Cloud Journey III, Léon The Professional

It's been three years since I took the SAA exam, which meant it was time to renew.

I'd previously passed the Cloud Practitioner, all three associates, and the Security Specialty. I'd been preparing for the SAP for a while but never reached a point where I felt confident enough to sit for it. At least that prep made the SAA renewal a non-event.

I passed without much difficulty. That boosted my confidence. Maybe it was time. Maybe I was ready.

I booked the SAP and gave myself two weeks to rest and recover. I'd heard it was hard. I'd heard it was long.

They were right.

Took the exam and almost ran out of time.

The coverage isn't wildly different from the SAA — you're still answering the same type of questions. What makes the SAP brutal is the length.

The questions are long. The answer choices are sometimes even longer. I answered the last question with 3 minutes left and had no time to go back to the ones I'd flagged for review.

There's an alert when you have 5 minutes left. It popped with 2 questions still unanswered. I finished with 3 minutes on the clock — too drained to review anything I'd marked.

Final score: 843. I passed. With difficulty. But I passed.

I've now achieved 6 of 12 active AWS certifications.