AWS Cloud Operations Engineer Associate Exam Prep

The Cloud Operations Engineer exam tests your ability to operate and maintain AWS environments in production. Expect questions on CloudWatch (metrics, alarms, dashboards, Logs Insights), CloudTrail, AWS Config, Systems Manager (Parameter Store, Session Manager, Patch Manager, Run Command), and EventBridge for event-driven automation. The exam emphasizes observability and incident response.

This is a purely multiple-choice exam (no lab component, unlike the retired SOA-C02). Questions are scenario-based and often involve troubleshooting: given a set of symptoms, identify the root cause and remediation steps. You'll need to understand backup and disaster recovery strategies, multi-AZ and multi-Region patterns, and how to use infrastructure-as-code tools like CloudFormation and CDK.

If you previously studied for the SysOps Administrator (SOA-C02), much of your knowledge transfers — the COA-C01 covers similar topics with updated emphasis on modern operations practices. Focus on CloudWatch and Systems Manager as they appear throughout the exam. Understand how to set up cross-account monitoring, configure composite alarms, and use Logs Insights queries.

Key areas that differentiate this from other associate exams: automated remediation with EventBridge + Lambda, AWS Config rules for compliance checking, and Organizations/Control Tower for multi-account governance. Practice questions are essential — aim for consistent 80%+ on mock exams before scheduling your test.

The Cloud Operations Engineer certification is ideal for professionals responsible for keeping AWS environments running smoothly. It validates skills in monitoring, incident management, automation, and cost optimization — core responsibilities for cloud operations, SRE, and platform engineering roles. Employers hiring for operations roles specifically look for this certification.

Recommended experience is 1-2 years working with AWS in an operations capacity. Having the Cloud Practitioner certification is helpful but not required. This certification pairs well with the DevOps Engineer Professional as a natural progression for operations-focused professionals.