Conquering Cloud Concepts with AWS Cloud Quest Challenge for Cloud Practitioner

5 min readApr 30, 2024

A few years ago, I achieved AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification. Time has passed and wanted to get into AWS related certs. I thought 2024 will be the year where I will improve my cloud experience achieving cloud related certifications and share my learning experience with the community.

My blog post will guide you through everything you need to know about learning for and achieving AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner credential. The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner validates foundational, high-level understanding of AWS Cloud, services, and terminology. This is a good starting point on the AWS Certification journey for individuals with no prior IT or cloud experience switching to a cloud career or to refresh AWS basic knowledge.

The exam consists of 65 questions (multiple choice questions or multiple response type questions) with a time limit of 90 minutes. More details about exam can be found from AWS site [1]. Current version of the exam is CLF-C02, and the exam guide can be found from here [2].

What is AWS Cloud Practitioner Quest Challenge?

This course takes minimum of 12 hours to complete but once again the time to complete varies from every individual [9]. For me it took around 15 hours to finish. During this challenge we will receive access to AWS resources needed to finish respective challenges and a Credly badge upon completion of the challenge.

Some of the high-level learning objectives from this course are:

AWS Cloud Fundamentals
Getting Started with AWS Services
AWS Infrastructure
Scaling and Security
Databases on AWS
VPC Peering
NoSQL Databases
Storage on AWS
Auto Scaling
Building Highly Available Applications
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Security and Cost Management

Example:
Challenge: We will be provided with a challenge to help a business with achieving increased reliability and availability.
Solution: We will be provided with access to AWS console and set of questions to achieve the solution for the challenge. Once the solution is implemented there will be questions to provide answers. Challenge is completed we will move to the next challenge.

How to access AWS Cloud Quest Challenges?

AWS Cloud Skill Builder: AWS introduced online learning platform called AWS Cloud Skill Builder which helps individuals from beginner to experienced learners to acquire cloud skills. AWS Skill builder offers more than 600+ digital courses covering various AWS services. Navigate to certain learning path, interactive challenges where we need to solve real-time problems. Exam prep sources with practice tests and other study material. [7]

Cost? Free or paid?

AWS Skill builder is available via both Free and Paid Subscription. With Free account we get access to Exam Prep courses, AWS Cloud Quest Cloud Practioner Challenge, 600+ on demand courses and learning plans. Paid subscription opens more room with learning experience we can get access to more than 1000+ hands-on labs, enhanced exam prep materials and more. Full comparison is available from here [8]

Free and Paid Courses for **AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner**

How can I use AWS Skill Builder and cloud quest challenge to achieve Cloud Practioner certification?

· Create a free account in AWS Skill Builder from URL [7].

· Search in AWS Skill Builder catalog by the code “CLF-C02” and you will be presented to choose the courses that are free and requires subscription. (screenshot below)

· Register and select the date for the certification. (Set a realistic goal to achieve the exam and book the date). [4]

· Complete all the available courses for free from AWS Skill Builder site (resources in reference section).

· Take sample practice exam questions from AWS site [5 and 6].

Other Learning Resources Available

Career / Learning Paths: AWS Ramp-up guides

AWS Ramp-Up Guides are curated learning resources offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help individuals build their cloud computing skills and knowledge specific to a certain role, solution, or industry area.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Ramp-Up Guides are downloadable resources that provide step-by-step instructions on how to build your AWS Cloud skills and knowledge. Each AWS Ramp-Up Guide includes curated digital training, AWS classroom courses, AWS videos, AWS whitepapers, AWS certifications, and much more. Check out the guides below by roles, solutions, or industry from: [13]

AWS Certification Page:

Find the full list of references for other study material.

https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-cloud-practitioner/

My experience:

When I achieve certifications or go over any learning materials, I like to do hands-on labs along with reading material. This gives me hands-on exposure to what I learned in theory to experiment practically. The cost of the certification exam is $100, if this is expensive for someone to pay and take the test but have the passion to learn. I would recommend starting with free AWS Skill Builder account and learn about AWS.

What next?
I am currently taking the KQL class by BluRaven and recently finished GIAC Cloud Penetration Tester (GCPN). I will be sharing my learning experience along with resources I used for the courses in my next blogposts.