How My DevOps Experience Led to Passing the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional Certification in July 2025

Introduction

As a DevOps engineer with 3.5 years of hands-on experience managing AWS infrastructure, automating CI/CD pipelines, and implementing secure cloud practices, I successfully passed the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional certification in July 2025. https://www.credly.com/badges/679b0b9d-b6e6-47c2-a920-a7ae7f4e2507/linked_in_profile

This achievement validated my expertise in provisioning, operating, and managing distributed systems on AWS, reinforcing my commitment to delivering scalable, secure, and efficient solutions.

In this blog post, you will know how my real-world experience enabled me to bypass a structured study plan and still ace the exam. My background in AWS, IAC, and DevOps, was key to my success, and I’m excited to provide a practical guide for fellow DevOps professionals.

Why This Certification Matters

The AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional certification is a prestigious credential for DevOps engineers, showcasing advanced skills in automating CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (IaC), and resilient cloud architectures. With organizations increasingly adopting cloud-native solutions, this certification positions you as a leader capable of driving efficient, secure, and scalable deployments.

For me, it was a natural extension of my work with AWS Control Tower, Terraform, AWS Organizations, serverless frameworks, cost optimization, CI/CD pipelines, and DevSecOps practices in fintech and cloud consulting companies. This certifications not only boosts career prospects but also equips you to tackle real-world challenges like optimizing costs, ensuring compliance and automating governance..

Exam Overview

The AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional (DOP-C02) exam tests your ability to implement DevOps practices on AWS. Here are the key details:

Aspect	Details
Duration	180 minutes
Cost	$300 USD
Questions	75 (including 10 unscored questions)
Passing Score	750/1000
Format	Multiple-choice and multiple-response questions
Delivery	Testing center or online proctored

The exam covers six domains critical to DevOps workflows:

Domain	Weight	Key Focus
SDLC Automation	22%	CI/CD pipelines, AWS CodePipeline, CodeBuild, and deployment automation.
Configuration Management and IaC	17%	CloudFormation, Terraform, and configuration management tools.
Resilient Cloud Solutions	15%	High availability, fault tolerance, and disaster recovery (e.g., Auto Scaling).
Monitoring and Logging	15%	CloudWatch, X-Ray, and log management for observability.
Incident and Event Response	14%	Incident management, automation for recovery, and root cause analysis.
Security and Compliance	17%	IAM, KMS, security controls, and compliance automation.

How My Experience Replaced a 60-Day Study Plan

With 3.5 years of DevOps experience managing AWS infrastructure for multiple environments in fintech and consulting partner companies, I found that my practical knowledge directly mapped to the exam’s domains. My work involved automating CI/CD pipelines, deploying ECS services, setting up monitoring with CloudWatch, and implementing governance with AWS Control Tower, Terraform which covers IAC concept and cost optimization. This hands-on expertise meant I didn’t need a rigid 60-day study plan.

Instead, I spent one week refreshing my knowledge with targeted resources and hands-on practice. This approach allowed me to focus on weaker areas, like incident response, while leveraging my strengths in IaC and security.

Preparation Approach

My preparation was streamlined, focusing on reinforcing practical experience with exam-specific resources:

Assess Knowledge Gaps: I reviewed the AWS Exam Guide to identify weaker areas like incident response, which I hadn’t encountered as frequently in my work.
Leverage Free AWS Resources:
- Exam Prep Standard Course for a quick overview.
- Official Practice Question Set to master question formats.
Hands-On Practice: I used the AWS Free Tier to simulate scenarios, such as deploying a CI/CD pipeline with CodePipeline and setting up CloudWatch alarms, building on my ECS monitoring experience
Community Insights: I engaged with AWS Community Builder Program, gaining tips on scenario-based questions, aligning with my collaborative approach.

This focused approach, combined with my 3.5 years of experience, was sufficient to prepare me for the exam’s rigor.

Key Resources

Free AWS Resources:
- Exam Prep Standard Course
- Official Practice Question Set
- AWS Exam Guide
Paid Resources: Udemy courses (e.g., Stephane Maarek’s) for deeper dives into complex services.
Hands-On Labs: AWS Free Tier for practical exercises with CodePipeline, CloudFormation, and CloudWatch.
Talk to Others: I joined the AWS Community Builder Program and LinkedIn groups to learn tips about tricky exam questions.

This simple approach, combined with my experience, got me ready in just one week.

Tips for Success

Use Your Experience: Connect exam questions to your work. For example, setting up AWS Control Tower for account management helped me with IaC questions.
Manage Time: Spend about 2 minutes per question. Skip hard ones and come back later, as I learned from practice tests.
Practice IaC: Try CloudFormation or Terraform to get comfortable with infrastructure code.
Focus on Security: My work with IAM, KMS, and SCPs helped me answer security questions. Study least privilege access and policies.
Stay Updated: Check the DOP-C02 exam guide for the latest AWS services.
For Beginners: If you have 1–2 years of experience, start with the AWS Developer Associate or SysOps Associate certification. Use labs like Qwiklabs to practice.

How Prior Certifications Helped

My AWS Developer Associate certification gave me a solid base in various aws services and application development with aws, which was especially helpful for the exam’s SDLC Automation section. Additionally, my experience with AWS Control Tower, SCPs, Security Hub, and AWS Config prepared me well for the governance and security-related questions.

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My Exam Experience

My AWS Developer Associate certification provided a strong foundation in SDLC automation and application deployment, which aligned with the DOP-C02’s focus on CI/CD pipelines.

I knew from my experience with multi-account strategies using AWS Control Tower, implementing organizational SCPs, and working with Security Hub, AWS Config directly applied to the exam’s governance and security domains.

Conclusion

Passing the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional certification in July 2025 was a testament to how 3.5 years of hands-on DevOps experience can outweigh a rigid study plan.

By leveraging my expertise in AWS, Terraform, and DevOps, supplemented with targeted resources and practice, I confidently tackled the exam’s challenges. This certification is more than a credential, it’s a validation of your ability to build efficient, secure, and scalable cloud solutions.

Whether you’re experienced or new, stay focused, use your skills, and keep learning. Share your tips in the comments, connect with me on LinkedIn, or join the AWS Community Builder Program to learn from others. Let’s keep growing in DevOps!

Helpful Resources:

For whitepapers, following whitepapers are a great resource. They cover the main DevOps concepts, principles, and real-world practices you need for both the exam and your day-to-day work:

I have read these myself while working as a DevOps Engineer, and I find it was really helpful as well as insightful.

Stay tuned for more. Let’s connect on Linkedin and explore my GitHub for future insights.

How My DevOps Experience Led to Passing the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional Certification in July 2025#

Introduction#

Why This Certification Matters#

Exam Overview#

How My Experience Replaced a 60-Day Study Plan#

Preparation Approach#

Key Resources#

Tips for Success#

How Prior Certifications Helped#

My Exam Experience#

Conclusion#

Helpful Resources:#