The Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate (002) Certification is one of the hardest tech certifications in the industry. The certification has a great demand and validates skills for cloud and DevOps engineer roles. In fact, it imparts in-depth knowledge of all the open-source Terraform tools.
However, numerous fundamentals exist in the certification syllabus and need thorough practice to crack the exam. While it seems like a mammoth task, all you need is an accurate strategy and scheduling to ace the exam like a pro. So this blog will walk you through seven exam tips to follow while preparing for the Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate certification. But before that, let’s sneak peek into the certification overview.
Time to dig in.
An overview of Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Certification
The Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate exam builds domain expertise in fundamental infrastructure automation skills. The course helps you develop expertise in leveraging IaC (Infrastructure as Code) and dive into the Terraform open-source tools. The exam will also help you build abilities to:
- Build, alter, and handle ecosystems in a safe and repeatable manner.
- Use Terraform to manage infrastructure with HCL’s config language to ensure automated deployments are human-readable.
- Plan large-scale changes in the infrastructure and use Terraform for errorless implementation.
In addition to this, the certification can be productive if you are a cloud engineer specializing in operations, IT, or development and have a foundational knowledge of infrastructure automation. Besides, you would need terminal knowledge of on-premise and cloud architecture.
Why you should take the Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Certificate
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) enjoys massive popularity since its inception and has revolutionized the work of System Operators, making their lives easier than ever. With IaC, it is possible to create and destroy an entire infrastructure in mere minutes while maintaining version control. As the future of fault-tolerant and highly available systems lies in multi-cloud design, investing in this tool to automate infrastructure provisioning can result in improved business outcomes. If you develop applications in a multi-cloud environment, learning IaC using Terraform open-source tools is essential.
Apart from this, here are a few more reasons you should go for this certification exam:
Validate your skills: The certification validates your skills to use Terraform, a popular infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tool. By passing the certification exam, you can demonstrate to potential employers and clients that you have a solid understanding of Terraform and can use it effectively to manage infrastructure.
Improve career prospects: As Terraform is becoming increasingly popular, more and more organizations are adopting it to manage their infrastructure. The certification gives you an edge over other candidates when applying for jobs or seeking promotions.
Learn best practices: The certification exam covers a range of topics related to Terraform, including infrastructure management, configuration files, and provider plugins. Studying for the exam can help you learn best practices for using Terraform and expand your knowledge of the tool.
Access to resources: When you register for the certification exam, you access the study materials and resources, including the official Terraform documentation and training courses. These resources can help you prepare for the exam and improve your knowledge of Terraform.
Be part of the community: The HashiCorp Certified Terraform Associate certification is recognized globally and is a valuable credential in the DevOps community. By getting Hashicorp certified, you become part of a network of professionals who share a common interest in using Terraform to manage infrastructure.
Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Certificate exam tips
Hashicorp certifications come with countless concepts and techniques, which might be hard if you are just beginning your journey with cloud infrastructure automation. In which case, you will get easily overwhelmed by the pretty large syllabus the Terraform Associate certificate offers and tend to leave out critical subjects if not organized.
To save you from all the hassle, here are 7 exam tips to prepare for the Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate certificate for you to follow.
Step 1: Study and review guides by heart
Download the study and review guide for the Terraform Associate certification to get a complete overview of the certification exam. Understand the cert goals, prerequisites, and domains. Then note down what other resources you need to level up your prep.
Know More: Study Guide on Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Certification
Hashicorp’s study guide will help you navigate the syllabus and understand which one to pick up first and what to pick at the end. The review guide, on the other hand, lists down the documentation and tutorials you need to cover before you sign up for the exam. The good thing about these guides is that they are nuanced and cover every intricate detail of Terraform concepts and techniques. But if you find them technical, you must look for additional but relevant material. So you don’t lose your precious time.
Step 2: Chalk out a calendar
As a full-time working professional, it can be challenging and overwhelming to pay equal attention to every detail simultaneously. The most effective approach is creating a calendar and developing a plan encompassing all domains and practical skills. By doing so, you can avoid overlooking any subheadings or concepts and devote undivided attention to each topic, allowing ample time for revisions and practical sessions.
Step 3: Go through the Terraform concept one by one
It can be difficult in the beginning to sort out what you already know, the skills you need to gain, and the ones for which you need special attention. Here’s what you can do.
- Prior to contemplating this certification, it is imperative that you possess a fundamental comprehension of at least one public cloud provider, such as AWS, GCP, and Azure, among others. This is because Terraform primarily focuses on provisioning infrastructure on the cloud.
- Additionally, a thorough comprehension of declarative programming is necessary since Terraform adopts a declarative approach to infrastructure provisioning. Essentially, you need to articulate your desired infrastructure to Terraform, and the tool will handle the rest.
- It is crucial to recognize the significance of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and comprehend the advantages that Terraform provides to both system operators and developers.
- Furthermore, it is essential to keep in mind the significant file names utilized in Terraform configuration, such as the plugin cache directory, Terraform state file name, default location of Terraform configuration file, and so on.
- It is crucial to engage in ample practice with the Terraform workflow (init, plan, and apply) and thoroughly comprehend their functions. For instance, it is important to understand the outcome of applying Terraform multiple times or manually deleting infrastructure before executing Terraform apply.
- Lastly, merely studying the documentation may not suffice if you lack real-time experience with Terraform. You should install Terraform on your local machine and commence using it to provision infrastructure on AWS.
Step 4: Check out the documentation
Hashicorp certification for Terraform Associate mentions myriad documentation to help you better understand the concepts of the cert exam. These docs are vital to building a foundation for your Terraform knowledge. Go through them to better understand concepts like IaC, navigating core workflows, subcommands, modules, etc. Here are a few Hashicorp documents to check out:
- What is Terraform?
- Infrastructure as Code in a Private or Public Cloud
- Purpose of Terraform State
- Multi-cloud implementation
- Providers
- Dependency Lock File
- Specifying Provider Requirements
- How Terraform works with a plug-in
- Provider Summary
- Commander import
- State Command
- Debugging Terraform
- Input variable
- Finding and using modules
- Calling child modules
- Backends
- State login
- Terraform Cloud Configuration
- Sensitive Data in State
- Backend Configuration
- Vault Provider for Terraform
Step 5: Include tutorials in your schedule
These tutorials are designed by subject-matter experts and cover all the exam domains in detail. Because they contain detailed guides on how to use the automation tools and where to apply commands, it becomes super easy for you to grasp techniques and apply them in real scenarios. Here are a few Hashicorp – Terraform tutorials worth trying.
Know About: How To Create A Custom Hashicorp Terraform Provider?
- Introduction to Infrastructure as Code with Terraform
- Manage Terraform Versions
- Manage Resources in Terraform State
- Lock and Upgrade Provider Versions
- Community Provider tutorials
- Initialize Terraform Configuration
- Define Infrastructure with Terraform Resources
- Import Terraform Configuration
- Troubleshoot Terraform
- Manage Resources in Terraform State
- Modules Overview
- Build and Use a Local Module
- Use Modules from the Registry
- Initialize Terraform Configuration
- Create a Terraform Plan
- Destroy Infrastructure
- Apply Terraform Configuration
- Log in to Terraform Cloud from the CLI
- Store Remote State
- Manage Resource Drift
- Create a Workspace
- Use Refresh-Only Mode to Sync Terraform State
- Protect Sensitive Input Variables
Step 6: Developing practical exposure
The HashiCorp Certified Terraform Associate exam requires practical expertise in Terraform automation, infrastructure capabilities, IaC, workflows, and more. You can gain this expertise by securing an internship with a reputable organization and learning from experienced and proficient mentors or exploring hands-on labs available on the internet, such as GitHub. The latter option is cost-effective and facilitates quick familiarity with HashiCorp Terraform. Some examples of Terraform hands-on labs are:
- Creating and configuring an AWS Network LoadBalancer viaTerraform
- Launching an EC2 Instance using AWS Lambda Function via Terraform
- Creating NAT gateways to access the internet, for instance, in a private subnet using Terraform
- Launching EC2 and RDS Instance and connecting to RDS Instance from EC2 Instance using Terraform
- Configuring VPC flow logs and generating traffic using Terraform
- Automating EBS Snapshot create with CloudWatch Event and get SNS notification Using Terraform
- Creating an EventBridge Rule to get notified on EC2 Instance state change via Terraform
- Enabling public access to S3 Object using Terraform
Step 7: Practice more with sample papers
This phase is critical in your preparation strategy, as it entails putting all the theoretical and practical knowledge you have acquired into action. Various Hashicorp Terraform associate exam question dumps, and sample papers are available to commence your assessment. However, for beginners, it is recommended to attempt Microsoft’s official practice tests and Exam Sandbox. These resources will offer a demonstration of the cert exam and furnish comprehensive answers to all questions. Conduct a SWOT analysis to identify weak areas. Revisit them, address any gaps, and attempt the assessments again.l.;p[‘p;l. p;[=’p
Bonus Tips
- Familiarize yourself with Terraform CLI commands, such as init, plan, apply, destroy, show, taint, and state.
- Expect questions on workspaces, modules, different states (remote, import, taint state), dynamic blocks, count/for_each, and provisioners.
- Recall important file names in Terraform configuration, such as plugin cache directory, terraform state file name, and default location of the configuration file.
- With 55-60 questions in just 60 minutes, time management is crucial. Highlight doubtful questions and revisit them later.
FAQs
Q: What is the validity of the Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Certification exam?
A: This cert exam is valid for two years.
Q: How many questions are there in the Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Certification exam, and what is the pattern?
A: This exam has 57-60 questions, in multiple-choice questions.
Q: What are the passing marks for Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Certification exam ?
70% is the qualifying mark.
Q: How much does the Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Certification exam cost?
A: The exam costs $70.5 USD.
Q: What are the prerequisites for the Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Certification exam?
A: To be eligible for this certification, you need to be hands-on with the following:
- Infrastructure as code
- Cloud capabilities
- Infrastructure automation
Q: What is the syllabus of the Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Certification exam?
A: The exam covers nine domains:
- Infrastructure as code (IaC)
- Terraform basics
- Interacting with Terraform modules
- Deploying and maintaining state
- Terraform Cloud and Enterprise functionalities
- Terraform’s purpose vs. other IaC
- Terraform CLI outside of core workflows
- Navigating Terraform workflows
- Reading, creating, and modifying the configuration
What is the hashicorp certified terraform associate exam code?
The Exam code of hashicorp certified terraform associate exam code is (003).
Summary
Hope this blog helps you prepare an effective and robust prep strategy. However, the key here is to build a solid basic knowledge of Terraform automation technologies and gain a deeper understanding of building and maintaining an ecosystem using Terraform open-source tools. And the first step towards this is to get hold of authentic and upgraded materials and resources.
With this in mind, Whizlabs offers updated and most-relevant resources to level up your Terraform expertise through rigorous preparation. In addition, you will have full-length mock tests, 71 video lectures designed by subject matter experts, 33+ hands-on labs to work with the tools in a real-world scenario, 24/7 assistance, and access to our cherry-picked resources for 2 straight years.
Does this interest you? Why should you take the Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate certification, and how can it improve career prospects? Then, reach us and book a consultation today!
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