Terraform Associate (003) Exam Preparation

In this presentation, I explain how to prepare for and pass the Terraform Associate certification exam.

This version of the prep session was given at a webinar, in May 2025.

Transcript

1. ©2025 HASHICORP Terraform Associate 003 Exam Preparation Session
2. Agenda Certifications overview Exam objectives Tips and Tricks Q and A 02 03 01 04 05 Exam preparation
3. Cloud Engineer Certifications 01 01
5. HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate 003 The Terraform Associate certification is for Cloud Engineers specializing in operations, IT, or development who understand the basic concepts and skills associated with Terraform • multiple-choice type questions • 60 minutes • valid for 2 years Prerequisites: • comfortable using a terminal • some understanding of on-premises architecture • some understanding of cloud architecture
6. 02 Exam preparation for Terraform Associate
7. Exam preparation materials Learning path hashi.co/tf-assoc-path Content list hashi.co/tf-assoc-content Sample questions hashi.co/tf-assoc-sampleqs
8. hashi.co/tf-assoc-tutorials Exam preparation materials
9. Exam objectives for Terraform Associate 03
10. 1a Explain what IaC is 1b Describe advantages of IaC patterns Understand infrastructure as code (IaC) concepts Document Codified infrastructure is human- readable, and can be enriched with reference material. Version Codified infrastructure is plain- text, and can easily be versioned, tagged, and - if needed - rolled back. Collaborate Codified infrastructure enables cross-team collaboration, when using HCP Terraform.
11. 2a Explain multi-cloud and provider-agnostic benefits 2b Explain the benefits of state Understand the purpose of Terraform (vs other IaC) provider "aws" { region = "eu-central-1" } provider "azurerm" { features {} } providers.tf
12. 3a Install and version Terraform providers 3b Describe plugin-based architecture 3c Write Terraform configuration using multiple providers 3d Describe how Terraform finds and fetches providers Understand Terraform basics terraform { required_providers { azurerm = { source = "hashicorp/azurerm" version = "4.28.0" } } } terraform.tf
13. 4a Describe when to use terraform import to import existing infrastructure into your Terraform state 4b Use terraform state to view Terraform state 4c Describe when to enable verbose logging and what the outcome / value is Use Terraform outside the core workflow aws_s3_object.index module.web_redirects.data.aws_cloudfront_cache_policy.main module.web_redirects.data.aws_cloudfront_origin_request_policy.main module.web_redirects.data.aws_iam_policy_document.main module.web_redirects.data.aws_route53_zone.main Terminal > terraform state list
14. 5a Contrast and use different module source options, including the public Terraform Registry 5b Interact with module inputs and outputs 5c Describe variable scope within modules / child modules 5d Set module version Interact with Terraform modules module "basic_example" { source = "ksatirli/regional-workspace/tfe" version = "1.5.0" name = "basic-example" visibility = "public" } modules.tf
15. 6a Describe Terraform workflow ( Write -> Plan -> Create ) 6b Initialize a Terraform working directory (terraform init and terraform.lock.hcl) 6c Validate a Terraform configuration (terraform validate) Use the core Terraform workflow > terraform init Initializing provider plugins!!" - Using previously-installed hashicorp/aws v5.97.0 - Using previously-installed hashicorp/tfe v0.65.2 HCP Terraform has been successfully initialized! Terminal
16. 6d Generate and review an execution plan for Terraform (terraform plan) 6e Execute changes to infrastructure with Terraform (terraform apply) 6f Destroy Terraform managed infrastructure (terraform destroy) 6g Apply formatting and style adjustments to a configuration (terraform fmt) Use the core Terraform workflow > terraform plan Initializing provider plugins!!" - Using previously-installed hashicorp/aws v5.97.0 - Using previously-installed hashicorp/tfe v0.65.2 Terminal
17. 7a Describe default (local) backend 7b Describe state locking 7c Handle backend and cloud integration authentication methods 7d Differentiate remote state back end options Implement and maintain state Running apply in HCP Terraform. Output will stream here. Preparing the remote apply!!" To view this run in a browser, visit: https:!#app.terraform.io/!!" Waiting for 1 run(s) to finish before being queued!!" Terminal > terraform apply
18. 7e Manage resource drift and Terraform state 7f Describe backend block and cloud integration in configuration 7g Understand secret management in state files Implement and maintain state terraform { cloud { organization = "ksatirli" workspaces { name = "tf-assoc" } } terraform.tf
19. 8a Demonstrate use of variables and outputs 8b Describe secure secret injection best practice 8c Understand the use of collection and structural types Read, generate, and modify configuration variables.tf variable "regions" { type = list(string) description = "List of Deployment Regions." default = [ "us-east-1", "eu-west-1", ] }
20. 8d Create and differentiate resource and data configurations 8e Use resource addressing and resource parameters to connect resources together 8f Use HCL and Terraform functions to write configuation 8g Describe built-in dependency management (order of execution based) Read, generate, and modify configuration resource "aws_route53_record" "webinar" { zone_id = data.aws_route53_zone.webinar.id name = "bucket" type = "A" } storage.tf
21. 9a Explain how HCP Terraform helps to manage infrastructure 9b Describe how HCP Terraform enables collaboration and governance Understand HCP Terraform Collaboration HCP Terraform provides a flexible runtime environment for teams to collaborate smoothly. Policy HCP Terraform provides built-in options to validate infrastructure operations against policies. Self-Service HCP Terraform enables self- service workflows through modules and HCP Waypoint.
22. Tips and Tricks 04
23. Review Review the materials at your disposal: study content, community forums, exam environment overviews. Practice Nothing beats hands-on practice. Test your knowledge with self- paced exercises. Trust Tests are hard! But, after you’ve prepped, trust that you have the expertise to pass your exam. Pass the Exam
24. credly.com Share your success
25. Q and A 05
26. Certifications Program • How many people pass the exam? • What score do I need to pass Associate exams? • When are you going to create an exam for [product]? Exam-specific • How many questions are on the exam? • Why did I fail my exam last time? • Is [this specific question] on the exam? Questions we cannot answer
27. Q and A
28. Thank you certifications@hashicorp.com