A practice AWS account that cannot surprise you: five steps in order
Set up a practice account in order: the free plan, multi-factor authentication on the root user, a separate user for yourself, a small budget alert in AWS Budgets, and deletion of everything after each session. Then try five short tasks that make services easier to tell apart.
Safety comes before study, and the budget alert comes before anything you build.
Why a little hands-on helps
The exam does not test building skills. But a little hands-on practice makes services easier to tell apart, because a service you have used is harder to confuse with its neighbour. The risk is a forgotten resource and a bill, so safety comes first.
Five steps, in this order
- Create the account under the free plan. AWS states that it will not charge you unless you upgrade to a paid plan.
- Turn on multi-factor authentication for the root user. Then stop using the root user for daily tasks.
- Create a separate user for yourself. Use IAM Identity Center or IAM.
- Set a monthly budget alert in AWS Budgets. Choose a small amount.
- After each session, delete what you created. Check the Billing console once a week.
Do step 4 on the first evening, before you create anything else.
Why the old advice no longer holds
Many older courses talk about 12 free months. New accounts now receive credits under a free plan, so a database launched "within the free offer" may not be free in the way that course assumed. Check the current terms on aws.amazon.com before you create the account, and trust them over any video.
Five short tasks
Each links to a task statement in the exam map.
| Task | What you see | Task statement |
|---|---|---|
| Store a file in S3 | Object storage in use | 3.6 storage |
| Launch and stop a small EC2 instance | The compute model. Delete what you create afterwards. | 3.3 compute |
| Read the events in CloudTrail | Who did what | 2.2 security and governance |
| Explore Cost Explorer | Past spending | 4.2 billing and cost management |
| Price a small website in the Pricing Calculator | Cost before you build | 4.2 billing and cost management |
Keep to those five.
A weekly habit
Put a ten-minute check in your diary: open the Billing console, list what is still running and investigate anything you do not recognise before you delete it. Keep to accounts you own or are authorised to use.
What to do with the notes
Write two lines for each task: what you did and what you would tell a colleague about it. They become the raw material for small projects that give interviewers something to ask about.
If the account gets complicated
If you find yourself needing more services than these five tasks, ask whether the extra work serves a task statement. If it does not, it belongs to a later credential.
Questions readers ask
Will practising in AWS cost me money?
Does the AWS free offer still last 12 months?
Do I need hands-on practice to pass?
This article is independent and is not endorsed by AWS. Facts change: confirm them on the official page before you act.