Episode 11 - How to Take the Cloud Certification Tests

Cloud certification tests can be incredibly stressful to take and are a big investment for companies. They require a tremendous amount of time, money, and expertise to create, and need to be updated regularly.

While the majority of tests used to be done on-site, the COVID 19 pandemic has meant that most tests now take place online, which brings with it a unique set of challenges. They require moderators to ensure that all candidates write their tests in a fair environment and adhere to strict parameters, while also making accommodations for students with special needs.

In today’s episode, we discuss how Amazon and Google arrange their tests, what you can expect from them, and how best to prepare. We describe some of the stress responses we’ve had during our exams and break down the best practices we’ve developed that you can follow when writing these tests. We also unpack some of their practice questions and demonstrate methods that will help you answer every question to the best of your abilities.

To learn how to optimally budget your time during an exam, and ensure that you understand what’s being asked of you in any given question, make sure you tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• An overview of how Amazon and Google arrange their certification tests.
• What public cloud service providers expect from certification tests.
• Logan’s recent experience taking two very different tests.
• The Cloud Digital Leader certification and who it’s for.
• The time, money, and effort it takes to create a single certification-worthy question. 
• The best practices that we’ve developed from taking these tests.
• Why taking the practice test is so beneficial and how to approach it.
• How to prepare for taking the exam.
• What it’s like to take the exam on-site.
• What to do if you need adaptations or assistance.
• The stress of taking these exams and Logan’s strategy for how to complete them.
• How to budget your time during these exams.
• The psychological and physiological effects of being in a testing environment.
• The best approach for understanding what's really being asked of you in a question.
• What operator words can tell you about a question and the answer they require.
• How to use the process of elimination when answering questions.
• How to use other questions for context details on a difficult question.
• The challenges of taking these tests online instead of on-site.
• What to expect from taking the test online and how to make sure you are adequately prepared and equipped to take it.
• Examples of the questions that Amazon and Google have released as practice questions.
• A breakdown of how Amazon and Google differ in their approach.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

AWS Certification

Google Cloud Certification

Google Cloud - Cloud Digital Leader

AWS - Cloud Practitioner

AWS - Professional Solutions Architect

Google Cloud - Professional Cloud Architect

Jon Gallagher on LinkedIn

Logan Gallagher on LinkedIn