The answer is to change the worker type to G.2X. This is correct because the G.2X worker type doubles the memory and vCPU compared to the default G.1X, which directly addresses the performance bottleneck when converting JSON to Parquet—a memory-intensive operation that benefits from larger per-worker resources. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of AWS Glue job performance tuning, specifically how worker type selection impacts execution efficiency without code changes. A common trap is assuming that simply increasing the number of DPUs (data processing units) is the best fix; however, for memory-heavy transformations, scaling up with G.2X workers is more effective than scaling out with more G.1X workers. Remember the mnemonic: "For heavy lifting, go G.2X—more memory per worker means fewer shuffles and faster Parquet."
DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A logistics company uses AWS Glue to process GPS data from delivery trucks. The data is stored in Amazon S3 as JSON files. The Glue job reads the JSON files, converts them to Parquet, and writes them back to S3. The company notices that the Glue job takes too long to complete. The data engineer wants to improve the job's performance without changing the code. What should the data engineer do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Change the worker type to G.2X.
Option D is correct. Using a G.2X worker type provides more memory and CPU per worker, improving performance. Option A is wrong because increasing DPUs may help but is less efficient than using larger workers for memory-intensive tasks. Option B is wrong because decreasing DPUs would worsen performance. Option C is wrong because using G.1X is the default; upgrading to G.2X is better.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Increase the number of DPUs to 20.
Why it's wrong here
More DPUs may improve parallelism but the worker type is still standard; G.2X provides more resources per worker.
✓
Change the worker type to G.2X.
Why this is correct
G.2X workers have double the memory and compute, accelerating the transformation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Change the worker type to G.1X.
Why it's wrong here
G.1X is the default worker type; it already has 16 GB memory. G.2X offers 32 GB.
✗
Decrease the number of DPUs to 5 to reduce overhead.
Why it's wrong here
Fewer DPUs would make the job slower.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Change the worker type to G.2X. — Option D is correct. Using a G.2X worker type provides more memory and CPU per worker, improving performance. Option A is wrong because increasing DPUs may help but is less efficient than using larger workers for memory-intensive tasks. Option B is wrong because decreasing DPUs would worsen performance. Option C is wrong because using G.1X is the default; upgrading to G.2X is better.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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This DEA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DEA-C01 exam.
Question Discussion
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