Learn Amazon Web Services
from the beginning

What Amazon Web Services is, simply explained

Amazon Web Services is a cloud computing platform operated by Amazon. It provides compute, storage, networking, databases, and hundreds of other managed services that developers and engineers can use on demand without owning physical infrastructure.

AWS launched in 2006 and now has the largest market share of any cloud provider globally. Most cloud engineering roles in startups, scale-ups, and large enterprises involve some AWS exposure. If you are learning cloud for career reasons, AWS is the most directly employable starting point. Start with What is Amazon Web Services if you are new to the platform.

AWS Learning Path

247 pages covering AWS foundations, IAM and security, compute, containers, storage, networking, DevOps, monitoring, data analytics, architecture, troubleshooting, cost management, and service comparisons. Start with Foundations if you are new to Amazon Web Services.

AWS Foundations

IAM & Security

Compute Services

Containers & Kubernetes

Storage Services

Networking

DevOps & CI/CD

Monitoring & Observability

Data & Analytics

Architecture & Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Cost Management & FinOps

Service Comparisons

Common AWS beginner mistakes

Using the root account for day-to-day work

The AWS root account has unrestricted access and cannot have its permissions scoped. Create an IAM user or use IAM Identity Center for daily access. Read IAM roles explained and least privilege in AWS.

Creating long-lived access keys instead of using roles

AWS access keys are static credentials that can be committed to code, leaked in logs, or left running after a team member leaves. For EC2, Lambda, and EKS workloads use IAM roles instead. Read why long-lived access keys are dangerous.

Making S3 buckets public without understanding the implications

S3 buckets default to private but can be made public at bucket or object level. Public buckets with sensitive data are a common data leak source. Read S3 security best practices.

Not setting billing alerts

AWS does not cap spending by default. EC2 instances left running, NAT Gateways, and data egress can accumulate significant costs silently. Read setting budgets and billing alerts.

Confusing security groups with network ACLs

Security groups are stateful and apply to instances. Network ACLs are stateless and apply to subnets. The difference matters when troubleshooting connectivity. Read security groups explained and network ACLs.

AWS vs Azure vs GCP

AWS is the largest cloud provider by market share and has the most extensive service catalogue. It is the most common platform in cloud job descriptions globally.

Where AWS leads

Broadest service catalogue, largest global infrastructure footprint, and the most cloud job postings. AWS certifications (particularly Solutions Architect Associate) are widely recognised by recruiters. Lambda and the AWS serverless ecosystem are mature and heavily adopted.

Where GCP and Azure differ

GCP has advantages in BigQuery (data analytics), GKE (Kubernetes), and networking. Azure dominates in enterprise accounts, the UK public sector, and organisations tied to Microsoft 365. If your target employer uses Azure, starting there is more efficient than learning AWS first.