AWS Cloud Practitioner study plan
AWS Cloud Practitioner · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Cloud Technology and Services
Identify which AWS compute service fits a given workload (EC2, Lambda, ECS/EKS, Fargate, Elastic Beanstalk)
Match each S3 storage class, EBS volume type, and EFS/Glacier option to a stated access-pattern and cost requirement
Label the parts of a VPC (subnet types, route table, internet gateway, NAT gateway) and state the difference between a security group and a network ACL
Map the AWS global infrastructure hierarchy (Region, Availability Zone, edge location) to a resilience or latency requirement
Your checkpoint
A one-page service-selection table covering at least 25 services, then self-quiz on it cold and score 90% or higher without notes
Cloud Technology and Services
Distinguish RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, Redshift, and ElastiCache by data model and workload type
Assign the correct management or governance tool to a scenario (CloudWatch, CloudTrail, AWS Config, Trusted Advisor, Systems Manager)
Contrast infrastructure-as-code via CloudFormation with platform-as-a-service via Elastic Beanstalk for a given deployment need
Explain how at least three AWS services combine to satisfy a multi-tier application requirement
Your checkpoint
Draw a three-tier web application architecture from memory naming every AWS service used, then explain it aloud in under five minutes while recording yourself
Security and Compliance
Differentiate IAM users, groups, roles, and policies and choose the correct one for a stated access scenario
Apply least privilege by writing the intent of a scoped IAM policy for a given job function
Describe root-account protection steps including MFA and when to avoid using the root user
Split responsibilities between AWS and the customer for EC2, RDS, and Lambda workloads under the shared responsibility model
Your checkpoint
Write out the customer-versus-AWS responsibility split for three different workload types and score at least 8 of 10 points on a self-graded checklist
Security and Compliance
Select the right threat-detection or protection service for a scenario (Shield, WAF, GuardDuty, Inspector, Macie)
Choose between KMS, Secrets Manager, and ACM for a given encryption or credential-storage need
Interpret what AWS Artifact provides and distinguish compliance programs such as SOC, ISO, PCI DSS, and HIPAA eligibility
Explain encryption at rest versus in transit for a named service
Your checkpoint
Complete a timed 65-question practice set weighted to Domains 2 and 3 and score at least 70% overall
Cloud Concepts
Articulate the six advantages of cloud computing with a concrete business example for each
Summarize the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework perspectives and the Well-Architected Framework pillars in your own words
Apply the six migration strategies (rehost, replatform, repurchase, refactor, retain, retire) to five sample workloads
Explain elasticity, agility, and economies of scale as distinct concepts without conflating them
Your checkpoint
Produce a one-page migration worksheet assigning one of the six strategies to five workloads, each with a one-sentence justification
Billing, Pricing, and Support
Distinguish On-Demand, Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, and Spot pricing and pick one for a stated usage pattern
Explain consolidated billing and where Free Tier limits apply
Differentiate the AWS Support plans by response time, included contacts, and Trusted Advisor depth
Identify which cost tool answers which question (Cost Explorer, AWS Budgets, Pricing Calculator, Cost and Usage Report)
Your checkpoint
Estimate the monthly cost of a two-tier application in the AWS Pricing Calculator and write a half-page justification for the support plan you chose
Cloud Concepts & Security and Compliance & Cloud Technology and Services & Billing, Pricing, and Support
Complete two timed 65-question mixed practice exams under exam conditions
Categorize every missed question by domain and by root cause (unknown service, misread keyword, guessed)
Re-study only the two weakest sub-areas surfaced by the error log
Recite the exam structure, domain weightings, and scoring threshold from memory
Your checkpoint
An error log of at least 30 missed questions, each tagged with a domain and a corrective action, with the top two gaps re-tested afterward
Cloud Concepts & Security and Compliance & Cloud Technology and Services & Billing, Pricing, and Support
Retake full-length mocks until scoring 80% or higher twice in a row
Review only flagged weak items for 20 minutes per session, spaced across the week
Rehearse quick-recall facts for pricing tiers, support response times, and service limits
Walk through exam-day logistics, timing strategy, and flag-and-return technique
Your checkpoint
Two consecutive full-length mock scores at 80% or higher, plus a one-page cheat sheet rewritten from memory and checked against source notes
Milestones
Week 2: Domain 3 foundation solid: can name the correct service for 20 of 25 randomized scenario prompts without notes
Week 4: Both heavy domains covered: 70%+ on a timed 65-question set weighted to Domains 2 and 3, with no sub-area below 60%
Week 5: All four domains touched at least once; study journal shows every domain reviewed since week 1
Week 6: Cost and support knowledge verified: can state the correct support plan and pricing model for five given scenarios with 100% accuracy
Week 8: Exam-ready: two consecutive full-length mocks at 80% or higher, and no domain below 70% on the final attempt