So I just got my passing score yesterday and I'm still kind of in shock. Failed my first attempt back in March by about 8 points, which was brutal after putting in what felt like a solid month of prep. The thing is, I was studying the wrong way — just re-reading slides and watching vendor videos on repeat without actually testing myself under pressure.
What finally clicked for my second attempt was grinding through a proper DEA 1TT5 practice test every other day for three weeks straight. Not just doing them, but actually reviewing every wrong answer and understanding *why* I missed it. I also found a study guide that broke down the data engineering fundamentals and AWS-specific services in a way that finally made the lake house architecture stuff stick.
For anyone currently prepping, the exam tips I'd pass along: don't underestimate the governance and security domain, and know your Glue vs. EMR trade-offs cold. Those two areas probably saved me. How long did everyone else spend prepping? Curious if my timeline was typical or if I just needed more time the first go-round.