AWS Certifications - How I got the second one

I published this blog at work and people (like my boss, his boss, a VP, some coworkers, etc.) liked it and thanked me for sharing, so I’m sharing it here. :-)

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This post is about how I got my second AWS certification. I wouldn't recommend following this path (especially if you don't need to get your hair braided). If you want real advice, I recommend viewing my other note.

June 2016:

• Plan to find a new job (this was pre-CapitalOne). At my current job, they couldn't even spell AWS, though I'd used it in the past elsewhere.
• Obtained my first AWS Certification (CSA-Associate). Oh happy day with lots of happy dancing involved.
• Plan to get the other two Associate certifications in 2016.

The reality since then...

July 2016:

• Lots of work at my old job.
• Got an adorable new niece that I helped with.
• Lots of time spent interviewing.
• Signed up for a half-marathon since it had been a while since I'd done one.

August 2016:

• Signed up for the AWS Serverless Chatbot hackathon ( https://awschatbot.devpost.com/ ) so that I could get hands-on experience with AWS Lambda and API Gateway (the rules) and also with DynamoDB (my rules).
• Continued to study for the Developer Associate exam on Linux Academy and ACloudGuru.
• Continued to hang with the adorable niece because I knew they were going to move away at some point.
• Interviewed at Capital One. Got an offer. Had to decide between multiple offers, and we know which one I picked. ;-)
• Continued working on the hackathon, and working at the old job.

September 2016:

• Continued working at the old job, working on the hackathon, and hanging with the niece.
• Finished the half-marathon on a very hot day.
• Took a week inbetween jobs to "rest" (well, the plan was to rest, the reality was that it was spent working on the hackathon and catching a cold).
• Capital One boss-to-be called to see which machine I wanted. I asked if I should prepare anything beforehand and he said "No, but prepare to be overwhelmed."
• Started working at Capital One in 2016. Submitted the hackathon and eventually recovered from the cold.

September 2016 - April 2017

• Working at Capital One. Boss wasn't kidding about being overwhelmed. :-) Any plans I had for exams were out the window as my focus now was to learn "everything" about my applications, my associates, my peers, etc. And my commute makes it hard to study. Perhaps I shouldn't admit to working weekends but I sometimes did/do, so finding study time on weekends wasn't always a given.

April 2017

• Still working hard at Capital One. :-) A few of my associates take their first exam, so we kid about racing for the second one.
• Have a not-quick hair-braiding appointment. Decide to study for exam instead of watching Hulu/Netflix. Realize I'd made it through 80% of the study materials previously.
• Partly to motivate myself, and partly to motivate others, I sign up for the exam on June 7 - I pick a date where I will be able to take the exam after-hours. I tell my teams and a few others about it.
• A two-day meeting gets scheduled for the day of the exam and the day prior. I decide to take it sooner because it will be harder to fit the exam around the meeting. Finding an exam time wasn't easy with my meeting schedule, work location, and home location, but I pick May 5.

May 2, 2017

• Last day to reschedule without a fee. I consider postponing but I don't before the deadline.

May 4, 2017

• I don't feel ready. But if I reschedule now, it will cost me, so I decide to just take it and see what happens. I had previously made it through the course materials, so I read some FAQs, some white papers, and I take ~180 CloudAcademy quiz questions - some before work, the rest late at night.

May 5, 2017:

• Wake up with a headache. Work. Go to take the exam. PASS THE EXAM!!! Work. Write this blog. :-)

Now to round out the Associate exams with SysOps Administrator. Goal is this summer.

Say, I think it's about time to get my hair re-braided...