AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification

How to Prepare for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification?

In this article, we are going to explain how to prepare and pass the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification exam. Cloud Practitioner exam is the basic and beginner level certification exam from AWS. If you are a fresher and confused of which AWS certification to choose for your learning path, then this exam would be first one to start your certification journey.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam is considered as the fundamental level exam, intended for AWS freshers or who are working in the management side.

Latest updates: The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam CLF-C01 will be available only on or before September 18, 2023. The updated AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam CLF-C02 version starts on September 19, 2023.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam Preparation Ideas

These days, every cloud provider offering their own fundamental or foundation level certification exams to make the candidate prepare them self to get ready to start the cloud career. These fundamental exams would focus on the very basics and consider only the very high level understanding of what is cloud computing? and who and who can use the cloud computing?. Here is the list of fundamental exams that’s offered by top 3 players in the market.

  1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam – Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  2. Exam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (Microsoft Azure)
  3. Cloud Digital Leader (Google Cloud)

What is Cloud Practitioner Certification Exam?

Cloud Practitioner is the basic level certification offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). If you are a fresher or entry level person who would like to understand the basic concepts of cloud computing and AWS, then this is the right certification to start. This CLF-C02 certification is easy to prepare and pass it in a month of time.

Let’s have an overview of the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Exam:

clf-c02

 Eligibility Criteria

The candidate must satisfy the criteria mentioned below to take AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification exam:

  1. At least six months experience of AWS cloud concepts in some role involving sales, managerial, technical, financial or purchasing etc.
  2. Basic knowledge of IT services and their implementation in AWS Cloud platform.

Exam Pattern

In AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Exam, two types of questions can be seen. One is multiple-choice which has one correct option with three incorrect options (known as the distractor) and the other is the multiple-response question which can have more than one correct response out of five options. You can select more than one response that will best answer the question.

A candidate who have incomplete knowledge of AWS cloud concepts generally choose distractor options and lose the score for that question. Remember that unanswered questions are considered as incorrect but no negative marking for guessing.

AWS Cloud Practitioner Banner

Exam Objectives

This certification exam ratifies a candidate’s strength to:

  • Explain AWS cloud and its basic infrastructure
  • Describe the account management, billing, and pricing
  • Explain AWS cloud values
  • Explain the basic principles of AWS Cloud Architecture
  • Describe shared security model, security and compliance concepts
  • Recognize the main sources of technical assistance or documentation
  • Explain the main characteristics of operating and deploying in the AWS Cloud

Top Skills you will gain from AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

If you’re looking to gain some new skills and knowledge, then obtaining an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification is a great way to do so.

This certification is designed for those who want to learn the basics of AWS cloud computing, and it will give you a strong foundation on which to build further skills and expertise.

Some of the top skills you will gain from becoming an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner include:

1. An understanding of the basic concepts of cloud computing.

2. An understanding of the AWS platform and its key features.

3. Knowledge of how to use key AWS services such as EC2, S3 and EBS.

4. The ability to effectively communicate with AWS customers and users.

5. The skills to create and manage AWS resources.

6. The ability to troubleshoot and solve problems with AWS services.

7. The ability to manage an AWS environment.

8. The ability to plan and implement an AWS cloud solution.

9. The skills to migrate an existing application to the AWS cloud.

10. The ability to optimize an AWS cloud solution.

Who should take AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification?

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification is intended for following candidate:

  • Non-IT background and those wants to pursue their career in the AWS Cloud can take up this certification
  • Sales/marketing/business analyst roles who are looking to communicate more effectively with stakeholders and customers about the AWS Cloud can take this certification
  • In on-premises IT or cloud roles, but new to AWS Cloud, and need a primer before diving into role-based AWS Certifications

What you’ll learn in AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification?

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification helps you to possess the following skills and knowledge on:

  • Basic understanding of IT services and their uses on AWS Cloud
  • Knowledge of core AWS services and use cases, billing and pricing models, security concepts, and how cloud impacts your business

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Subject Areas

The syllabus for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification exam has been divided into four subject areas. Each subject area covers many specific topics. Let’s have a look at the four domains from AWS:

  1. Cloud Concepts
  2. Security
  3. Technology
  4. Billing & Pricing

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Subject Areas

 

1. Cloud Concepts

If you want to pass the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam then you must have some basic knowledge of Cloud Computing Concepts. Questions asked from this field are broad enough. So to perform well, you must know high-level Cloud Concepts which includes

  • Elasticity
  • Scalability
  • High Availability
  • Fault Tolerance

It is found that cloud concept domain covers 26 % of this certification exam content approximately.

Note: If you want to become an AWS Certified Architect? After AWS Cloud Practitioner, you can go for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate exam.

2. Security

If you are preparing for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification exam, Security is marked as an important topic whether you are working with infrastructure or not. This certification exam includes a variety of questions related to security, acquiescence, and culpable management. You may find some following topics regarding this domain in your exam:

  • Shared Security Model
  • Cloud Logs
  • DDoS Protection
  • IAM- Managing users, Password policies, and MFA

It is found that Security domain covers 25 % of this certification exam content approximately.

3. Technology

Technology is the most important domain of AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification exam. If you want to be adept in this section then you should have the knowledge of core AWS services. Here are some of AWS services that you must know

  • EC2
  • RDS
  • SNS
  • ELB
  • S3
  • Lambda
  • Route 53

It is found that Technology domain covers 33 % of this certification exam content approximately.

Read Now: Amazon Braket

4. Billing & Pricing

As AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification exam concentrates on the business application of AWS, Billing & Pricing becomes important topics you should know. You must have knowledge of general account information, AWS support, how certain services are billed, how to calculate the cost of services and using what tools etc. There may be some questions which overlap with other exam domains e.g. AWS Cost Calculator service may fall into billing & pricing domain as well as technology domain.

It is found that Billing & Pricing domain covers 16 % of this certification exam content approximately.

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How to Prepare for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification?

As we all know that preparation for any certification course is not so easy. For preparing an exam, we need to follow a correct path to pass the exam. So, here we present the preparation path to pass AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification exam.

1. Start with AWS Training Classes

Here are three AWS Training courses that will help you to pass this certification.

AWS Training Courses

  • AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials : This course is for those candidates who are seeking for complete understanding of AWS Cloud. This course includes cloud concepts, AWS services, pricing, architecture, security, and support.
  • AWS Technical Essentials : This course informs you about AWS services, products, and some ordinary solutions. It makes you more efficient in analyzing AWS services so that you will be able to resolve IT issues. It allows you to learn new skills and implement them in your business.
  • AWS Business Essentials : AWS Business Essentials helps you to know the benefits of cloud computing, including financial profits and how a cloud approach helps you to attain business goals. Also, this course informs you about security and compliance concepts and helps you understanding AWS cloud computing approach.

2. Read AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Exam Guide

If you are preparing for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam then this guide gives you an idea about the necessary areas that you need to concentrate on while preparing for the exam. The exam guide will provide you an overview of all the exam objectives with the preparation instructions. You just need to follow them with proper dedication to passing the certification exam.

Read Now: AWS OpsWorks

3. Get Familiar with the Subject Areas

When you are preparing for an exam, subject area for the exam becomes the most important thing that you must understand. Objectives of AWS CCP certification exam has already been stated above, review them carefully, and then start your preparation through the recommended study material for each subject area.

4. Go Through AWS Whitepapers

Since we know that white papers are created to educate the viewers about a specific issue and accelerate a specific methodology. AWS whitepapers are a good source of information and cover the basic topic such as security, architecture, and economics.  

Here are some popular AWS whitepapers that will help you in the preparation of AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification exam

  • Overview of AWS
  • How AWS Pricing Works
  • Maximizing Value with AWS
  • AWS Security Best Practices
  • An Overview of the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework
  • The Business Value of AWS: Succeeding at Twenty-First Century Business Infrastructure

5. Self-Study

AWS Cloud Practitioner certification exam covers the basic concepts and knowledge of AWS Cloud. If you have some experience of working on AWS cloud platform, the self-study is enough to pass the certification exam. If you are not good at some concepts, take an online course for the preparation of AWS CCP exam. The online training will help you to understand all the subject areas and thus, you will be able to pass the certification exam. You can find a lot of material on AWS website itself. Read the frequently asked questions related to the AWS cloud, services, and applications.

6. Examine Sample Questions and Take Free Practice Test

Practice test for any certification exam is the best contraption to evaluate your readiness for the exam. As we know that learning the exam content is necessary but not enough to do well in the exam. You can try these free AWS cloud practitioner certification exam questions.  If you want to perform well, you must practice through the AWS Cloud Practitioner practice exam as these tests contain actual exam structure and contents. You can also try some full-length practice tests as they are more beneficial to find out weak areas and make improvements on them.

Looking for Practice material for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification exam? Try Free Test here!

7. Schedule the Exam and Get Certified

When you are done with your preparation and confident enough, it is the right time to enroll for the exam. Choose any testing center near you at AWS.training website and register yourself.  As in you are well prepared by following the above steps, you will definitely pass the exam. Wish you the luck!

Best AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Books

Start your preparation with AWS Exam Guide. This guide will acts as a study plan for you, after this book-learning, continue your preparation with following AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Books. We have enlisted some important books that will help you to prepare for the AWS certified cloud practitioner exam. Read all or few of these to clear your concepts of AWS cloud and get ready to pass the certification exam. So, here are the recommended AWS certified cloud practitioner books –

1. AWS: The Beginners Guide to Amazon Web Services by Dennis Hutten

This AWS certified cloud practitioner book is intended for beginners. This is a complete study guide that explains how Amazon Web Services provides flexible, reliable, and scalable, cost-effective and easy-to-use solutions. So, if you have the desire to learn how Amazon Web Services will work and how to run your website on Amazon Web Services can be beneficial then you can get benefit from this book.

aws book
Image Source: Amazon.com

2. AWS Basics: Beginner’s Guide by Gordon Wong

This is a recommended AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner book that covers basic concepts of Amazon Web Services (AWS). If you want to know how to start with AWS then you can use this AWS Certification Cloud Practitioner study guide. This book explains how we can create an account and can assign that account to a security group. Also to understand how to install Unified Cloud Controller on AWS; you can refer this book. Reading this book will help you pass the AWS Certified cloud practitioner certification.

AWS basics book
Image Source: www.goodreads.com

3. Learning AWS by Aurobindo Sarkar and Amit Shah

This AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner book is for the experts who want to learn Amazon Web Services (AWS). So, this book is best for those who are experts in programming. It is assumed, a programmer who wants to learn AWS, they are familiar with Spring, RESTful web services, and MySQL. With the help of this AWS Certified loud Practitioner Study Guide, you can develop your skills by learning the below-mentioned approaches, tools, and processes. With this book, you can easily learn application monitoring, developing and automating your cloud infrastructure, DevOps pipeline and set up the operations.

learning aws book
Image Source: www.packtpub.com

4. Amazon Web Services for Dummies by Bernard Golden

This book is an Amazon Web Services study guide that provides you an easy way to understand the AWS platform. This book helps you learn toolset for Amazon Web Services and how to implement AWS in your organization. By reading this book, you will learn how the different Amazon Web Services like Amazon EC2, S3, Glacier, and Amazon Flexible Payments works. In this book, you will find step by step instructions for everything along with the practical examples. You will learn different AWS features and get to know how to create a robust and reliable website according to your requirement. Thus, Amazon Web Services for Dummies is a complete study guide for you if you are looking for a book to get your hands on the cloud with Amazon Web Services.

Amazon Web Services for Dummies
Image Source: https://covers.oreillystatic.com

5. Amazon Web Services in Action by Andreas Wittig and Michael Wittig

Amazon Web Services in Action is the complete introduction to AWS cloud. This book familiarizes you with the basics of computation, networking, and storage in the AWS cloud. With this book, you can get a complete overview of cloud computing and then account creation. You will understand the procedure of how to get the system isolation done with the implementation of private networks. Also, you will come to know about different techniques and options for the data storage. This AWS certified cloud practitioner book will teach you to build highly available, robust, and reliable system using AWS cloud.

Amazon Web Services in Action
Image Source: goodreads.com

6. AWS Automation Cookbook – Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment using AWS Services by Nikit Swaraj

AWS Automation Cookbook is a recipe based study guide and makes you learn how to reduce the downtime for application deployment. The approach this book work upon is how to do it, and meant to provide the easiest solutions to automate the processes related to common maintenance and deployment tasks. This book is for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam and helps you learn the concepts of AWS development and administration. With this book, you will learn how to manage the instances and host the AWS applications. If you want to have the detailed knowledge of continuous deployment, integration, and delivery of AWS services, then this book is a perfect choice for you.

aws automation book
Image Source: www.packtpub.com

Read this article to have a good understanding of How to Implement Automation in AWS?

7. Mastering AWS Security: Create and Maintain a Secure Cloud Ecosystem by Albert Anthony

As AWS Cloud security is the important objective covered in AWS certified cloud practitioner exam syllabus, this book is a right choice for the cloud practitioner exam. This AWS certified cloud practitioner book provides you an in-depth knowledge of how to effectively use and implement security services for AWS. This book is for all IT professionals who are working with AWS cloud in any domain. If you are implementing AWS in your organization, it is recommended to read this AWS book to maintain the security of all of your works. Understanding the security concepts of all the AWS services in different domains, scenarios, and use cases will benefit you to become the master of AWS cloud.

mastering aws security book
Image Source: www.amazon.com

So, these are the AWS books that cover all the exam objectives of AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam. Reading these books with proper concentration will surely clear your concepts of AWS cloud.

Suggestions to Follow While Taking the Exam

  • Start the exam by answering questions you are sure about. Avoid spending more time on the difficult and confusing questions.
  • Keep the record of time while you are taking the exam. It is important to manage time as it will help you to attempt all the questions.
  • Don’t rush, stay steady. You are given 90 minutes, enough time to complete the exam so just take your time to answer all the questions.
  • It is not always the case that the answer will only be the best answer. Revolve your mind and try to find the second best answer to the question.
  • Keep in mind that there may be more than one question in a single question, so try to understand the question first and then choose the answer.
  • As per the exam pattern, the question may have multiple correct answers. So read the question and every option carefully to find all the correct answers.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Salary

According to PayScale, a qualified AWS cloud practitioner may expect to earn between $160,000 and $180,000 annually.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioners market worth varies depending on a number of variables, including geography, experience, job type, and industry. In general, people with this certification may anticipate to make an annual salary of about $82,000 in the US.

It’s crucial to remember, though, that this accreditation has significance beyond only money. As more businesses use cloud-based solutions, there is a rising demand for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioners. This certification can show a degree of competency and authority in cloud computing that may lead to new job prospects and higher earnings.

Companies hiring AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner 

Some of the top companies hiring for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner job roles such as:

  • NeuraFlash
  • Accenture
  •  Epsilon
  •  CloudAngles
  • Ideal Tech Labs
  • Maersk
  • ALLINDIA,
  • Adobe
  • Deloitte
  • BAXTER

FAQs

How difficult is the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam?

It is not a difficult exam as it is an entry-level certification. It is intended for individuals who have basic knowledge of AWS and cloud computing but may not have extensive hands-on experience with AWS services. The exam is focused on foundational concepts and aims to validate your understanding of the AWS Cloud and its basic architectural principles.

What is the salary for AWS Cloud Practitioner?

The salary range you provided for a certified AWS Cloud Practitioner in the US, between $160,000 and $180,000 per year, seems to be significantly higher than what is typically associated with the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification.

Is AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification enough to get a job?
The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification can be a valuable credential to have when seeking job opportunities in the field of cloud computing and AWS. However, it is important to note that the certification alone may not guarantee a job.

The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification demonstrates your understanding of basic AWS services, architectural principles, and cloud computing concepts. It serves as a foundational certification that can help you establish a solid understanding of AWS and provide a starting point for further specialization in AWS.

Final Words

One thing you should keep in mind is that there is no shortcut method to pass an exam. So, prepare with the above-mentioned preparation guide and step ahead to pass the cloud practitioner exam. As the certification only doesn’t matter but the knowledge does, you should cover the exam objectives by clearing the concepts through the described study material.

Whizlabs is aimed to help you in your preparation and so we brought this complete preparation guide for you. Also, we are offering AWS certified Cloud Practitioner Practice Exam that will help you track your preparation and work on the weak areas. By practicing through these practice tests, you will be confident enough to pass the certification exam in first attempt itself.

Also, try learning through our AWS Hands-on Labs where you can learn in Live AWS environment.

OFFER : Share this article on Twitter and get 75% OFF on AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Courses. Share it now and send us a mail to support@whizlabs.com with your Twitter post link. [Limited Time Offer]

Have any question or doubt? Just put the comment below or write here, we will be happy to help you.

About Pavan Gumaste

Pavan Rao is a programmer / Developer by Profession and Cloud Computing Professional by choice with in-depth knowledge in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform. He helps the organisation figure out what to build, ensure successful delivery, and incorporate user learning to improve the strategy and product further.

21 thoughts on “How to Prepare for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification?”

  1. Prashanta Karmakar

    Nice and helpful article. Is there any official study guide for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification?

  2. Hi Amit – Question: Are the in-class / paid online courses around Technical essentials and business essential necessary to clear the exam?

      1. Is this true ?? The 195 questions are enough to clear the exams. I had the Free test and finished answering in 9 mins scoring 19/20.

        1. Hi Pratik

          AWS Cloud Practitioner exam questions are straight forward, you need to understand where and when to use each AWS services effectively. You should be familiar with billings also. They will test your knowledge on major AWS services.

          If you’re familiar with major aws services and know how to use effectively considering performance and cost in mind then you can clear this exam. 195 questions are enough to understand what you can expect in the real exam.

        2. Most of the candidates feel difficult to pass Amazon AWS-Certified-Cloud-Practitioner Exams like me but you can pass it.Here is some necessary tips to pass exam easily. First of all you should prepare yourself mentally then practice exam question available on internet in any form like, ebooks, mock tests or any other format, It will help you to understanding Amazon real exam pattern.

  3. How many questions are asked in the CCP exam? This article mentions ‘varies’ but did not explain the situations in which it can vary and how much can it vary? What is the minimum and maximum question being asked?

  4. Good Post! Thank you so much for sharing this pretty post, it was so good to read and useful to improve my knowledge as updated one, keep blogging

  5. Tom Benedetto

    Fantastic article, and the post review of practice exams answers is very helpful with explaining correct and incorrect answers, plus providing relevant links.
    Does each paid practice exam offer similar questions, just more of them, or something else?

  6. Bradly Costilow

    Hi! This post could not be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

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