prepare for and earn this certification as a starting point on their AWS Cloud learning and certification journey.

Candidates who do not have any IT work experience would benefit from first earning the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner to get foundational knowledge of AWS Cloud before attempting the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate.

This certification ranks among the top 10 certifications of 2023 in Skillsoft’s IT Skills and Salary Report. Certified individuals report increased confidence as a result of earning this industry-recognized certification and increased credibility with technical IT/cloud colleagues and customers.

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional and AWS Certified Security - Specialty are certifications that other cloud professionals have earned to advance further in roles like solutions architect. Cloud professionals have also earned the AWS Certified Data Engineer- Associate to advance in roles like cloud data engineer. View AWS Certification paths to learn more and plan your AWS Certification journey.

This certification is valid for 3 years. Before your certification expires, you can recertify by passing the latest version of this exam, or by earning the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional, which will automatically recertify this Associate-level certification. Learn more about recertification options for AWS Certifications.

Yes. Once you earn one AWS Certification, you get 50% discount on your next AWS Certification exam. You can sign in and access this discount in your AWS Certification Account.

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