Five real Solutions Architect Associate projects mapped directly to the SAA-C03 exam objectives. Mark a step complete and HandsOnCert commits the evidence — VPC diagrams, IAM policies, architecture decisions — straight to your own GitHub repo. The portfolio employers actually click into.
$49 one-time · Project 1 free · No subscription
Every project maps to an official SAA-C03 exam domain. Each one ends with evidence committed to your GitHub repo automatically.
Create IAM roles and policies following least privilege, configure a VPC with public and private subnets, and set up security groups and NACLs for a multi-tier application. Commit your IAM policies and VPC architecture diagram.
Design Secure Architectures — 30% of examConfigure an Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability Zones with an Application Load Balancer, set up RDS Multi-AZ for database failover, and test failover behavior. Commit your Auto Scaling configuration and failover test results.
Design Resilient Architectures — 26% of examConfigure CloudFront with an S3 origin for content delivery, set up ElastiCache for database query caching, and choose appropriate EC2 instance types for a workload. Commit your CloudFront configuration and caching evidence.
Design High-Performing Architectures — 24% of examUse AWS Cost Explorer to analyze spending, configure S3 lifecycle policies to transition data to cheaper storage classes, and compare Reserved Instance vs On-Demand pricing for a workload. Commit your cost analysis and lifecycle policy configuration.
Design Cost-Optimized Architectures — 20% of examConduct a Well-Architected Framework review of your project architecture across all 5 pillars (operational excellence, security, reliability, performance, cost), documenting findings and improvement recommendations. Commit your Well-Architected review document.
Spans all domains — capstone projectEvery completed step auto-commits evidence to your own repo. No fake portfolio templates — real configs, real screenshots, real history.
No simulators. You work in the actual AWS console and tools, the same ones you'll use on the job and in the SAA-C03 exam.
Stuck on a step or an exam concept? Cert Buddy is trained on SAA-C03 objectives and helps you debug and understand — not just copy-paste.
Every chargeable resource has a clear alert telling you exactly when to stop, deallocate, or delete — so a lab break doesn't become a surprise bill.
Get the full SAA-C03 lab guide as a PDF — step-by-step instructions, screenshots to capture, and an exam quick-reference section.
$49 once. No subscription, no recurring charges. Or get All-Access to all 21 cert paths for $199.
Are the SAA-C03 hands-on labs free?
Project 1 (Security and IAM) is completely free, including unlimited access to Cert Buddy for that project and the manual GitHub commit workflow. The remaining 4 projects unlock for a one-time payment of $49.
Do I need an AWS account for SAA-C03 labs?
Yes, you need an AWS Free Tier account. Most SAA-C03 resources fit within free tier limits — each project includes a cost alert showing exactly which resources to stop or delete after use.
How does the GitHub portfolio auto-commit work for SAA-C03?
When you mark a lab step complete, HandsOnCert commits your VPC architecture diagrams, IAM policies, and Well-Architected review documents directly to your own GitHub repository via OAuth — demonstrating real architecture decision-making.
How long does the SAA-C03 path take to complete?
The 5 projects take approximately 8 hours total, covering secure architectures, resilient architectures, high-performing architectures, cost-optimized architectures, and a Well-Architected capstone review — the same domains tested on the SAA-C03 exam.
Should I take CLF-C02 before SAA-C03?
CLF-C02 is recommended if you're new to AWS, since it builds foundational vocabulary and concepts. If you already have hands-on cloud experience, you can go directly to SAA-C03 — the most widely recognized AWS associate-level certification.
What's the difference between SAA-C03 and SAP-C02?
SAA-C03 (Associate) focuses on designing well-architected solutions for standard workloads and single accounts. SAP-C02 (Professional) focuses on complex, multi-account, multi-region architectures, large-scale migrations, and organizational governance. SAA-C03 is the foundation most people build on before SAP-C02.
Start Project 1 free — no credit card required. See exactly how the GitHub auto-commit works before you pay anything.
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