AWS Certified Developer – Associate
Validates ability to develop and maintain applications on AWS. Covers SDKs, APIs, Lambda, DynamoDB, and deployment with AWS tools.
Provider
Amazon Web Services
Level
Associate
Duration
2–3 months
Cost
$150
Passing Score
72%
Validity
3 years
Salary Impact
+$12,000–$20,000 avg
Prerequisites
AWS fundamentals
Programming experience (Python/Java/Node.js)
AWS hands-on development
Exam Format
65 multiple-choice questions, 180 minutes, $150 USD
Exam Topics & Weights
Deploy code
26%
Develop with AWS services
30%
Refactor code to use AWS services
22%
Write secure and optimized code
22%
8-Week Study Plan
Weeks 1-2
Focus: AWS SDKs and API basics
AWS SDK documentation
Boto3 tutorial
AWS CLI deep dive
Weeks 3-4
Focus: Lambda, API Gateway, and serverless patterns
AWS Lambda documentation
API Gateway guide
Serverless frameworks
Weeks 5-6
Focus: Data services: DynamoDB, RDS, and SQS/SNS
DynamoDB design patterns
RDS best practices
Async messaging patterns
Weeks 7-8
Focus: Deployment and monitoring
CloudFormation and SAM
CloudWatch and X-Ray
CI/CD with CodePipeline
Exam Tips & Strategies
DynamoDB is heavily tested—understand query patterns and indexes
Lambda environment variables and IAM roles are critical
Know the differences between SNS and SQS thoroughly
Understand CloudFormation templates and Infrastructure as Code
Time management: 65 questions in 180 minutes allows ~2.75 minutes per question
X-Ray and CloudWatch are frequently tested for monitoring
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