AWS Cloud Engineer Journey
A hands-on path from zero to AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, then Solutions Architect – Associate, built around real labs you run in your own account. Every day has: a first-principles explanation, a real-life analogy, a diagram, a lab, and an exam-style quiz.
How the course works
- Weekdays: 1–2 hours = one module. Weekends: up to 4 hours = a bigger lab + review.
- Rule of thumb: 30% reading, 70% hands-on. If you only read, it won't stick.
- Every lab ends with a cleanup step so you don't get a surprise bill.
- Drop your own console screenshots into
evidence/(see each lab). That's your portfolio.
The roadmap (about 20 weeks at your pace)
| Phase | Weeks | You will be able to | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0. Foundations (Linux, networking basics) | done / ongoing | Use a terminal, run a web server (your nginx-lab), read an IP address and port. | Comfort |
| 1. Cloud Practitioner | 1–4 | Explain cloud, secure an account, use IAM, EC2, S3, VPC basics, pricing and support plans. | CLF-C02 exam |
| 2. Architect Associate | 5–13 | Design networks (VPC), databases (RDS/DynamoDB), load balancing/auto scaling, serverless, decoupling, DR. | SAA-C03 exam |
| 3. Engineer skills | 14–20 | Infrastructure as Code (CloudFormation/Terraform), CI/CD, monitoring, a capstone project. | Portfolio + job-ready |
Exam facts (check aws.amazon.com/certification for the latest)
| Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) | Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) | |
|---|---|---|
| Questions / time | 65 / 90 min | 65 / 130 min |
| Passing score | 700 / 1000 | 720 / 1000 |
| Fee (approx.) | USD 100 | USD 150 |
| Domains | Cloud concepts 24% · Security 30% · Technology/services 34% · Billing/support 12% | Secure 30% · Resilient 26% · High-performing 24% · Cost-optimized 20% |
Book the CLF-C02 exam at the end of week 4. A booked date is the best motivator. Take SAA-C03 after week 13.
Weekly rhythm
| Mon–Fri (1–2h) | Sat (4h) | Sun (2–4h) |
|---|---|---|
| Read (30 min) → Lab (45 min) → Quiz (15 min) | Bigger lab / mini-project | Review quiz, fix weak spots, git commit your progress |
Modules
Week 1
Day 1: What Is the Cloud, Really?
Concepts · 1.5hDay 2: Create and Lock Down Your AWS Account
Security · Lab · 1.5hDay 3: IAM: Who Can Do What
Security · Lab · 2hDay 4: Global Infrastructure and the AWS CLI
Concepts · Lab · 1.5hDay 5: EC2: Your First Server
Compute · Lab · 2hDay 6: S3: Storage That Never Fills Up (Weekend Lab)
Storage · Lab · 3–4hDay 7: EBS, Pricing Models and Week 1 Review
Review · Quiz · 2–4h
Concepts · 1.5hDay 2: Create and Lock Down Your AWS Account
Security · Lab · 1.5hDay 3: IAM: Who Can Do What
Security · Lab · 2hDay 4: Global Infrastructure and the AWS CLI
Concepts · Lab · 1.5hDay 5: EC2: Your First Server
Compute · Lab · 2hDay 6: S3: Storage That Never Fills Up (Weekend Lab)
Storage · Lab · 3–4hDay 7: EBS, Pricing Models and Week 1 Review
Review · Quiz · 2–4h
Before you spend a cent
Complete Day 2 (billing alert + MFA) first. AWS free-tier rules changed in 2025 (new accounts get a credit-based free plan), so always read the current terms at
aws.amazon.com/free.