I recieved an email from AWS today inviting me to sit a new Beta exam for the AWS Solution Architect Associate certification.
Due to the rapidly evolving nature of cloud based services the current exam tests knowledge that was valid and correct a number of years ago, and is not necessarily correct in AWS today. A great example is ‘How long does it take to retrieve data from Glacier storage?’ – the answer expected in the current exam is 3-5 hours.
The answer in 2017 would be: Is your glacier retrieval request standard (3-5 hours), bulk (5-12 hours) or expedited (1-5 minutes, yes minutes!!!)
So an update is due to the exam soon, which is a good thing. The email states “new exam featuring questions that reflect new and updated AWS features, services, and best practices”.
However I suspect the new exam is due early 2018 – as the email states that any exam results for those who sit this new beta would be available in 3 months!!!
Good luck for those studying. You can access my old Associate level notes in my AWS bucket here – which I did update in January 2017 as I was preparing for my Professional Exam.