🏅My Journey to Passing the AWS Certified Developer Associate (DVA-C02) 📜🥳

AWS certifications have become a powerful way to validate cloud expertise and stand out in the tech industry. Recently, I passed the AWS Certified Developer Associate (DVA-C02) exam, and I wanted to share my experience, resources, and strategies to help others preparing for the same journey.

If you’re aiming for this certification—or just want to strengthen your AWS development skills—this one’s for you!

📚 Why I Chose the DVA-C02 Certification

As a DevOps Engineer working in cloud-based environments, I wanted to deepen my understanding of AWS services, especially the ones relevant to building and maintaining scalable applications. The DVA-C02 certification focuses on core AWS tools like Lambda, DynamoDB, S3, and CI/CD pipelines. It’s a well-rounded cert for DevOps Engineer wanting to sharpen their practical cloud skills.

🔗 My Study Resources and Approach

Here’s the exact learning path I followed:

1️⃣ Udemy Course: "AWS Certified Developer Associate - 2024"

This comprehensive course from Stephane Maarek was my primary study source. It offers hands-on labs and clear explanations for all exam domains, covering:

• AWS SDK and CLI usage
• DynamoDB, SQS, SNS, Lambda, API Gateway, and more
• IAM roles, permissions, and security best practices

2️⃣ Tutorials & Documentation

AWS’ own official documentation was surprisingly helpful, especially for understanding service-specific limits, pricing models, and use cases. I highly recommend bookmarking key pages for quick reference.

3️⃣ Practice Exams

Practice tests were a game-changer. I took several practice exams on Udemy and Tutorials Dojo, which not only tested my knowledge but also helped me develop time management skills. This exam’s clock ticks faster than you expect!

🔥 Key Topics You Can’t Ignore

If you’re short on time, focus deeply on these areas:

✅ Lambda and Event-Driven Development

✅ DynamoDB - Consistency, Indexing, and Query Patterns

✅ S3 - Permissions, Storage Classes, Encryption

✅ CI/CD - CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy

✅ Security - IAM Roles, Policies, KMS, Secrets Manager

✅ Error Handling - Retry, Exponential Backoff, Dead Letter Queues

🚀 My Exam Day Experience

The exam itself is a mix of scenario-based questions and theory-based ones. Be ready to apply your knowledge to real-world AWS use cases. Some questions may seem tricky, but eliminating obviously wrong answers helps. My final tip: read each question carefully, especially when multiple services are mentioned.

✍️ My Advice for Future Candidates

• Start with hands-on practice. Build small projects using Lambda, S3, and DynamoDB.
• Understand the why. Don’t just memorize facts—grasp why AWS recommends certain architectures.
• Practice, practice, practice. Every practice question strengthens your confidence.
• Master the CLI and SDK. Many questions expect familiarity with direct command-line interactions or SDK behaviors.

✅ My Final Score & Outcome

After Months of preparation, I passed the exam with confidence and walked away with deeper cloud knowledge. This certification isn’t just a badge—it’s a powerful learning journey that makes you a better DevOps Engineer.

👉 Want to explore more about my work, expertise, and insights on DevOps, cloud, and automation? Check out my portfolio: mojahidulhaque.com

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