How I Passed the AWS SAA C03 Solution Architect Associate Exam in 4 Weeks

The AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) exam can be daunting, but with the right strategy and dedication, success is achievable. In this blog, I’ll share the exact steps I took to prepare for the exam, divided into a manageable 30-day timeline. Feel free to read my blog post on A Guide to AWS Solution Architect Associate SAA C03 Exam

Then come here for an AWS SAA-C03 4-week plan.

Step 1: Complete a Video Course (15 Days)

I started my preparation with Stephen Marek’s AWS SAA-C03 Course on Udemy. The course is approximately 26 hours long, and I divided it into 15 days. That’s less than 2 hours of content daily.

As a beginner to the cloud, I found some concepts challenging. My approach was to:

• Watch the daily video module multiple times, especially sections I struggled with.
• Spend an additional 2–3 hours reading and practicing in the AWS Management Console to reinforce my understanding.
• Revise the slides from the previous day’s lecture to stay on track.

By the end of 15 days, I completed the course and felt confident about the foundational concepts.

Step 2: Solve Questions (10 Days)

The next 10 days were dedicated to solving practice questions. My target was 60–70 questions daily, which increased to over 100 questions as I became faster. Here’s how I approached it:

1. ExamTopics

• ExamTopics offers 500+ community-contributed questions with explanations. It’s a great resource, but you need to validate answers carefully.
• To access specific questions, I used Google searches:
  "SAA C03 exam question 1 site:examtopics.com"
"SAA C03 exam question 44 site:examtopics.com"


  I repeated this process for as many questions as possible, reaching around 544.

• Tips While Solving Questions:
  • Identify service patterns and build shortcuts. For example:
    • SQL queries on S3 buckets? Likely AWS Athena.
    • HTTP/HTTPS traffic? Think ALB or CloudFront.
    • UDP traffic? Likely NLB.
  • These shortcuts helped me answer faster and more accurately.

2. Peace of Code

• Peace of Code’s YouTube Channel offers excellent walkthroughs for AWS practice questions.
• I focused on the videos with over 300 questions and analyzed the explanations in depth.

3. Daily Goal

By solving 60–70 questions daily, I covered 600–700 questions in 10 days. On some days, I exceeded 120 questions because my pace improved as I understood AWS services better.

Step 3: Mock Exams (2–3 Days)

Once I was confident, I switched to full-length mock exams to simulate real test conditions. I used Tutorials Dojo’s question bank, which provides some of the best exam-like scenarios.

• Take 4–6 timed exams to build stamina and familiarity with the exam format.
• Target 70%+ in each mock test. If you fall short, review the explanations and revisit weak areas.

Step 4: Revision (2–3 Days)

The last step is to revise critical AWS concepts. During this period, I focused on:

• AWS Whitepapers:
  • Disaster Recovery Strategies
  • AWS Well-Architected Framework (Six Pillars)
• Summarizing my notes and revisiting practice questions I had marked as challenging.

Final Thoughts

By following this structured 30-day plan, I gained the knowledge and confidence needed to pass the AWS SAA-C03 exam. While I took 4 weeks in total as a beginner, this 30-day timeline can help streamline your preparation.

Here’s a quick recap:

1. 15 Days: Complete a video course (Stephen Marek’s or Adrian Cantrill’s).
2. 10 Days: Solve 600+ questions from ExamTopics, Peace of Code, and Tutorials Dojo.
3. 2–3 Days: Take full-length mock exams to solidify your readiness.
4. 2–3 Days: Revise whitepapers and challenging concepts.

This strategy worked for me, and I hope it helps you too. Let’s PASS the AWS SAA-C03 exam together!

Feel free to share your experiences or ask questions in the comments below. You can also send me any resources or notes at contact@itsaws.com—I’d appreciate your support.