AWS certification is the most sought-after IT certification. AWS, or Amazon Web Services, is a major player on the cloud computing market. This market is competing against Google cloud and Azure. There are many opportunities for AWS-certified candidates, which is why IT professionals are very interested in them. The AWS Cloud Practitioner salary is ranked as one of the highest-paid IT certifications in America. As of January 2021, the average AWS cloud architect salary was $1,48,623.
This blog provides comprehensive information about the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification exam, as well as how to prepare for and obtain the AWS certificate.
What is the AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam?
AWS certification is gaining popularity due to widespread acceptance for cloud computing in organizations, especially startups. Cloud computing is the new industry in IT due to its low-cost internet access, and superior connectivity. It is accepted by both new-age startups and established corporations to address their IT infrastructure problems, particularly with regard to scalability, availability, and accessibility.
AWS, or Amazon Web Services, was launched in 2006 with EC2, SQS, and S3 services. It was an offshoot of Amazon’s internal IT management team for IT infrastructure as service. AWS has evolved over the years and is now the global leader in cloud computing, beating other competitors such as Azure from Microsoft, GCP (Google) and IBM.
AWS certification is for IT professionals who want a career in the cloud computing market.
AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam Details
AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification can be used to obtain advanced AWS certifications.
Candidates need to clear the AWS Cloud PractitionerCertification exam to qualify for following advanced AWS certifications andlearning paths on
Advanced Networking – Advanced Networking Specialty
Security – Security Specialty
Big Data – Big Data Specialty
Download the official AWS exam guide at this link
Exam Eligibility
AWS has listed the following eligibility criteria for the exam
AWS Knowledge RequirementA minimum six-month experience with AWS Cloud
The eligible role could be technical, managerial or sales-related.

IT Knowledge RequirementsBasic knowledge about IT services and their use in the AWS Cloud platform

AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam Pattern
Only MCQ typeobjective type questions are available for AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification Exam.
There are two types of objective questions in theexamination.
Multiple-choice type objective questions: These questions only have one correct answer, and the remaining three are incorrect (also known as distracters by AWS).
Multiple-responsetype objective questions: These questions have multiple correct answers usually two or more amongst remaining five ormore listed options.
AWS Cloud Practitioner Passing Score
Candidate should choose one or more answers that best answer the question
Answers guessed by candidates are not subject to any negative marking or penalty.
Unanswered questions are deemed incorrect
There may be content items in the exam that are not scored or assigned no score. They are listed in the exam to collect statistical data. They are not identifiable and will not affect your score.
Exam Result
Exam result is a scaled score that ranges from 100 to 1000
Minimum passing score: 700
The exam score report contains a tabular listing of how you performed for each section of the exam.
The table displays your strengths and weaknesses for each section.
While you don’t have to pass each section, you should be able pass the overall certification exam.
Each exam section has a different weighting, so there are varying numbers of questions listed for each section.
Score shows your performance on the exam and whether you passed.
The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam can be passed or failed.
Scoring is done against a minimum standard set by AWS professionals in accordance with best practices and guidelines.
Exam Objectives
The certification exam verifies that the candidate has passed.
What is AWS Cloud?
AWS Cloud architectural principles
AWS Cloud value proposition
The AWS platform’s core services and their common uses (such as compute and analytics)
Security and compliance of AWS platform
AWS shared security model
AWS platform’s billing and account management features, as well as pricing models
You can access technical assistance and information sources (such as whitepapers or support tickets).
The basics of operating and deploying in the AWS Cloud
AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification Exam Outline
The AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification Exam covers four domains on AWS.
Cloud Concepts
Security
Technology
Billing and Pricing
Below is a list and description of the weightings for each subject area in AWS Cloud Practitioner certification exam
These are the section-wise weightings
S.No.DomainsWeighting1Cloud Concepts28%2Security24%3Technology36%4Billing & Pricing12%Each section as per their weighting will have different number of questions, in the exam.
AWS Cloud Practitioner Preparation Guide
Accessing free online resources is an important part of the preparation for the AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification Examination.
Reference Books
There are many reference books available for the AWS CloudPractitioner certification exam, but few good ones.
The Beginners Guide to Amazon Web Service byDennis HUTTEN
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study guide:CLF-C01 Exam by David Clinton, Ben Piper
AWS Basics: A Beginner’s Guide by Wong
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CertificationGuide by Todd Montgomery
Amazon Web Services for Dummies – BernardGolden
Cloud Application Development – Concepts and Patterns by Christoph