AWS Resources To Help You Get Started in the Cloud Journey

Since the time AWS was introduced in 2002, the Cloud Platforms have both increased in number and have also matured in terms of the services that they offer. The cloud providers each have over 100 services. As these Cloud platforms continue to mature, the wealth of information that is available for someone to consume has also grown considerably and continues to grow. This can be overwhelming for someone who wants to build their career on Cloud, to even know where to start and how to go about learning and building on cloud skills. It also becomes challenging to balance work and learning for many of the cloud aspirants. Add to that, costly training, seeking approvals, and getting on waiting lists are enough to kill the enthusiasm for many.

If you are one of those folks who is just getting started on the AWS Cloud, the blog lists the free resources that will make your journey much easier. Read on…

AWS Journey

Based on our experiences with teaching and helping clients with cloud adoption, we have identified and built a learning path for folks using only the free resources provided by AWS to get onto a self-paced journey. 

The path starts with establishing your foundations by going through AWS training and events and then building your knowledge using AWS documentation. AWS also has made available plenty of resources for hands-on learning, like code samples and Quickstarts, which can be tried by creating a free AWS account. Now, you should be ready to take the various role-based certifications available in AWS. The community forums and events should then help you to build upon the skills that you have acquired.

List of Resources

Get Started With Training and Events

The resources listed below help to get a good understanding of the foundations of the AWS cloud platform and its services. 

1. Training and Certification Events

Free training events by AWS and partners, both online and in person, to take your learning to the next level.

2. YouTube Channels

This is another wealth of information on AWS services, events, and learning in general.

3. AWS SkillBuilder

Boost your learning with 600+ training courses in the SkillBuilder for free, besides a paid subscription. Get access to this learning center using the ‘Sign up for free’ button.

4. AWS Educate

AWS Educate offers hundreds of hours of self-paced training and resources for new-to-cloud learners — including hands-on labs in the AWS Management Console. Cloud beginners can try the self-paced online training resources and labs and evaluate their cloud skills without having to create an Amazon account. There are also badge-eligible AWS Educate courses that will help to showcase your achievements and validate your skills, and all of these are completely free

Follow Along With the Documentation

The documentation resources provide detailed information and help to have deeper insights into the motivations behind a service.

5. AWS Docs

The AWS documentation covers everything from basic concepts to advanced
techniques. Whether you're just starting out or already have some experience
under your belt, there's something here for everyone.

6. Service Page FAQs

Refer to the individual services FAQs to find answers to commonly raised questions on the respective services. These will give you clarifications on the features, capabilities, and benefits of every service out there.

7. Architecture Center

For best practices and reference architectures to help you build scalable, secure,
 and efficient cloud infrastructures, check out the AWS Architecture Center

8. Solutions Library

AWS Solutions Library carries ready-to-deploy solutions built by AWS and AWS Partners for a broad range of industry and technology use cases.

9. Prescriptive Guidance 

AWS Prescriptive Guidance provides time-tested strategies, guides, and patterns to help accelerate your cloud migration, modernization, and optimization projects. 

Do It With Hands-On Learning

There is no better alternative to hands-on learning. Start by creating a free account and then learn more about AWS by deploying your first application and trying out the code samples.

10. An AWS Account

Start by signing up for an AWS Free Tier account, which gives you limited
access to AWS services for 12 whole months. Plus, you'll have access to free
AWS services to play around with. Stay within your free limits and be mindful of your cost, though!

11. Learning Library

Now, let's move on to the AWS Learning Hub. For digital training courses and
hands-on labs across a variety of subjects. Many of these courses are completely
free!

12. AWS Code Samples

AWS has a wealth of code samples and repositories hosted on GitHub. From
simple scripts to complex applications, there's plenty to discover and learn from.

13. AWS QuickStarts

Check out AWS Quick Starts for jump-start solutions that provide pre-configured
templates and automated deployment tools to help you quickly launch common
workloads on AWS. With Quick Starts, you can get up and running fast — without
having to spend hours configuring settings or troubleshooting issues.

14. Builders Library

If you want to know how Amazon develops, architects, releases, and operates
technology, the Amazon Builders library is a collection of living articles that
describe how. The content in the Builders’ Library is written by Amazon’s senior
technical leaders and engineers covering topics across architecture, software
delivery, and operations.

Get Certified

Certifications help to validate the knowledge and skills that you have acquired and help enhance your profile visibility when you look out for job opportunities.

15. Certification

Finally, to advance your career in cloud computing, consider pursuing AWS
certification. Not only does AWS offer free exam guides and practice questions to
help you prepare, but they also provide a host of other resources designed to
support your learning journey.

Follow the News and Announcements

The cloud computing landscape is constantly evolving, with new services and features being introduced at various intervals, making it essential to stay up-to-date.

16. Announcements

To stay up to date with the latest developments in the AWS, make sure that you
check out the AWS Blog and Release Notes pages. Here, you'll find articles,
announcements, and insights from AWS experts and thought leaders

Be in the Community

The community helps in providing a closer view of how it is done in the real world, and you will get access to a wealth of practical problems and insights.

17. AWS User Groups

Find out your nearest User Group and join to network with the larger community. Frequent events within the User Group will help you be up to date with the advances of Cloud Technologies.

18. This Is My Architecture

Make sure to check out the “This is My Architecture” video series that showcases innovative architectural solutions on the AWS Cloud by customers and partners. Each episode examines the most interesting and technically creative elements of each cloud architecture.

19. Repost

AWS re:Post is the AWS Official Knowledge Center containing articles and videos covering the most frequent questions and requests that AWS receives from their customers.

In addition to these free resources, AWS regularly hosts webinars, user group meetings, and other community events. Attend one of these gatherings to network with fellow cloud enthusiasts and learn from industry experts. Who knows — you might even stumble upon a few job opportunities along the way!

So, there you have it — 19 categories of free resources to help you master AWS Cloud technologies.

Happy learning, and good luck on your AWS journey!