Passed SAP-C02
I'm not sure if I have anything entirely new or groundbreaking to share with this sub, but I wanted to drop my experience here in case it helps someone else. For my learning materials, I used Stephane Maarek's course on Udemy and the Tutorials Dojo (TD) practice exams.
What I would do differently
If I were to start over, I wouldn't take the TD practice exams back-to-back without going through the answers and explanations in detail. (Pro-tip: If the TD explanations aren't clicking for you, ask an AI to break down the concepts further). I didn't really have a good grasp on quite a few services until my 4th practice test. Because I rushed, I didn't have many fresh questions left to practice with at the end, as I had already memorized the majority of the problems. Next time, I would spend more time going back and re-watching lectures for the topics I scored poorly on after each practice exam.
A lot of the questions I got wrong on the practice exams were simply due to reading fatigue. It is grueling and exhausting staring at so many paragraphs of information, and I just wanted to get it over with. Because of that, I missed crucial keywords (like least effort to migrate or lowest operational overhead). Getting those wrong kind of destroyed my confidence when seeing my scores, even though I likely would have gotten them right if I had just slowed down. So, my cliché advice: take the practice exams seriously, read carefully, and use them to build your confidence.
The Online Exam Experience
I took the exam online and it went fairly smoothly, but there was one major hiccup. I was terrified of needing to use the bathroom halfway through, so I didn't keep any water around me. I felt really dehydrated towards the end, but the two Red Bulls and coffee I had a few hours prior definitely helped me stay focused.
Right in the middle of the exam, a window popped up for a Java update. I quickly closed it, but OnVue kicked me out anyway. It allowed me to resume after detecting the process was no longer running, but it was a pretty scary moment, honestly. I had to wait for another proctor to check me in, ask me to show my desk area again, and finally let me back in.
Scheduling & Results
I bought the 50% voucher from Pearson. When I checked the schedule at noon, I saw many slots available for the rest of the day and the next day. I wanted to take it right away, but after refreshing a few times, all the slots for today and tomorrow morning vanished. I grabbed the earliest one I could find for the following day. However, a few moments later, I went to reschedule and saw that more slots had opened back up. So, keep refreshing!
I finished the exam around 6:30 PM. I received my badge email from Credly at 8:20 PM, and the official "You Passed" email from AWS at 8:40 PM.
Apologies for the long post, but hopefully it's helpful in some way. Best of luck with your exams!
TL;DR:
Materials: Maarek (Udemy) & Tutorials Dojo.
Advice: Don't rush practice exams. Review explanations deeply after each one. Watch out for reading fatigue—missing keywords like "least effort" will tank your practice scores and confidence.
Testing Online: Beware of background apps! A random Java update pop-up got me temporarily kicked out by OnVue. Also, manage your caffeine/hydration so you don't need a bathroom break.
Booking: If you don't see the time slot you want, keep refreshing. They open up randomly.
Results: Received my Credly badge and AWS pass email about 2 hours after finishing. A lot faster than the ones Ive taken before.