AWS Solutions Architect

Hi, my name is Courtney and learning has always been fun for me. And easy. The formal education system generally takes an approach called scaffolding. Building on what you already have to get to the next step. Thankfully, I am a quick study so that tried and true teaching method works wonders for me.

And then I met technology.

The first certification I earned was the ITIL 4 Foundations. Turns out I use most of that framework already because it “just makes sense”. YAY! More scaffolding!

The second cert? Well, I put ServiceNow on pause for a moment to take a hard look at AWS. Based on the recommendation of a trusted advisor I signed up for the Solutions Architect exam. In doing this I skipped the introductory certification and hopped straight into an intermediate level certification. In other words, no scaffolding.

I felt like I was kicked off the top of my mountain and told to fly but no one told me what flying was or what it looked like, so it just felt like falling! I created a free account to practice in. I took multiple courses on Udemy and watched several more on YouTube. I learned that some services charge you just for having them open and that free account was not so free for me. Then, I took several practice tests. I kept failing the practice tests and moving the exam back.

Ultimately, I decided that I was going to take the exam in January— no matter what. I scheduled it for 9pm on January 29, 2021. The day before at 9:01 pm on I logged on to try to reschedule it again and, of course, was unable to because it was within 24 hours of the test. I screamed. I said I would just skip it and then remembered I would have to pay for it again and do the whole study process until I passed and I’m no quitter and if I take the test, I might even pass and then not have to reschedule it. Then I went to bed and decided that whatever studying I had done would have to suffice. And suffice it did because I passed the exam on late on January 29, 2021. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, scholastically. No essay, standardized test, quiz, speech, or presentation has ever challenged me like that did.

I’m better for it. I think challenges reveal a person t themselves. Everyone around me says I’m smart, bright, capable but sometimes I need to prove it to myself

Now back to ServiceNow. I have revisited the ServiceNow learning platform, and everything makes even more sense. I’m glad I took the time to learn AWS architecture and am looking forward to whatever is next.

Resources:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia-UEYYR44s