How to get Certified

Recently I cleared the AWS Solution Architect Professional certification. It was a long and difficult journey and I had my share of obstacles along the way. But I used some tips to endure till the end and reach the finish line. In this article I am NOT going to focus on which courses to enroll in or which mock exams are the best or which AWS FAQs to read up on. There are numerous such articles written by a lot of people. What I want to focus on are the obstacles that almost keep us from reaching our goal and how to sneak past them.

Why get certified?

Several times when I'm shortlisting candidates for an interview I will bump up the ones who have completed a certification in the relevant skill up higher. However, even though a certification might land you an interview; it does not guarantee you a job. It's the knowledge that counts, not the mere credentials. There is also the fee associated with getting a certification. And most certificates come with an expiration date. And when that happens you may need to get re-certified if you choose to hold on to it. Is getting certified really worth it? As for most things in life, the answer to this one is "It depends.". All I can tell you is why "I" started doing AWS certifications and then let you decide. In 2019, I switched continents and had some time on my hands while my client was provisioning my access. So instead of sitting in my cubicle twiddling my thumbs I started reading up on AWS. Also, my company, Persistent, has a "You pass, We Pay" policy when it comes to technical certifications. I am yet to use AWS officially for a client as I am actually an expert in Apigee, which happens to be part of Google Cloud Platform. (In case you are wondering, I am certified in Apigee as well.) Preparing for the AWS certifications has helped increase my knowledge of AWS. The confidence that this learning process and hands-on exercises have built in me is what I value more than just the certifications. All said and done, I am not going to try and convince you to pursue a certification. I simply want to encourage those folks who have already decided to get certified but somewhere along the way their enthusiasm ran out. If someone like me can do it, so can you. Trust me.

Count the Cost

Before you get started for any certification, read up on the details of the same. Find out details about the curriculum. Reach out to folks in your network who have walked this path before and learn from their experiences. Remember: a smart man learns from his own mistakes, a wise man learns from others' mistakes. Estimate the amount of time that will be required for the overall learning. Figure out a regular time-slot which you will dedicate towards learning. Not sure whom to attribute this to but it's a useful quote "Give your habit a specific time and space to exist." Make sure that for you, the certification that you are willing to pursue is worth the effort, time and money that you will invest. Don't be double-minded about it. Either you want the certification or you don't. And if you want it, you need to be prepared to work hard for it. There is no alternative.

Daily Progress

This is probably the one tip that really helped me a lot. Try to make progress no matter how little on a daily basis. I cannot stress this enough. Don't let a single day go by without you using it to get closer to at least one of your goals. The journey might look long and the day's progress might seem insignificant but in the long run, consistency pays off. After all what is a marathon except a sequence of individual steps. Just focus on learning something new today. As days pass by, compounding will kick in and soon you will start noticing results. Folks sometimes ask me, "How long will it take to clear this cert?" My answer: "Depends on how much time you are willing to invest daily." If your daily study time is zero, you will end up with a DivideByZeroError.

Sometimes Good is Better than the Best

Has it ever happened to you that you consider studying for a little while but then your mind tells you, "But there ain't enough time right now to do quality study. Let's try to carve out some time later on without any interruptions when the situation will be more ideal for the task at hand." Sounds deceptively lovely but the problem is; this is just procrastination masquerading around as "future" hard work. As the mayor of "let's do this later" city, allow me to confess. 5 mins of hard work now is better than that elusive 1 hour of solid study time later on. Why? Because "later on" usually never arrives. On the contrary, once you get started with your study, usually, you will spend more time in the activity. Law of inertia!

Baby Bites

This is probably the biggest tip that helped me. Sometimes looking at the distant finish line can simply lead to exhaustion or self-doubt. What do you do then? Simple, just put one foot in front of the other and keep repeating. Break down the bigger goal into smaller manageable tasks. Focus on becoming an expert in 1 topic, just 1. Hammer at it for days or weeks till you have mastered it. Then toss it into your "Done" list and choose your next challenge. Also, instead of directly tackling the toughest certification first, it can be helpful to start with the easiest one first. And then let the snowball effect take it from there. That's why I started with AWS CCP first, then moved on to Solution Architect Associate and then finally tackled the Professional certification. Also, it helps that AWS provides a 50% discount voucher with every certification that you clear.

Spoon-feeding

Some days are more difficult than others. There will be times when you feel like you couldn't do self-study even if you had your own cheer-leading squad. Solution? Get someone to teach you. There are several educational videos online (eg: AWS re:Invent). If you find it hard on a particular day to read through the documentation, try watching a video. Maybe read a blog article about it. Basically, get that understanding into your head one way or the other. I prefer to purchase a course on Udemy to get me the lay of the land. I do not rely on the course to teach me everything. I use it to as a tool to show me the areas that need to be covered by me in my self-study sessions.

Practice

The best way for a complex concept to enter your mind is through your hands. Somethings are so convoluted that you need to do hands-on exercises to fully comprehend them. Come up with your own questions for the concepts that you have studied. Then seek out the answers for the same by trying things out. The other aspect of practice are mock tests. Your goal here should be to get a question bank that simulates the same (or higher) level of complexity as your target certification. After I would clear a mock test, I would go through the detailed explanation for each question (even the ones that I got right). Also, I would make it a point to not just be able to pick out the correct option but also build my knowledge to the level where I could concretely state why the other options were incorrect. Use practice tests to point out gaps in your knowledge. Then fill those gaps.

Take a break

This might sound counter-intuitive but breaks are essential. 7 days of continuous study can make one weak. Designate a weekly break day. I do not read up on any technical articles on Sunday. It helps in keeping the inner fire of technical pursuits burning for me. Hence, sometimes on Mondays, I'm just raring to get started with where I'd left off on Saturday.

The quicksand of Preparation

There is a fee associated with most certifications. There is always a possibility that one may not clear the exam. That's why preparation is paramount. However, I've seen this fear of potential failure coax many an individual into postponing the actual exam indefinitely. I've said to myself on numerous occasions, "Let me prepare more for another month and then I'll be ready. Then I'll book the exam." The problem is after a month, I would still feel under-prepared. What has worked for me is to talk myself into saying, "I need 1 more month to prepare, right? So let me book the exam for a date which is a month away." Once the booking is done, that's pretty much all the motivation that you need to bury your nose in the documentation. Remember: There is indeed a possibility of failure with every endeavor that you undertake, however there is an absolute certainty of non-achievement with every endeavor that you turn your back on. Don't let your fear talk you out of it.

Accountability

What I've found to work wonders, is to make myself accountable to someone else about achieving a goal. Once those words have been written or said, they are no longer mere desires in my mind that I can annul without a soul knowing about it. Once I've given my word, it matters to me that I keep it.

A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.

-Harvey MacKay

If you are considering leaving a like for this article, thanks but that's unnecessary. What I would rather want is that you make up your mind about your next goal (whether it is a tech cert or something else) and add a comment here to make yourself accountable.

Let me get the ball rolling by eating my own medicine: I hereby declare to attempt the AWS Data Analytics Specialty certification by Dec 2020. Over to you, now!