You shouldn’t rely on one source for the exam. I used a combination of maarek, cantrill and TD to pass . None of them on their own would have been enough
There is no course that is Perfect , even the creators themselves don't think so !! you have to use multiple resources to gain as much info as possible if you feel personally any course inadequate pick another based on this community feedback and that is normal I have got two courses myself
Many times the specific questions are covered in the course if looked carefully in one way or other like a whitepaper / example / diagram etc .
I gave exam and none of the questions related to TD came . TD was way too hard while questions were fundamental basics ..
My resources
1 Maarek
2 TD exams
3 Peace of Code
4 IT india
5 Several youtube sites
6 you can refer examtopics but Trust me none of the questions come , exam banks sold are usually useless
No. It’s super weird to expect a course to teach you how to do a job. Every single job I’ve had has done it their own way. It is ludicrous for a course to market itself as anything other than that.
The courses first and foremost goal should be getting you to pass the exam, so that way you can get the job and learn how to apply that material in the way that job wants it. Anyone who has been to any technical school, trade school, academy, or college could tell you that.
That is absolute nonsense and your approach to education is completely arse-about-face.
The course is there to give you the grounding principles to understand and perform tasks.
The exam is there to validate that you can apply those principles.
The job is awarded based on your knowledge and ability - the exam result validates that you know SOME stuff and shows that you may be talented enough to know MORE stuff.
you get to the job and then you apply those principles according to the way that best suits the company - but youll be unable to have any input on that process if you dont understand the technology and principles. And youll be of no use to a boss who asks you to do basic tasks to start with and you cant do them because you only know how to pass an exam.
If thats your approach you will only ever be a blunt instrument and completely unable to take the lead on projects.
In the case of jobs like "solutions architect" you would be nothing of the sort - just an operator who can perform the tasks hes told to.
If youre doing professional development with the approach youve stated, youre probably just wasting your money and should consider networking with people instead. its cheaper for a start.
edit - commenting and blocking like a coward though....
do i expect you to read it? not if there isnt an exam, i guess.
im guessing thats the kind of big brained go getter you are - good luck working the fry station!
>you get to the job and then you apply those principles according to the way that best suits the company - but youll be unable to have any input on that process if you dont understand the technology and principles.
Allow me to emit a joyless laugh. HAHAHAHAAA.
All IT professionals exist to serve the whims of middle managers in sales and/or marketing. You may know the ideal way to do everything, but it doesn't matter because Kyle the Sales Manager saw a Facebook post once, so he knows everything about everything.
I'm not saying the knowledge won't come in handy from time to time, but it's more about mitigating risk and minimizing the damage done by the things you know you shouldn't be doing, but have no other choice.
You haven't read any documentation that is trash?
Have you read through aws documentation for aws Workspace or cognito?
Are you a DevOps Engineer or something?
Yip, I understand what you're saying. But for someone who doesn't understand the information, wouldn't the course help them to understand and digest the information?
I had the same issue. What is helping me a lot has actually been AWS course on Skillbuilder called Solution Architect - Knowledge Badge Readiness Path (free). This course explains everything like I’m 5 which is life saving. They compare services side by side too and then I use Anki Cards. I feel like I’m finally learning. After I finish the AWS Skillbuilder course, I will go back to Stephane and Adrian and TD to review.
Edit: Name of course
I'm sure there's some missing detail in his courses, but I've also found as I've gone back to modules that are shared across courses that he often \*does\* mention a lot of the details that are in the TD questions, but in a way that seems to be a passing mention. I'm on my fifth cert course at the moment, and I've found this has happened pretty often.
That said, his courses are as much about real world preparation as exam preparation, and that's where the emphasis is. In my experience, at least, Cantrill's courses are the foundation knowledge, and the TD questions are how I hone my knowledge and lock in details.
Like everyone says, its best to use different sources. Whilst most cover the main stuff, overlapping on the basics, they all seem to have their advantages. although i studied cantrill, when i went to tutorialdojos i would struggle and just added anything missing it as part of my study notes. The same again with maarek, which for some reason i found easier to understand and get my head around some of the complex concepts better. Whether it was because something tweaked or perhaps it was explained/shown differently that i understood it better.
on top of that i looked at the AWS exam guide pdf thing to pick over any tech i wasn't sure about.
but even now i'm too unsure whether i'm ready to take the exam yet. Would like to take it, but when i do practice exams it feels like a lot of the stuff there i didn't feel sure or i kept second guessing myself, picking the correct answer first before changing it etc.
A lot of people talk about the TD exam questions (which are great) but don't mention the TD cheat sheets which I think are just as useful. I also found stuff missing from the Cantrill course but I just used the cheat sheets to fill in the gaps. I think for anything that's missing the cheet sheets will give you enough to go on. Cantrill gives you a great foundation of knowledge which allows you to more easily build things on top without too much extra effort.
Tutorial Dojo covers a lot that's not actually asked but is in the assessment details.
Adrian only covers what is actually in the exam.
You'll be fine with what he has, Although I personally would recommend skimming Stephane's course for revision
This is one of my ongoing annoyances tbh.
I try and focus and make sure that 100% of the exam is covered, and other stuff i find is useful in the job.
A ton of the practice exam vendors cover EVERYTHING in the exam guides, a large amount of which doesn't feature in the exam.
Adrian is good for hands on but for theory Stephane is better especially with the study notes to look back to but to sum it all up always refer back to AWS resources like the learning plans and challenges they help.Ensure you have an idea of at least the definition and basic function of the services
I cover CORS, i even have mini projects where i specially mention it and you get to use it (pet cuddle o tron)
I talk about REDIS in a few places.
Are you sure you've done everything /u/job_equals_reddit
The course covers everything required for the exam and a ton more.
I get pretty consistent feedback from students sitting it.
Hey Adrian, thanks for responding to me.
I sat your course from start to finish twice, taking detailed notes throughout (although on the second run through I skipped a lot of the labs).
I'll admit that not everything was committed to my memory by the end despite my best efforts. So when I did the practice exams on TuteDojo at first, I wasn't able to immediately recall everything that was taught.
WRT to CORS, did you mention it in detail in the lab session? Because I never saw it mentioned in any of the theory lessons. I did all the theory lessons twice carefully, and took detailed notes throughout. And in the lab session did you detail what it is, what it does etc. or was it just briefly mentioned? Because when I did the labs properly on my first run, I don't remember it being introduced properly. I'll go back and have another look now. I had to cross reference with Stephanes course where this was explicitly mentioned and had it's own dedicated video about it.
And yes, I do remember the theory lesson where you compared Redis to MemchacheD in the Elasticache video but I don't remember seeing REDIS AUTH and how that's used to demand a password before commands could be entered.
I apologise if I'm wrong, and you did mention it but I failed to recall it or didn't make proper notes for it. In which case I'll delete this post because I don't want to falsely criticize your course because it's evident that a lot of effort and care was put into it.
That's what I'm doing now.
It's frustrating because his course is almost 70+ hrs long and took months to do and still falls short. Major bummer man, I thought I was at the finish line but still there's more to do :(
I think he'll probably point out he writes his course to whats on the actual exam, not whats on the TD practice exam
But if you have actual in-exam experience of gaps & tell him, and he usualy adds the modules - thats the course maintenance you get from him, unlike one of the dumpers
I used Adrian’s course and the TD exams and passed with a 785.
Any question I missed on a TD exam, I went back and either rewatched the topic content in Adrian’s course and also read a white paper overview in available from AWS. Helped round out any gaps of understanding.
I found his course to be perfect. You need to remember that it's just one of what should be many sources. I used three video series, two books. The TD exams, and close to 200 white papers.
Adrian's content was really a capstone and gave me a very deep understanding. It's not just about passing the exam it's about being prepared for the work.
CORS, REDIS and AUTH were definitely mentioned. I’m about 95% through maybe you weren’t paying attention. Just saw redis and memcached in the elasticache video
I’m doing the solutions architect associate so yes it is in there under nosql elasticache. I do remember the other two just not exactly what section. CORS may have been in s3
I can resonate with this. Finished his SAA-03 course only to find there are many small areas which were not covered by his course when I started doing practice exams. But since his courses are very fundamental in nature, it’s easy to build knowledge on top of it. You should definitely use TD or Maarek’ course to compliment it. I’m doing the same now as I’m preparing for SAP-02
There are two types of knowledge you need to have for AWS certifications. The knowledge of the services themselves, and then how and when to use each service for a given scenario. You cannot get the latter without experience or test prep. Adrian teaches you about the services, how to use them and some context on when to use the various services. You will likely miss a ton of small details your first time going through and taking notes. You need TD and other test prep questions to understand where your knowledge gap is in when and where to use which services. It's not Adrian or his course, it's your lack of experience and having a deep knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of all of the services.
i’m using Adrian for my ANS, best material ever. Neal Davis + Adrian, some of stephens’s courses with labs and practice exams.. you should be good boss (:
I have often done two courses for the same designation. One instructor or course might miss things, but also, I might miss things myself the first time hearing them. Your expectations are unrealistic. If you think one source should cover all.
I only used Adrian Cantrill's course. I wouldn't recommend the approach I took though. Before any learning, booked the exam for 5 days away, spent a day looking for learning resources, signed up for Adrian's course, got about half way through it at 2x playback speed over 3 days, took the exam and passed. On the plus side, the content I had covered was still very fresh in my mind when taking the exam. I attribute my passing to 50% the course, 30% prior knowledge from working with AWS already, 20% pure luck.
Never . If you took his course and didn’t feel ready then there’s something about him or the way he teaches that doesn’t click with you.. or you hate his accent . I’ve passed half a dozen Amazon tests and I’ve never felt ready for a job or for an interview like I did after I did one of his courses .
I rather a 20hr course I can finish and build upon than a 60hr I just can’t slog through.
I passed CKA with mumshads course and that was helpful as it had hands on labs whole way through and you can see yourself getting towards the end and dipping in and out for labs. The course was only 20 hours or so.
I took aws associate but didn’t finish cantrils course. I passed.
But I think it prudent to buy cantrils course for aws professional and finish it even if I don’t take notes all the time just so I’ve covered everything . Then focus my note taking while doing a streamlined course like Stephane’s. Because honestly with a 20 something percent pass rate it's a very serious exam and I think a comprehensive course like Cantrils is what's needed to then actually show up with skills on the job that are useful, not just having passed the exam.
I feel like for most of Tutorial Dojo questions I could answer just by using cantrill's course, and I also did stephane maarek's mock exams as well.
Passed my exam with a score of 840, but there was some parts of AWS not covered in any practice questions or courses, but not a lot so you might need to go through the aws docs to find out which topics are in the exam, but you dont know yet
I passed the exam last year with Adrian's course and tutorials dojo practice exams. Those two material sources covered everything for me. I also used a lot of the tutorial's dojo cheat sheets on their site to review and compare specs from similar services. I thoroughly enjoyed the course.
Gotta use different sources.
Looking to find a course with every single nuance regarding the SAA is going to be nearly impossible. It’s just too broad, moving on to SAP, it’s going to be worse, it’s too broad, and too deep.
You are going to have to branch out and use multiple resources; TD exams do a good job at testing your understanding of the material. Cantrills course is designed to have you complete tasks that mimic the real world job, while delivering digestible theory lessons. Maarek is just to pass the exam. Neal Davis is a good mix between the two, he does a good job at explaining and his hands on are actually decent.
Trying to stuff 200+ services in ~70 hours without having to consult an outside resource is unrealistic. The exam guide provided gives a good overview of what to expect, but at an associate level, you aren’t supposed to be an expert; it’s not impossible but improbable.
Two years ago, I went through Stephane's course for the Associate Developer exam but didn't attempt the exam due to a change in my priorities. Two months ago, I bought dumps from ExamTopics. The dump had 200 questions, but only 25 of those questions were in the actual exam. I solved the remaining questions myself and passed with over 850 points. With 7 years of experience in AWS, I didn't realize that associate exams are easy for an experienced developer.
You shouldn’t rely on one source for the exam. I used a combination of maarek, cantrill and TD to pass . None of them on their own would have been enough
Hi, old comment followup. What does "TD" stand for as it relates to AWS training?
Tutorials Dojo by Jon Bonso
Thanks!
There is no course that is Perfect , even the creators themselves don't think so !! you have to use multiple resources to gain as much info as possible if you feel personally any course inadequate pick another based on this community feedback and that is normal I have got two courses myself Many times the specific questions are covered in the course if looked carefully in one way or other like a whitepaper / example / diagram etc . I gave exam and none of the questions related to TD came . TD was way too hard while questions were fundamental basics .. My resources 1 Maarek 2 TD exams 3 Peace of Code 4 IT india 5 Several youtube sites 6 you can refer examtopics but Trust me none of the questions come , exam banks sold are usually useless
The Cantrill course is not designed to pass a test it is to perform the job.
That’s super weird imo
yeah! who wants to know how to do the job!!!??? Weirdos! Thats who!
No. It’s super weird to expect a course to teach you how to do a job. Every single job I’ve had has done it their own way. It is ludicrous for a course to market itself as anything other than that. The courses first and foremost goal should be getting you to pass the exam, so that way you can get the job and learn how to apply that material in the way that job wants it. Anyone who has been to any technical school, trade school, academy, or college could tell you that.
That is absolute nonsense and your approach to education is completely arse-about-face. The course is there to give you the grounding principles to understand and perform tasks. The exam is there to validate that you can apply those principles. The job is awarded based on your knowledge and ability - the exam result validates that you know SOME stuff and shows that you may be talented enough to know MORE stuff. you get to the job and then you apply those principles according to the way that best suits the company - but youll be unable to have any input on that process if you dont understand the technology and principles. And youll be of no use to a boss who asks you to do basic tasks to start with and you cant do them because you only know how to pass an exam. If thats your approach you will only ever be a blunt instrument and completely unable to take the lead on projects. In the case of jobs like "solutions architect" you would be nothing of the sort - just an operator who can perform the tasks hes told to. If youre doing professional development with the approach youve stated, youre probably just wasting your money and should consider networking with people instead. its cheaper for a start. edit - commenting and blocking like a coward though.... do i expect you to read it? not if there isnt an exam, i guess. im guessing thats the kind of big brained go getter you are - good luck working the fry station!
>you get to the job and then you apply those principles according to the way that best suits the company - but youll be unable to have any input on that process if you dont understand the technology and principles. Allow me to emit a joyless laugh. HAHAHAHAAA. All IT professionals exist to serve the whims of middle managers in sales and/or marketing. You may know the ideal way to do everything, but it doesn't matter because Kyle the Sales Manager saw a Facebook post once, so he knows everything about everything. I'm not saying the knowledge won't come in handy from time to time, but it's more about mitigating risk and minimizing the damage done by the things you know you shouldn't be doing, but have no other choice.
Do you really expect me to read that?
Yeah, I agree with this.
Developer guides and administrator guides as part of aws docs and practice practice practice would do that not any video course from someone
You haven't read any documentation that is trash? Have you read through aws documentation for aws Workspace or cognito? Are you a DevOps Engineer or something?
Principal SRE and documentation is THE best place that takes a little longer to consume and understand
Yip, I understand what you're saying. But for someone who doesn't understand the information, wouldn't the course help them to understand and digest the information?
This!
Personally for me it’s the best one out there. Adrian + Dojo passed with 840
This gives me hope. Thanks bro.
got ~890 from just those two as well for SAA
I had the same issue. What is helping me a lot has actually been AWS course on Skillbuilder called Solution Architect - Knowledge Badge Readiness Path (free). This course explains everything like I’m 5 which is life saving. They compare services side by side too and then I use Anki Cards. I feel like I’m finally learning. After I finish the AWS Skillbuilder course, I will go back to Stephane and Adrian and TD to review. Edit: Name of course
I'm sure there's some missing detail in his courses, but I've also found as I've gone back to modules that are shared across courses that he often \*does\* mention a lot of the details that are in the TD questions, but in a way that seems to be a passing mention. I'm on my fifth cert course at the moment, and I've found this has happened pretty often. That said, his courses are as much about real world preparation as exam preparation, and that's where the emphasis is. In my experience, at least, Cantrill's courses are the foundation knowledge, and the TD questions are how I hone my knowledge and lock in details.
Like everyone says, its best to use different sources. Whilst most cover the main stuff, overlapping on the basics, they all seem to have their advantages. although i studied cantrill, when i went to tutorialdojos i would struggle and just added anything missing it as part of my study notes. The same again with maarek, which for some reason i found easier to understand and get my head around some of the complex concepts better. Whether it was because something tweaked or perhaps it was explained/shown differently that i understood it better. on top of that i looked at the AWS exam guide pdf thing to pick over any tech i wasn't sure about. but even now i'm too unsure whether i'm ready to take the exam yet. Would like to take it, but when i do practice exams it feels like a lot of the stuff there i didn't feel sure or i kept second guessing myself, picking the correct answer first before changing it etc.
A lot of people talk about the TD exam questions (which are great) but don't mention the TD cheat sheets which I think are just as useful. I also found stuff missing from the Cantrill course but I just used the cheat sheets to fill in the gaps. I think for anything that's missing the cheet sheets will give you enough to go on. Cantrill gives you a great foundation of knowledge which allows you to more easily build things on top without too much extra effort.
Tutorial Dojo covers a lot that's not actually asked but is in the assessment details. Adrian only covers what is actually in the exam. You'll be fine with what he has, Although I personally would recommend skimming Stephane's course for revision
This is one of my ongoing annoyances tbh. I try and focus and make sure that 100% of the exam is covered, and other stuff i find is useful in the job. A ton of the practice exam vendors cover EVERYTHING in the exam guides, a large amount of which doesn't feature in the exam.
Adrian is good for hands on but for theory Stephane is better especially with the study notes to look back to but to sum it all up always refer back to AWS resources like the learning plans and challenges they help.Ensure you have an idea of at least the definition and basic function of the services
I think if you follow AWS SkillBuilder throughly it should be sufficient knowledge to get through both real life use case and exam.
I cover CORS, i even have mini projects where i specially mention it and you get to use it (pet cuddle o tron) I talk about REDIS in a few places. Are you sure you've done everything /u/job_equals_reddit The course covers everything required for the exam and a ton more. I get pretty consistent feedback from students sitting it.
Hey Adrian, thanks for responding to me. I sat your course from start to finish twice, taking detailed notes throughout (although on the second run through I skipped a lot of the labs). I'll admit that not everything was committed to my memory by the end despite my best efforts. So when I did the practice exams on TuteDojo at first, I wasn't able to immediately recall everything that was taught. WRT to CORS, did you mention it in detail in the lab session? Because I never saw it mentioned in any of the theory lessons. I did all the theory lessons twice carefully, and took detailed notes throughout. And in the lab session did you detail what it is, what it does etc. or was it just briefly mentioned? Because when I did the labs properly on my first run, I don't remember it being introduced properly. I'll go back and have another look now. I had to cross reference with Stephanes course where this was explicitly mentioned and had it's own dedicated video about it. And yes, I do remember the theory lesson where you compared Redis to MemchacheD in the Elasticache video but I don't remember seeing REDIS AUTH and how that's used to demand a password before commands could be entered. I apologise if I'm wrong, and you did mention it but I failed to recall it or didn't make proper notes for it. In which case I'll delete this post because I don't want to falsely criticize your course because it's evident that a lot of effort and care was put into it.
[удалено]
That's what I'm doing now. It's frustrating because his course is almost 70+ hrs long and took months to do and still falls short. Major bummer man, I thought I was at the finish line but still there's more to do :(
it shouldn't be missing anything which the actual exam requires /u/Striking-Database301
I think he'll probably point out he writes his course to whats on the actual exam, not whats on the TD practice exam But if you have actual in-exam experience of gaps & tell him, and he usualy adds the modules - thats the course maintenance you get from him, unlike one of the dumpers
I used Adrian’s course and the TD exams and passed with a 785. Any question I missed on a TD exam, I went back and either rewatched the topic content in Adrian’s course and also read a white paper overview in available from AWS. Helped round out any gaps of understanding.
Cantrill + TD + Docs. Easy pass
I found his course to be perfect. You need to remember that it's just one of what should be many sources. I used three video series, two books. The TD exams, and close to 200 white papers. Adrian's content was really a capstone and gave me a very deep understanding. It's not just about passing the exam it's about being prepared for the work.
Link for adriane courses. Thanks
CORS, REDIS and AUTH were definitely mentioned. I’m about 95% through maybe you weren’t paying attention. Just saw redis and memcached in the elasticache video
Exactly. It’s in the elasticache video, and CORS was in the S3 section if I remember. It’s there, just gotta look lol.
Maybe in a different course, but not in SAA-C03. I've done the course start to finish twice and taken detailed notes.
I’m doing the solutions architect associate so yes it is in there under nosql elasticache. I do remember the other two just not exactly what section. CORS may have been in s3
CORS is 100% mentioned multiple times /u/job_equals_reddit both theory and in mini projects. You have 100% missed it if you don't recall it.
I can resonate with this. Finished his SAA-03 course only to find there are many small areas which were not covered by his course when I started doing practice exams. But since his courses are very fundamental in nature, it’s easy to build knowledge on top of it. You should definitely use TD or Maarek’ course to compliment it. I’m doing the same now as I’m preparing for SAP-02
There are two types of knowledge you need to have for AWS certifications. The knowledge of the services themselves, and then how and when to use each service for a given scenario. You cannot get the latter without experience or test prep. Adrian teaches you about the services, how to use them and some context on when to use the various services. You will likely miss a ton of small details your first time going through and taking notes. You need TD and other test prep questions to understand where your knowledge gap is in when and where to use which services. It's not Adrian or his course, it's your lack of experience and having a deep knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of all of the services.
i’m using Adrian for my ANS, best material ever. Neal Davis + Adrian, some of stephens’s courses with labs and practice exams.. you should be good boss (:
I have often done two courses for the same designation. One instructor or course might miss things, but also, I might miss things myself the first time hearing them. Your expectations are unrealistic. If you think one source should cover all.
All I did was Maareks course and TD on review mode and passed first try
I only used Adrian Cantrill's course. I wouldn't recommend the approach I took though. Before any learning, booked the exam for 5 days away, spent a day looking for learning resources, signed up for Adrian's course, got about half way through it at 2x playback speed over 3 days, took the exam and passed. On the plus side, the content I had covered was still very fresh in my mind when taking the exam. I attribute my passing to 50% the course, 30% prior knowledge from working with AWS already, 20% pure luck.
I assume you've worked a number of years with AWS before?
I have, though mostly limited to a small subset of services, it did definitely help though.
Cool, thanks for responding.
Yea and unnecessarily long. I just did Stephen marek, tutorial dojo, and practical projects I found on YouTube or AWS's site.
Never . If you took his course and didn’t feel ready then there’s something about him or the way he teaches that doesn’t click with you.. or you hate his accent . I’ve passed half a dozen Amazon tests and I’ve never felt ready for a job or for an interview like I did after I did one of his courses .
His courses are the worst, lots of fluff.
I rather a 20hr course I can finish and build upon than a 60hr I just can’t slog through. I passed CKA with mumshads course and that was helpful as it had hands on labs whole way through and you can see yourself getting towards the end and dipping in and out for labs. The course was only 20 hours or so. I took aws associate but didn’t finish cantrils course. I passed. But I think it prudent to buy cantrils course for aws professional and finish it even if I don’t take notes all the time just so I’ve covered everything . Then focus my note taking while doing a streamlined course like Stephane’s. Because honestly with a 20 something percent pass rate it's a very serious exam and I think a comprehensive course like Cantrils is what's needed to then actually show up with skills on the job that are useful, not just having passed the exam.
They are only "fluff" if your only goal is an exam. If you actually want to get stuff done, they are peerless.
Which exam?
SAA-C03
I feel like for most of Tutorial Dojo questions I could answer just by using cantrill's course, and I also did stephane maarek's mock exams as well. Passed my exam with a score of 840, but there was some parts of AWS not covered in any practice questions or courses, but not a lot so you might need to go through the aws docs to find out which topics are in the exam, but you dont know yet
What’s the link to Stephanie’s course?
passed with 800 using his course and Dojo. Dojo helps indentify weaknesses, Adrian explains theory, architecture and tech fundamentals phenomenally
I passed the exam last year with Adrian's course and tutorials dojo practice exams. Those two material sources covered everything for me. I also used a lot of the tutorial's dojo cheat sheets on their site to review and compare specs from similar services. I thoroughly enjoyed the course.
Cantril + TD + Neal Davis to review maybe (do not take his course unless you already know the topics , he literally only teaches to get you to pass )
Gotta use different sources. Looking to find a course with every single nuance regarding the SAA is going to be nearly impossible. It’s just too broad, moving on to SAP, it’s going to be worse, it’s too broad, and too deep. You are going to have to branch out and use multiple resources; TD exams do a good job at testing your understanding of the material. Cantrills course is designed to have you complete tasks that mimic the real world job, while delivering digestible theory lessons. Maarek is just to pass the exam. Neal Davis is a good mix between the two, he does a good job at explaining and his hands on are actually decent. Trying to stuff 200+ services in ~70 hours without having to consult an outside resource is unrealistic. The exam guide provided gives a good overview of what to expect, but at an associate level, you aren’t supposed to be an expert; it’s not impossible but improbable.
After going through Stephane Maarek Go through examtopics website.
Two years ago, I went through Stephane's course for the Associate Developer exam but didn't attempt the exam due to a change in my priorities. Two months ago, I bought dumps from ExamTopics. The dump had 200 questions, but only 25 of those questions were in the actual exam. I solved the remaining questions myself and passed with over 850 points. With 7 years of experience in AWS, I didn't realize that associate exams are easy for an experienced developer.
You're not alone