AWS Study Resources Guide¶
Consolidated AWS study resources referenced across the AWS certifications in this repo. Use this as the central hub when preparing for any AWS certification.
Official AWS Resources¶
Documentation and learning paths¶
- 📖 AWS Documentation - Authoritative service documentation
- 📖 AWS Skill Builder - Free official courses, learning plans, and (paid) Official Practice Exams
- 📖 AWS Training - Course catalog
- 📖 AWS Certification Hub - Cert paths, exam guides, sample questions
- 📖 AWS Whitepapers - Reference architectures and best practices
- 📖 AWS Architecture Center - Reference architectures and Well-Architected Lenses
- 📖 AWS Well-Architected Framework - Operational excellence, security, reliability, performance, cost, sustainability
Blogs¶
- AWS News Blog - Launches and feature updates
- AWS Big Data Blog
- AWS Database Blog
- AWS Machine Learning Blog
- AWS Security Blog
- AWS DevOps Blog
- AWS Architecture Blog
Video and event content¶
- AWS Events on YouTube - re:Invent and AWS Summit talks
- AWS This Week - Weekly product news
- AWS Online Tech Talks
Hands-on Practice¶
Free / low-cost lab environments¶
- AWS Free Tier - 12 months free + always-free tier
- AWS Workshops - Curated guided labs across services
- AWS Cloud Quest - Gamified labs
- AWS Skill Builder Subscription (paid) - includes AWS Builder Labs and Cloud Quest premium roles
Commercial lab platforms¶
- A Cloud Guru / Pluralsight - lab platform with sandbox accounts
- Cloud Academy - hands-on labs and learning paths
- Whizlabs - practice exams + labs
- KodeKloud - DevOps-focused labs
Building your own¶
- Use AWS CloudFormation or Terraform to spin up + tear down lab environments
- Set up cost alerts (Budgets) before you start
Practice Exams¶
| Provider | Strength | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Skill Builder Official Practice Exam | Closest to real exam style; one per cert | ~$20 each |
| Tutorials Dojo (Jon Bonso) | Considered hardest, high-quality explanations | $15-30 per cert |
| Whizlabs | Volume of questions; cheaper | $10-20 per cert |
| Stephane Maarek (Udemy) | Often bundled with video courses | varies |
| MeasureUp | Microsoft-style; relevant for AWS too | $$ |
Aim for 80%+ on the same practice exam twice in a row before scheduling the real exam.
Video Courses¶
- Stephane Maarek (Udemy) - the most-recommended AWS courses for SAA, DVA, SOA, SAP, DOP, MLA, DEA
- Adrian Cantrill (learn.cantrill.io) - deep dives, very thorough
- A Cloud Guru / Pluralsight - broad catalog, good for quick refreshers
- AWS Skill Builder - free official courses; uneven quality but improving
Pick one primary video course + one primary practice-exam vendor. Don't shop multiple.
Communities¶
- r/AWSCertifications - active study community, lots of pass reports
- r/AWS - general AWS discussion
- Stephane Maarek's Discord - course-linked but open
- AWS re:Post - official Q&A, replaces forums
- Cloud Academy AWS Community
Cost-Optimization for Lab Use¶
- Use the free tier aggressively in months 1-12.
- Tag every resource with a
cert:<exam-code>tag for easy cleanup. - Set a $20/month budget alert as a safety net.
- Tear down resources at end of each lab session - don't leave EC2 / RDS / EKS running overnight.
- Prefer Spot instances for any EC2-based labs.
- See AWS Cost Optimization Guide and Free Tier Guide.
Repo Cross-References¶
- AWS CLI Cheat Sheet
- AWS Well-Architected Notes
- AWS Cost Optimization
- AWS Troubleshooting
- On-Prem to AWS Migration
- Service Comparisons (cross-cloud)
- Practice Resources (cross-vendor)
Last reviewed: 2026-04. AWS reorganizes documentation URLs occasionally; if a link is broken, search for the title text instead.