HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate
The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate certification is for Cloud Engineers specializing in operations, IT, or developers who know the basic concepts and skills associated with open source HashiCorp Terraform. Candidates will be best prepared for this exam if they have professional experience using Terraform in production, but performing the exam objectives in a personal demo environment may also be sufficient. This person understands which enterprise features exist and what can and cannot be done using the open-source offering.
Prerequisites:
The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate Eligibility Requirements are:
- Firstly, Basic terminal skills
- Secondly, Basic understanding of on premises and cloud architecture
Exam Details | HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate
You must have a complete comprehension of the exam facts before you begin your preparations. This will assist you in creating a study plan and working within the exam structure. This credential is unquestionably your road map to success, but first and foremost, let’s get a thorough understanding of the test.
- The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate exam questions are in Multiple Choice format.
- You get 60 minutes to complete this Online proctored.
- Moreover, the exam can be taken in the English language only and is valid for 2 years.
- Also, HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate cost is $70.50 USD plus locally applicable taxes and fees.
| Exam Name | HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate |
| Exam Questions | Multiple choice |
|---|---|
| Format | Online proctored |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Price | $70.50 USD plus locally applicable taxes and fees |
| Language | English |
| Expiration | 2 years |
Scheduling the exam
To schedule or purchase your HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate Exam follow these steps:
- Firstly, Navigate to the Cloud Engineer Certification Exam Portal and log in
- Secondly, Click the Schedule Exam button for your chosen exam
- If this is your first time using PSI, enter your name into the Personal Information modal
- Next, Select your country and time zone
- Also, Select the date and time most convenient for you and schedule your exam. You must complete your transaction within 30 minutes to secure your chosen time slot
- Then, Enter your payment information. Also, if you have a valid voucher or coupon Apply it now
- Read and acknowledge the Terms & Conditions
- Lastly, Click the Pay Now button and you are good to go.
Exam Rescheduling
The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate can be rescheduled or cancelled up to 48 hours before your appointment time. Follow these steps to reschedule the exam:
- Navigate to the Cloud Engineer Certification Exam Portal and log in
- Find the exam you want to reschedule, click the View Details button
- Click the Reschedule button and follow the onscreen prompts to choose a new appointment time.
- Alternatively, you can select the Cancel Schedule appointment button. A pop up will appear, click Yes, cancel my scheduled exam to cancel your exam.
Also, your exam fee will only be refunded if you have canceled the exam more than 48 before your appointment.
Exam Policies
Don’t worry if you don’t pass the test the first time around; HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate permits you to retake the exam. However, you are only allowed to take a test three times a year. In addition, you must wait seven days between exams. However, after you’ve passed the exam, you won’t be able to repeat it.
Exam FAQ
Are you confused about the exam policies? Visit the HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate FAQ to clarify all your doubts regarding the exam.
Course Outline | HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate
The next critical step is to comprehend the HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate exam’s course outline. It acquaints you with the test format. There are nine domains in the test. These categories are further separated into subtopics to give more information about the test course. To get this certification, you should structure your studies around these exam subjects.
The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate Course covers the following domains:
1. Understand infrastructure as code (IaC) concepts
- 1a. Explain what IaC is ( HashiCorp Documentation: Introduction to Terraform)
- 1b. Describe advantages of IaC patterns ( HashiCorp Documentation: Infrastructure as Code in a Private or Public Cloud)
2. Understand Terraform’s purpose (vs other IaC)
- 2a. Explain multi-cloud and provider-agnostic benefits ( HashiCorp Documentation: Multi-Cloud Deployment)
- 2b. Explain the benefits of state ( HashiCorp Documentation: Purpose of Terraform State)
3. Understand Terraform basics
- 3a. Handle Terraform and provider installation and versioning ( HashiCorp Documentation: Provider Configuration)
- 3b. Describe plugin based architecture ( HashiCorp Documentation: Terraform Settings )
- 3c. Demonstrate using multiple providers
- 3d. Describe how Terraform finds and fetches providers ( HashiCorp Documentation: Provider )
- 3e. Explain when to use and not use provisioners and when to use local-exec or remote-exec ( HashiCorp Documentation: Provisioners are a Last Resort )
4. Use the Terraform CLI (outside of core workflow)
- 4a. Given a scenario: choose when to use terraform fmt to format code ( HashiCorp Documentation: Command: fmt)
- 4b. Given a scenario: choose when to use terraform taint to taint Terraform resources ( HashiCorp Documentation: Command: taint )
- 4c. Given a scenario: choose when to use terraform import to import existing infrastructure into your Terraform state ( HashiCorp Documentation: Command: import)
- 4d. Given a scenario: choose when to use terraform workspace to create workspaces ( HashiCorp Documentation: Workspaces)
- 4e. Given a scenario: choose when to use terraform state to view Terraform state ( HashiCorp Documentation: State Command)
- 4f. Given a scenario: choose when to enable verbose logging and what the outcome/value is ( HashiCorp Documentation: Debugging Terraform)
5. Interact with Terraform modules
- 5a. Contrast module source options ( HashiCorp Documentation: Finding and Using Modules)
- 5b. Interact with module inputs and outputs
- 5c. Describe variable scope within modules/child modules ( HashiCorp Documentation: Input Variables, Module Blocks )
- 5d. Discover modules from the public Terraform Module Registry ( HashiCorp Documentation: Finding and Using Modules)
- 5e. Defining module version ( HashiCorp Documentation: Module Versions)
6. Navigate Terraform workflow
- 6a. Describe Terraform workflow ( Write -> Plan -> Create ) ( HashiCorp Documentation: The Core Terraform Workflow)
- 6b. Initialize a Terraform working directory (terraform init) ( HashiCorp Documentation: Command: init)
- 6c. Validate a Terraform configuration (terraform validate) ( HashiCorp Documentation: Command: validate)
- 6d. Generate and review an execution plan for Terraform (terraform plan) ( HashiCorp Documentation: Command: plan)
- 6e. Execute changes to infrastructure with Terraform (terraform apply) ( HashiCorp Documentation: Command: apply)
- 6f. Destroy Terraform managed infrastructure (terraform destroy) ( HashiCorp Documentation: Command: destroy)
7. Implement and maintain state
- 7a. Describe default local backend ( HashiCorp Documentation: Backends, local )
- 7b. Outline state locking ( HashiCorp Documentation: State Locking)
- 7c. Handle backend authentication methods ( HashiCorp Documentation: Backends Types)
- 7d. Describe remote state storage mechanisms and supported standard backends ( HashiCorp Documentation: Backends Types)
- 7e. Describe effect of Terraform refresh on state ( HashiCorp Documentation: Command: refresh)
- 7f. Describe backend block in configuration and best practices for partial configurations ( HashiCorp Documentation: Backend Configuration)
- 7g. Understand secret management in state files ( HashiCorp Documentation: Sensitive Data in State)
8. Read, generate, and modify configuration
- 8a. Demonstrate use of variables and outputs
- 8b. Describe secure secret injection best practice ( HashiCorp Documentation: Vault Provider)
- 8c. Understand the use of collection and structural types ( HashiCorp Documentation: Complex Types)
- 8d. Create and differentiate resource and data configuration ( HashiCorp Documentation: Resources, Data Sources)
- 8e. Use resource addressing and resource parameters to connect resources together ( HashiCorp Documentation: Resource Addressing, References to Named Values)
- 8f. Use Terraform built-in functions to write configuration ( HashiCorp Documentation: Built-in Functions)
- 8g. Configure resource using a dynamic block ( HashiCorp Documentation: Dynamic Blocks)
- 8h. Describe built-in dependency management (order of execution based)
9. Understand Terraform Cloud and Enterprise capabilities
- 9a. Describe the benefits of Sentinel, registry, and workspaces ( HashiCorp Documentation: Sentinel Overview, Private Module Registry, Workspaces)
- 9b. Differentiate OSS and TFE workspaces ( HashiCorp Documentation: CLI Workspaces, Terraform Cloud / Terraform Enterprise )
- 9c. Summarize features of Terraform Cloud ( HashiCorp Documentation: Terraform Cloud and Terraform Enterprise, The UI- and VCS-driven Run Workflow)
Preparatory Guide for HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate
There goes a lot of hard work and consistency in preparation for an exam. It is the key to your lucrative career and opens various opportunities for you. Success in obtaining HashiCorp Certification cannot be done overnight since it requires time, effort, passion, dedication, and an open mind. Our preparatory guide will escort you at all times during the preparation journey. It will walk you through all the learning resources and prepare you better for the exam.
Step 1: Review the Exam Objectives
Now that you’ve gone over the exam information, it’s time to move on to the next step. It’s time to review the Course Outline and make sure you’re up to speed. As previously said, the Course Outline is the most important aspect of the test. It is crucial to familiarise oneself with the exam subject in order to master the exam ideas. Given the wide syllabus this exam covers, it is suggested that you refer to the Official Exam Website to understand the exam course outline. It covers 9 domains namely:
- To begin with, Understand infrastructure as code (IaC) concepts
- Then, Understand Terraform’s purpose (vs other IaC)
- Further, Understand Terraform basics
- Use the Terraform CLI (outside of core workflow)
- Also, Interact with Terraform modules
- Moreover, Navigate Terraform workflow
- Additionally, Implement and maintain state
- Next, Read, generate, and modify configuration
- Finally, Understand Terraform Cloud and Enterprise capabilities
Step 2- Discover your Learning Resources
We cannot emphasise enough how important it is to discover the perfect learning resources in order to fully comprehend each area. It’s critical to select the correct resources with trustworthy material. There are, however, a variety of materials to pick from. This makes it tough to identify real and authentic ones. To assist you, here is a selection of highly recommended resources to extend your knowledge horizon.
Study Guide
The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate Study Guide provides you with complete clarity about the exam contents. It helps you prepare for the exam from the scratch.
Review Guide
The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate Review Guide lists the specific exam objectives and resources you can study to demonstrate those objectives. It includes the following:
- Firstly, Documentations: Terraform Documentations divide your course content into different sections to make it easier to learn.
- Secondly, Tutorials: Terraform Tutorials are designed to give you a space to engage more actively with the course content
Get Started with Terraform Cloud
You must have hands on experience for this practical exam. Therefore all you need is to Get Started with Terraform Cloud. It will allow you to try new capabilities in Terraform. Collaborate on version-controlled configuration using Terraform Cloud. Follow this track to build, change, and destroy infrastructure using remote runs and state.
Books your best friends
Preparing for any test without books appears both ridiculous and ineffective. As a result, you should look for relevant and trustworthy publications from qualified authors to help you prepare for the exam. Candidates can use books to study for the test because they are a comprehensive source of knowledge. As a result, you must include Mikael Krief and Mitchell Hashimoto’s Terraform Cookbook: Efficiently create, launch, and manage Infrastructure as Code across numerous cloud platforms.
Step 3- Join an Online Community
A robust debate is always useful, regardless of where it takes place. The research gets more extensive as a result of these conversations. You can remain on top of the exam by joining an online community. These communities facilitate communication with specialists from all across the world. They also give you the necessary exposure to appear for the test, guaranteeing that your knowledge grows.
Step 4- Practice Tests are your way ahead
Analyzing your preparations is a crucial phase in the process. This may be turned on by assessing your own performance. Taking practice exams is the best way to assess your knowledge and find areas where you need to improve. You will be able to pass the exam if you strengthen your weakest domains. Furthermore, these examinations acquaint you with the actual exam setting. You get to work on your speed and precision. Additionally, taking many practice examinations can increase your confidence. Try outperforming yourself with each subsequent test and earn this certification. Start Practising Now!
