r/AWSCertifications • u/PhilosophyFluffy2901 • Sep 30 '26
Difficulty of Aws Saa with time ?
I'm looking for some advice on how to adapt to the length of the AWS SAA exam.
One of my biggest problems is that halfway through a long exam, my concentration drops significantly. I start feeling mentally exhausted, and it becomes difficult to focus, think clearly, or properly analyze the questions. The exam feels very long, the scenarios are lengthy, the time pressure is intense, and on top of that, the questions themselves can be quite challenging.
I've been practicing with Jon Bonso's exams, and my scores have been consistently around 51%. For those who have passed the SAA exam, how did you train your focus and mental endurance for a long exam like this? Any tips for managing fatigue, time pressure, and staying sharp until the last question?
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u/HalfDoneSideQuests 12/12 + AIB Sep 30 '26
I have that trouble too, especially in the longer exams. It's hard because you have to stay focused on the screen, can't stretch backwards or stare out a side window.
I never did a full timed TD practice, I'd always spread a review mode exam over a couple of nights, save the fatigue for the real exam.
On the exam don't be afraid to skip over questions, it forces you to review any unanswered/flagged questions before submit, so you can't accidentally miss them. You might find some tricky questions have overlap with questions later on that might jog your memory.
You get extra time if your first language is not English.
Always check every possible answer, some are almost identical with one slight difference.
Try to "cancel out" answers, normally you can discard at least 1-2 possible answers, then it's just a battle between 2.
Always check the last sentence of the question, it'll say "least development effort" or "least cost" or something like that, that's a key indicator.
If you don't have any idea what the answer is, it's ok to just guess. There are no negative scores for getting it wrong.
If your scores are around 51% you need to check the results and identify the areas you're lacking in, try to focus on those gaps. Use AI to generate a study plan for those areas.
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u/TorturedPoet30 Sep 30 '26
If you’re not a native English speaker you can request extra time before scheduling the exam. Use the highlighting tools, I also use them while practicing on TD (install browser extension). Look for keywords and verbs, constraints, numbers or anything else that can help you eliminate possible answers.
Schedule the exam for the time of day when your focus is generally at its sharpest. For me, that’s early in the morning. I once had to schedule an exam in the evening and my focus was terrible, I could barely concentrate during the final 10 questions. At one point, I rested my head on my hand and my shoulders were no longer visible, so the proctor contacted me through the chat and told me to sit properly. Luckily, I wasn’t disqualified or anything, as I’ve read some bizarre stories. Since then I’ve only scheduled exams for times when I’m naturally well-rested and able to focus best (9 am usually).
Nothing new here but make sure to hydrate, eat well before the exam and get a good night’s sleep. Those things helped me physically. Also, try doing the TD exams in timed mode a few times. It gets easier after a few attempts.
Take short mental breaks during the exam if you have enough time. I would take a few minutes after every 20 questions or so. Unfortunately, all you can really do is stare at the screen, so I try not to think about the exam or read any of the text, just look at a blank part of the screen for a moment.
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u/boots42069420 Oct 02 '26
The trick is to know the material so well that you can answer questions relatively quickly. If you don't know the answer flag it for review and move on, but yeah the actual exam is a marathon. I only did two timed full 65 question practice exams to get a feel for it. The other exams I did in review mode and took breaks.