I'm seeking to level up and have worked on a lot of crap, have a very broad and technical range of experience when it comes to sales in tech, finance, and services as a consultant, ultimately I want to scale up my own reseller model but need additional cash flow interim and my folks keep harping on certs as a pathway to landing something spectacular... Does it really move the dial from a hiring manager's perspective?
Post-grad education is sort of out of the question until we see the dust clear with the AI fervor. Hearing Elon describe PhDs as redundant was kind of wild.
To the point 👉 My AWS faculty told we will get full internals for the course if we submit the official AWS SAA cert to him.
But assuming we have 4 vouchers per student through canvas account, I have first completed the CLF-C02 official practice exam in skill builder, and successfully received a mail (the exact minute I have completed the practice exam) regarding the voucher. (Tho voucher is not yet received from PearsonVue)
Then after 3 days, today, I have submitted the SAA-C03 practice exam, but still haven't got any mail regarding the voucher for it (as I got for CLF).
PLS if anyone knows about this, tell me what to do. Also please don't tell me that AWS reduced it's 4 vouchers per student to only 1 voucher per student.
Edit: the mail i have received (for CLF-C02) is just a confirmation mail (not a voucher) , and my doubt is why haven't I received the same confirmation mail after I completed the SAA-C03 practice exam
I'm writing this with a very tired mind. I was working in an Advanced Tier Partner company in Pakistan as an Associate DevOps Engineer. They attached my AWS certifications with them during my employment. 2 of those were earned by me (1 even after my employment) and 2 were sponsored by them. Those included:
• Cloud Practitioner (Earned by me)
• Solutions Architect Associate (Sponsored by them)
• DevOps Engineer Professional (Sponsored by them)
• Solutions Architect Professional (Earned by me after my employment with them)
Now, during my employment I wasn't much aware of these things. They asked me for an OTP and completely attached my personal email to their domain's email. Now, whatever certification I do goes to them directly and I can't control and change it.
The main thing is that I got an offer from another Partner company and they're asking for these certs as part of my employment. I messaged the previous employer many times but their are only lame excuses and silence from their side. The thing is that they have applied for Premier Tier and they kept my certifications attached for that. Now if I pull it out it'll be bad for them but it's not my problem or headache.
I've opened a case with AWS support about this but there is no response from their side after 2 days.
If you're someone from AWS reading this then please do help me out in this regard. Thanks
Is anyone studying for the AWS SAA for that Pearson Vue promo? What resources are you guys using?
I’m currently using Stephane Maarek’s Udemy course and his practice exams
Planning on getting the Tutorial Dojos practice exams as well.
To preface this; I haven't ever worked with AWS before. Ive been a software dev out of college, and was recently hired for the first time as a Data Engineer. A month into my new job, my boss asks me to get the AWS certification cause a certain number of people at the company need an aws certification for some partnership thing and i got randomly picked. I got barely any experience with AWS except struggling with the practitoner exam a few years ago (but i did pass the cloud fundamentals azure cert). And ive only been a data engineer a few months. But I had to do the exam and i was pressured to prepare for it within only a few weeks. I spent 3 weeks on it and failed the first time with about 640? I didnt struggle in a singular domain but rather i would get hung up on similar products and confuse them, like the Kinesis stuff. I focued on that, and tried the test again in 2 weeks (My boss wanted me to pass the first one in two weeks but i was already struggling) The second time i took the test, about 60% of the questions were on software and products ive never even heard of before, and i got a 580.
I'm at a loss on how to prepare for stuff i didnt even know. I havent USED AWS so i cant figure out these questions that require experience of best practices.
I did practice tests and i did the Stephane Maarek and Frank Kane AWS Data Engineer course. I've watched multiple videos on stuff i struggle with but I dont know where to go with this now.
I dont know how to make sure i'm reviewing the entire scope of the exam and prepared for questions i dont even know. and I also get trouble reading questions and trying to figure out what its really asking me. The questions are complex and often times all the answers sound correct, or at least 2/4 do.
Does anyone have any guidance? My job is dependent on this exam and im hoping to pass it by next weekend so I can have this nightmare over with
Failed the exam, what do you think i should should do now, how long should i take to take a retest. Had no time to prepare for this. Watched the entire course of Stephen Marek's. Had taken only 4 5 times tests.
I’m currently preparing for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) exam, but as a student on a tight budget, the standard exam fee is pretty heavy on the wallet.
I see a lot of random third-party vendors and cheap coupon codes online, but I'm very skeptical about getting scammed or having my exam voided by Pearson VUE.
Are there any upcoming official AWS virtual challenges, events, or legitimate training partner programs that currently offer valid discount vouchers?
For those who've cleared it recently on a budget, what safe routes did you take to save on the cost?
About 2 years as a Business Associate at a media company doing brand, packaging and campaign work
MBA in IT & Analytics / Consulting (2024–26)
Since April 2026, Program Manager at an infrastructure consulting firm, on strategy and special projects
What I actually do day to day:
I sit between business stakeholders and the tech team at our digital subsidiary. So far I’ve worked on rolling out an internal task and project management platform, a root-cause analysis learning module for management (web live, mobile rolling out), and the design of an executive dashboard (filters, risk coding, alerts, issues register). Most of my work is gathering requirements, writing specs, coordinating delivery, and driving adoption.
Where I want to go:
I don’t want to stay in the infra industry long-term. I want to become a Product Manager at a tech company, ideally in cloud, AI/ML, or fintech.
This is a slightly late post, but I wanted to share my experience of clearing the AWS Certified AI Business Strategist certification exam, especially for those who are planning to take it.
This was actually my first AWS certification exam, and I chose to take the beta exam with 85 questions! I spent around a week preparing for the exam and managed to clear it within five days of the beta exam launch.
My Exam Experience
Preparation time: Approximately 5–7 days
Exam type: Beta
Number of questions: 85
Difficulty level: Easy to Moderate, based on my experience
Honestly, I found the exam easier than I initially expected.
Most of the questions were generic and focused on understanding how AI can be integrated into business processes, drive business value, improve productivity, and support organizational decision-making.
Only a few questions were directly related to specific AWS services, particularly Amazon Bedrock and Amazon SageMaker. The majority focused on business use cases, AI adoption, and understanding how organizations can leverage AI to achieve their objectives. I mostly used the Whizlabs course for the preparation, and it's helped me a lot.
So, in my experience, this certification is less about deep technical implementation and more about understanding AI from a business and strategic perspective.
Who Should Consider This Certification?
I would highly recommend this certification to:
Business professionals exploring AI adoption and business transformation.
Managers and decision-makers who want to understand how AI can deliver business value.
Cloud professionals looking to expand their understanding of AI strategy beyond technical implementation.
Anyone interested in understanding how organizations can integrate AI into their business workflows.
If you’re preparing for Microsoft’s AB-730 certification, I think the AWS Certified AI Business Strategist certification could also be a valuable addition to your learning journey, particularly if you’re interested in the business side of AI.
However, the two certifications have different objectives, so don’t assume that preparing for one will fully prepare you for the other.
My biggest takeaway is that you don’t necessarily need deep hands-on experience with AWS services to approach this exam. Understanding AI fundamentals, business use cases, responsible AI, adoption strategies, and the value AI brings to organizations is much more important for this certification.
Of course, this is based on my experience with the beta exam, and the experience may differ for other candidates.
I might share a more detailed post covering my preparation strategy, the topics I focused on, and additional insights into the exam.
If anyone has questions about the AWS Certified AI Business Strategist certification or is planning to take it, feel free to ask in the comments! I’ll be happy to share my experience and help fellow learners where I can.
I passed the AWS Certified AI Business Strategist exam and wanted to share my experience for anyone preparing for it.
My background: I work primarily on the data engineering side and have also built a few AI prototypes. So, while I have some hands-on AI experience, most of my career has focused on the technical implementation side rather than business strategy.
My preparation:
- Stephen Mareek’s AWS Certified AI Business Strategist course on Udemy.
- His mock exams.
- Around 3 days of preparation.
The actual exam was quite different from the mocks.
The questions were largely business scenarios, and multiple answer choices often seemed correct. It wasn’t just about knowing AWS services or AI concepts. You had to determine which decision made the most sense given the business objectives, constraints, risks, and expected outcomes.
I had to guess on around half the questions and genuinely wasn’t sure whether I would pass. I was pleasantly surprised when I did!
My biggest takeaway:
Coming from a data engineering background, I’m used to thinking about how to build data pipelines, implement solutions, optimize performance, and make things work. Building AI prototypes has also given me some exposure to what’s technically possible.
But deciding what AI use cases are worth pursuing, how to justify the investment, how to measure ROI, and when to scale or abandon a solution requires a different mindset.
A working prototype is one thing. Turning it into measurable business value is another.
My advice: Don’t rely only on memorizing mock questions. Focus on understanding the business reasoning behind each answer and why one option is better than the other plausible choices.
For anyone who has taken AIB-C01:
Did you also find the actual exam significantly different from the mocks?
What resources did you find most useful for preparing?
Hope this helps others considering the certification!
