4-Week Study Plan (Aligned with Brandon Rich’s Book)

WeekBook ChaptersFocus AreaKey Hands-on ActivitiesTime
1Ch 1–4IAM, EC2, VPC, Networking, S3IAM policies/roles, Launch & terminate EC2, S3 bucket + static site12 hrs
2Ch 5–7Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDBBuild serverless API with Lambda + API Gateway + DynamoDB14 hrs
3Ch 8–10CloudFormation, CodePipeline, ECS, BeanstalkDeploy app with CloudFormation + CI/CD pipeline14 hrs
4Ch 11–13 + ReviewSecurity (Cognito, KMS), SQS/SNS, X-Ray, TroubleshootingFull practice exams + weak area review12 hrs + Exams

Weekly Execution Tips:

Week 1 (Foundations)

  • Read Chapters 1–4
  • Heavy focus on IAM (most important topic)
  • Must do: Create custom policies, roles, and cross-account access

Week 2 (Serverless)

  • Chapters 5–7 are gold for the exam
  • Build at least 2–3 Lambda functions with API Gateway

Week 3 (Deployment)

  • Focus on CloudFormation templates (very high weight)
  • Practice Infrastructure as Code

Week 4

  • Full practice exams (Tutorials Dojo recommended)
  • Review weak areas from the book’s practice questions