If you have already heard about "The Cloud" and are curious about how to gain some knowledge about it, you are clearly at the right place!
In this article, I am going to give you some advice and resources to help you start learning in an efficient way.
Because everyone need to start somewhere, I'm going to take the AWS example. But some of the following content is also applicable for other providers.
The strategy
AWS have hundred of services available and they are able to release at least the same amount every year.
Knowing everything is really impossible, and most of the time, not so useful either.
What you need, is
Then, the next step will be to deep dive into the topics that interest you and maybe specialize.
Cloud foundational knowledge
AWS as well as other Cloud providers provides a lot of learning resources to help you with your learning path.
Follow me through the pretty Cloud beginner pathway!
Cloud Practitioner Essentials can be a good start.
And preparing the associated certification is definitely a good idea.
Accreditations
You will also find on AWS training website, some accreditations that you can pass before your first certification.
They are a way to complete and check you understanding of several topics like main services, cost management...
100DaysOfCloud
I can assure you that you are not going to become a Cloud expert in 2 days!
But what you can do is "becoming better at Cloud" every day.
Imagine, if you learn about one new concept per day during 100 days... Yes, you will know 100 more concepts at the end!
This is exactly the concept of #1OODaysOfCloud Challenge.
Moreover, you can share your learning on social media (Twitter) or GitHub to both help other people and keep your motivation intact.
Cloud Resume Challenge
This challenge is going to give you all you need to start working as a Cloud dev.
You can find all the details here.
In two words, it was proposed by Forrest Brazeal and the goal is to build an online resume, based on Cloud technologies and good practices.
The challenge is an end to end project that help you to become familiar with the main concepts of Cloud development.
AWS Well architected framework
When you become more confident with the fundamentals, you can start having a look at the good architectural patterns.
You can:
Read articles like this one
Read the documentation here
Follow the labs to gain experience here
Other certifications
You will probably find the certification path very useful to guide you through the learning material and topics. When your first certification will be celebrated, you will probably start to think about the next one...
Here, it depends on your goals and affinities but your main options are the following:
On going project
Just before letting you go to your first learning step, I wanted to tell you about my on-going project to help newcomers get into Cloud.
It is a story, written for Cloud newcomers in you will be able to follow Cassandra and Sam through their learning path and discover a new and innovative way to learn Cloud concepts by reading a fiction.
Follow the path at your own pace and check the boxes until your first certification and probably more.
As you have understood, this book will be the perfect support to help you start your learning journey!
If you want to follow my work on this and be updated about the progress, feel free to check out this page:
pleasedrawmesomeclouds.flolight.dev
Conclusion
I hope these few lines gave you a clue about how to start learning about Cloud.
I have no doubt you are at the start of something big!
Keep your curiosity awake.
Be consistent during your learning.
Trust yourself.
You will be fine!
Don’t forget to react and to share this article if you liked it!
Feel free to reach me on Twitter (@FlolightC) to tell me about your Cloud journey or to ask me questions! I’m always happy to discuss with you !
