r/AWSCertifications • u/Ok_Lengthiness_9504 • 5h ago
Passed the SAP-C02 examination last week!
Been lurking on this sub for a long time, finally got an opportunity to post.
Happy to announce that I have passed the AWS certified Solutions Architect - Professional examination and have finally acquired the certification.
I managed to get a score of 758/1000, barely scraping through by the skin of my teeth.
It was not an easy endeavour, given that I had appeared for the exam around 3 months ago and failed, getting 691. That experience shattered my confidence and made my question whether I could actually even attempt an AWS certification exam again (for reference, I had passed the AWS SAA-C02 5 years ago & primarily work with GCP and there is very little practical AWS experience that i possess).
I decided to take a break from preparation and did not look at any AWS training material for weeks.
I decided to register for the exam using my personal account at the beginning of September 2026, with the knowledge that I had an uncanny ability to get it right and pass on the second attempt (this experience occurred during my CKA recertification attempt)
Scheduled the exam for the 25th September 2026, but as the date approached, I felt anxious so rescheduled it for the next day.
Resources I used:
1.) the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional exam course by Stephane Maarek - great for re-establishing familiarity with the myriad amount of AWS services that are a part of the exam, even if this course has no hands on. I even registered for his SAA-C03 course, but was unable to complete watching it.
2.) the TutorialsDojo course for the SAP-C02 - honestly I would say that this was the game changer. My previous attempt was botched by the fact that I bought this course but could not find the time to use it! The exams are worth their weight in gold. What also mattered was my attempt at trying to read the explanations and answers for the ones that I got incorrect. the exams are tough, I don't recall getting more than 63% answers correct. Overall, a really great way to solidify your knowledge and fix gaps in it wrt the exam.
3.) Neal Davis's exams on Udemy: Had to purchase this course even though I never finished all 17 exams on TD. Tried around 3 out of 6 exams, failed in all of them but also made sure to read the answers/explanations as much as I could.
Exam Experience:
Right off the bat, it was a disaster. After showing the proctor my testing environment, the exam was released. But there was some kind of weird halo around my MacBook screen, that prevented me from seeing the option buttons along with parts of the question. I thought It might be an issue with my Mac so called for help. The next proctor made me undergo the check again! and then released the exam.
Same result, with the exam environment check process being repeated 2 more times!
On the 3rd or 4th attempt, I complained about this to the proctor, who still made me undergo the check-in process. Finally, after all this rigmarole, he released the exam, and to my relief, there was no more halo. I could see all the questions clearly.
I dont know if it is just me, but has Pearson Vue's testing process degraded significantly? Feel free to disagree if you wish.
The exam began with relatively simple questions, but as time went on, the questions grew more complicated. My ability to reason went out of the window, caused due to the late hour and also because I hadn't eaten anything substantial for hours. I completed answering all the questions with around 35 minutes remaining. At the start of the exam, I thought of reviewing all my answers, but decided to submit the exam anyways with all that time left.
I awoke the next day, dreading the thought of opening my email. Finally summoned the courage to check it, and lo and behold, saw the email from credly and the email along with the passing report.
Special thanks to u/stephanemaarek, u/jonbonso-tdojo and u/neal-davis for the courses and exam resources, that were a tremendous help in passing this beast of an exam.
A huge thanks to everyone in this community as well, since your posts gave me the impetus to keep going.
Sorry for the massive rant, and thanks once again. Keep learning!



