After dedicating many late nights to studying for this exam, I’m happy to share that I passed today with a score of 820! It’s a huge relief. I wanted to get it done sooner rather than later so I could focus on my programming classes. The exam requires you to memorize many AWS services and concepts, as well as understand the AWS Well-Architected Framework.
I feel like I have a better understanding of how AWS is used globally, at least from a developer standpoint. The exam has 65 questions in total, with 15 unscored, and you need at least a 700 to pass. Below, I’ll go over my experience with the course and what I did to prepare. Hopefully it’ll help anyone getting ready to take the exam.
The CLF-C02 Exam (Amazon Cloud Practitioner)
Cloud Computing (D282) focuses almost entirely on Amazon Web Services. I initially expected a more vendor-neutral overview of cloud technologies, but the course is centered squarely on AWS. In many ways, it could just as easily be titled “AWS Fundamentals.”
I spent two weeks studying before scheduling the exam, but I didn’t rely solely on the WGU materials (I didn’t use the zyBook or the recommended Udemy videos). Instead, I turned to my own resources. The videos listed in the study guide simply didn’t work for me. The dry, overly drawn-out delivery of the Dion Training instructor made it hard to stay engaged. I knew that if I wanted to pass, I’d have to prepare in a way that suited my learning style, as I often do.
So, I searched Google and Reddit to see how others approached studying for the exam. I found a wide range of suggestions from past WGU students, but what ultimately worked for me was the following:
- The first resource I used was the AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials course from Amazon: https://skillbuilder.aws/learn/94T2BEN85A/aws-cloud-practitioner-essentials/8D79F3AVR7
- You need to create an Amazon account to access it, but that’s done easily (it’s free!)
- For this course, you need to go through each of the modules in their coursework and take quizzes at the end of each one. Make sure you are taking notes!
- This course will teach you all of the basics of AWS services and their purpose.
- Make sure you take the practice test at the end of the course too!
- Once I had gone through that course (it took me about a week), I moved on to the next resource, which was the Ultimate AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner course by Stephane Maarek on Udemy:
- The course: https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-certified-cloud-practitioner-new/learn/lecture/33532766#overview
- This course is more aligned to the actual exam and Stephane goes through each domain on the CLF-C02 study guide, pointing out which topics will be covered in the exam.
- His videos gave me the most knowledge about what services to focus on and what specific details I needed to remember. Again, make sure to take notes!
- Once I had finished the Stephane Maarek videos (it took me another week or so to do that), I had to put my knowledge to the test. I challenged myself to do a couple of Practice Tests (you can find them easily on Udemy). Here are some of the ones that I took:
- 6 Practice Exams | AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02
- Official Practice Question Set: Amazon AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02)
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 Practice Exam 2025
- 6 Practice Exams | Dion Training CLF-C02 Practice Tests
As you can see, most of these practice exams are on Udemy (so you will need to use the WGU udemy account given to you via courses or one you’ve created yourself).
- After working through the practice exams over the weekend, I scored above 80% on several of them, which reassured me that I had a solid grasp of the essentials. I did, however, score a 56% on one practice test. Despite that, I was on a tight timeline to finish the course, so I went ahead and scheduled the exam.
- A day before exam day, I downloaded this Exam Cram guide from DigitalCloud Training:
- Click here to download the Exam Cram PDF
- I used this to go over all of the important bits I had learned and to memorize what I knew would most likely be asked of me during the exam. It was a good refresher!
Last but not least, I made sure my desk was clean and that I put away my second monitor. I also didn’t have headphones with me during the exam. Oh, one last thing, make sure that you test your computer using onPearson VUE’s software before the exam day, because it will ask you to run some scans of your computer and they may take some time. You also need to make sure that you have an ID with you and that you are ready to show your room.
I took the exam and passed it within 30 minutes. They give you at least 90 minutes in total so I finished it with plenty of time to spare.
I hope this helps anyone who is getting ready to take the CLF-C02 exam. This is what worked for me, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll work for you. Just make sure that you feel confident enough going into the exam knowing that you can at least answer the basic questions (the ones that are obvious) on the test.
Good luck!
Last Modified: December 6, 2025
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