# How I prepared for the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam + template planning sheet

I passed the AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) (opens new window) exam back in 2023 after about 50 hours of studying over five months.

I know some people cover the material in a much shorter time, but I was not in a rush and I was studying in between getting up-to-speed in my new job, moving countries, etc. If you're not pressured to get the certification for a job application or something of the sorts, I think it's nice to prepare over a longer period of time so that the material can really take hold in your brain.

The materials I used were mainly the ACloudGuru AWS Solutions Architect video course and the AWS documentation. I practiced questions using the practice exams in the course and the official AWS practice exam. In hindsight, I could have spent more time on practice questions, including those on Tutorials Dojo.

I kept planned and kept track of my learning in a spreadsheet. Below is a screenshot of my planning sheet:

I also had two other sheets in my spreadsheet. One to keep track of how many of the ACloudGuru course chapters I've covered:

And another to keep track of the in-scope AWS services and features (opens new window) I've covered:

I've created this template of my exam planning and tracking spreadsheet here (opens new window). Feel free to modify it to your preferences.