AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate Study Guide 2025: Updated Prep Materials
Get ready for the AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate certification with our comprehensive 2025 study guide. Updated with the latest exam objectives, study strategies, and expert tips to help you pass on your first attempt.
Exam Quick Facts
Why This 2025 Guide?
Prepared with the latest exam objectives and proven study strategies
2025 Updated
Reflects the latest exam objectives and content updates for 2025
Exam Aligned
Covers all current exam domains with accurate weightings
Proven Strategies
Time-tested study techniques from successful candidates
Fast Track Path
Efficient study plan to pass on your first attempt
Complete Study Materials
Comprehensive 2025 study guide for AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate
Complete Study Guide for AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate
The AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate (DEA-C01) validates your ability to implement data pipelines, manage data stores, and maintain data solutions on AWS. This certification demonstrates expertise in ingesting, transforming, and securing data using AWS services, making it valuable for professionals pursuing data engineering roles in cloud environments.
Who Should Take This Exam
- Data engineers with 2-3 years of experience working with data pipelines
- ETL developers transitioning to cloud-based data engineering
- Database administrators expanding into data engineering on AWS
- Solutions architects specializing in data solutions
- Analytics professionals seeking to deepen their AWS data engineering knowledge
Prerequisites
- Understanding of core AWS services (S3, IAM, VPC, CloudWatch)
- Familiarity with data modeling and data warehousing concepts
- Basic knowledge of ETL processes and data pipeline architectures
- Experience with SQL and at least one programming language (Python preferred)
- Understanding of data security and compliance principles
- AWS Cloud Practitioner or Solutions Architect Associate certification recommended but not required
Official Resources
AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate Official Exam Guide
Official exam overview, domain breakdown, and registration information
View ResourceAWS Official Practice Question Set
Official practice questions to familiarize yourself with exam format
View ResourceAWS Skill Builder Learning Path
Comprehensive learning path covering all exam domains with hands-on labs
View ResourceAmazon S3 Documentation
Complete documentation for S3 storage, which is central to data engineering workloads
View ResourceAWS Glue Documentation
Comprehensive guide to AWS Glue for ETL operations and data catalog management
View ResourceAmazon Kinesis Documentation
Documentation for real-time data streaming and ingestion services
View ResourceAmazon Redshift Documentation
Complete guide to Redshift data warehousing service
View ResourceAWS Lake Formation Documentation
Documentation for building and managing data lakes with security and governance
View ResourceAmazon Athena Documentation
Guide to querying data in S3 using standard SQL
View ResourceAWS Data Analytics Whitepapers
Collection of AWS whitepapers on data analytics and engineering best practices
View ResourceAWS Well-Architected Framework - Analytics Lens
Best practices for designing and operating reliable, secure, efficient data analytics workloads
View ResourceRecommended Courses
AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate Learning Path
AWS Skill Builder • 40+ hours
View CourseRecommended Books
AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate (DEA-C01) Cert Guide
by Pending publication - check AWS certification page
Search for latest official exam preparation books as this is a new certification released in 2023
View on AmazonData Engineering with AWS
by Gareth Eagar
Comprehensive guide to building data analytics platforms on AWS using services like Glue, Athena, and Redshift
View on AmazonAWS for Solutions Architects
by Alberto Artasanchez
Covers AWS architectural patterns including data engineering solutions and best practices
View on AmazonLearning AWS
by Aurobindo Sarkar and Amit Shah
Comprehensive AWS guide covering data services, analytics, and cloud architecture
View on AmazonPractice & Hands-On Resources
AWS Certified Data Engineer Official Practice Question Set
Official practice questions from AWS to familiarize yourself with exam format and difficulty
View ResourceAWS Free Tier
Hands-on practice with many AWS services free for 12 months, including S3, Glue, Lambda, and more
View ResourceAWS Skill Builder Labs
Guided hands-on labs for data engineering services with temporary AWS environments
View ResourceAWS Workshop Studio - Data Analytics
Self-paced workshops for building data analytics and engineering solutions
View ResourceTutorials Dojo AWS Certified Data Engineer Practice Exams
High-quality practice exams with detailed explanations
View ResourceWhizlabs Practice Tests
Multiple practice exams with detailed explanations for exam preparation
View ResourceAWS Samples GitHub Repository
Code samples and reference architectures for AWS data engineering solutions
View ResourceCommunity & Forums
AWS Training and Certification Community
Official AWS community forum for certification discussions, study tips, and exam experiences
Join Communityr/AWSCertifications
Active Reddit community with exam experiences, study resources, and certification advice
Join Communityr/dataengineering
General data engineering community with discussions on AWS data services and best practices
Join CommunityAWS Data Engineering Blog
Official AWS blog featuring data engineering tutorials, best practices, and service announcements
Join CommunityExamTopics AWS Data Engineer Community
Community-driven practice questions with discussions and explanations
Join CommunityLinkedIn AWS Certification Study Group
Professional networking groups focused on AWS certifications and study collaboration
Join CommunityTutorials Dojo Study Guide
Comprehensive free study guide with exam tips and service comparisons
Join CommunityStudy Tips
Hands-On Practice
- Use AWS Free Tier to practice building actual data pipelines - reading documentation isn't enough
- Create at least 3-5 end-to-end projects: batch ETL pipeline, streaming pipeline, data lake architecture
- Practice using AWS Glue Studio visual interface and also writing PySpark scripts
- Build a complete data workflow: S3 → Glue Crawler → Glue ETL → Athena → QuickSight
- Experiment with different data formats and understand performance implications
- Set up monitoring and alarms for your practice pipelines to understand operational aspects
Service Deep Dives
- Master AWS Glue thoroughly - it appears in 40-50% of questions across all domains
- Understand the differences between Kinesis Data Streams, Kinesis Data Firehose, and Kinesis Data Analytics
- Know when to use Redshift vs Athena vs EMR vs OpenSearch - service selection is heavily tested
- Study S3 storage classes and lifecycle policies in detail - know cost optimization strategies
- Understand Lake Formation's security model and how it differs from IAM policies
- Learn Redshift distribution styles (KEY, ALL, EVEN, AUTO) and when to use each
Focus Areas by Domain Weight
- Spend 34% of study time on Data Ingestion and Transformation - this is the largest domain
- For Data Store Management (26%), focus on architectural decisions and optimization
- Operations and Support (22%) requires hands-on troubleshooting experience - practice debugging
- Security and Governance (18%) emphasizes Lake Formation, IAM, and encryption - know these cold
- Don't neglect smaller domains - they still represent significant points on the exam
Exam Question Patterns
- Many questions present scenarios requiring you to choose between similar services - know the nuances
- Performance optimization questions are common - understand partition pruning, compression, and data formats
- Cost optimization scenarios appear frequently - know which services have what pricing models
- Security questions often involve choosing between multiple valid approaches - select the most secure
- Watch for keywords: 'most cost-effective', 'least operational overhead', 'highest performance', 'most secure'
- Eliminate obviously wrong answers first, then choose between remaining options based on requirements
Documentation Strategy
- Bookmark and regularly review AWS Glue, Redshift, Kinesis, and Lake Formation documentation
- Create a comparison chart for similar services (DMS vs SCT, Kinesis variants, database options)
- Study AWS service limits and quotas - some questions test knowledge of scalability constraints
- Review AWS re:Invent sessions on YouTube about data engineering services
- Read AWS data analytics whitepapers and case studies for architectural patterns
- Keep notes on when each service is preferred over alternatives
Practice Exam Strategy
- Take your first practice exam after 4-5 weeks to identify weak areas
- Aim for consistently scoring 85%+ on practice exams before scheduling the real exam
- Review every incorrect answer thoroughly - understand why you got it wrong
- Time yourself: 65 questions in 170 minutes = ~2.6 minutes per question
- Flag difficult questions and return to them - don't get stuck
- Take at least 3-4 full-length practice exams under timed conditions
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Don't confuse Glue DataBrew (visual data preparation) with Glue ETL (coding-based transformations)
- Remember that Athena doesn't support updates/deletes natively - it's for querying, not transactional workloads
- Don't overlook Glue job bookmarks - they prevent reprocessing data in incremental loads
- Understand that Lake Formation permissions can override IAM - know the hierarchy
- Don't assume all questions have one clear answer - choose the BEST answer for the given scenario
- Pay attention to requirements like 'real-time' vs 'near real-time' - they indicate different services
Exam Day Tips
- 1Arrive 15 minutes early if testing at a center; test your equipment 30 minutes early for online proctoring
- 2Read each question carefully - AWS questions can be lengthy with multiple requirements
- 3Flag questions you're unsure about and return to them after completing the rest
- 4Watch for qualifying words: 'most', 'least', 'best', 'first step', 'most cost-effective'
- 5Eliminate obviously wrong answers first to improve your odds between remaining choices
- 6Manage your time: you have about 2.6 minutes per question, but some take 30 seconds while others need 5 minutes
- 7Don't second-guess yourself too much - your first instinct is often correct if you've studied well
- 8If a question seems to have multiple correct answers, look for the solution with least operational overhead
- 9For scenario-based questions, identify the key requirement (cost, performance, security) that drives the answer
- 10Stay calm - you can flag and review questions, so don't panic if you encounter difficult questions early
- 11Take advantage of the note-taking tools provided to jot down thoughts on complex questions
- 12Remember that you need 720/1000 (72%) to pass - you don't need to answer every question correctly
Study guide generated on January 7, 2026
AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate 2025 Study Guide FAQs
AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate is a professional certification from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that validates expertise in aws certified data engineer - associate technologies and concepts. The official exam code is DEA-C01.
The AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate Study Guide 2025 includes updated content reflecting the latest exam changes, new technologies, and best practices. It covers all current exam objectives and domains.
Yes, the 2025 AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate study guide has been updated with new content, revised exam objectives, and the latest industry trends. It reflects all changes made to the DEA-C01 exam.
Start by reviewing the exam objectives in the 2025 guide, then work through each section systematically. Combine your study with practice exams to reinforce your learning.
More 2025 Resources
Complete your exam preparation with these resources