How did everything get started in the first place

Two years ago I graduated from college with a major in Information Technology(IT). at that time cloud computing for me was just some computing concept we learned.

However, my interest and curiosity in cloud computing started growing more as I started hearing about the word cloud computing almost everywhere on the internet, I looked for more information about what cloud computing is, how is it different from traditional computing, and I also read dozens of articles during the pandemic about cloud computing-related topics.

I found out about AWS cloud after a while, I was reading an article online then I came across the list of cloud service providers and seeing amazon web service is the leader of cloud technology provider, well at that point it caught my attention and I was so interested to learn more about the technology.

What's my learning path?

Photo by Designer sketching Wireframes on Unsplash

The first thing to do when starting such a journey is to know where you are heading. You wouldn't just start anywhere?

In my case, I went to the AWS SkillsBuilder page and checked in, particularly on how to get started with the basic which is the Cloud Practitioner Essentials it's a great start. This page also helped me understand the basics of AWS cloud technology and cloud computing in general, this helped me to take the right path to get started with AWS.

After going through the resources on the page, I started getting a feel and a general idea of what AWS cloud technology is all about, and how organizations and companies can leverage the power of AWS cloud and benefit from all the services that AWS cloud technology provides, which is a lot of services.

I also signed up for an AWS Free Tier account " What is an AWS Free Tier account " you might ask.

The AWS Free Tier enables you to gain free, hands-on experience with the AWS platform, products, and services.

The AWS Free Tier account is automatically activated when you create an AWS account, it lasts for a year.

Note that not all services are covered under the Free Tier, you should check the Free Tier offerings to make sure the services you intend to use are covered.

Well I used my Free Tier account to gain hands-on experience with the AWS services, after taking months trying and experimenting with the AWS services, I thought to myself it's time I test my knowledge and the skills set I've learned with an AWS certification.

This is the point when I went through the AWS cloud practitioner exams guide and went through the resources that were recommended for the AWS cloud practitioner exam, The resources on the page was great and it helped me a lot on my exam preparation which is a lot of hard work but it's worth it, here are links for the resource page, I highly recommend going through the resources if you are thinking about taking the AWS cloud practitioner exam.

Training built by AWS experts

• AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials digital training (free)
• Attend an Exam Readiness webinar (free)
• On-Demand Training on Twitch (free)

The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam includes four domains:

• Cloud Concepts 26%
• Security and Compliance 25%
• Technology 33%
• Billing and Pricing 16%

Each domain in the exam is weighted. The weight represents the percentage of questions in the exam that corresponds to that particular domain. These are approximations, so the questions on your exam may not match these percentages exactly. The exam does not indicate the domain associated with a question. In fact, some questions can potentially fall under multiple domains.

Exam details

The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam consists of 65 questions to be completed in 90 minutes. The minimum passing score is 70%.

Two types of questions are included on the exam: multiple choice and multiple responses.

• A multiple-choice question has one correct response and three incorrect responses, or distractors.
• A multiple-response question has two or more correct responses out of five or more options.

Lastly, I scheduled and took my certification exam and successfully passed the exams which felt amazingly good, I know it's just a starting point of my cloud journey, but what a great way to end the year and get ready for the new year and what's to come.

if you are thinking about taking the exam just go for it, you will never be ready if you listen to yourself, this feels like the hardest part of the journey but don't be afraid to book your exam here is the link to schedule the exam and set a deadline for yourself.

Conculusion

The journey is a marathon, not a sprint!

it might sound like it's hard but that doesn't mean it's impossible, I've learned a lot in the process and I know am just starting out. I will continue to pursue other certification paths with AWS and I will encourage you to pursue this certification if you are just starting with AWS cloud.

I wish you all the best with your cloud journey!

Feel free to reach me on LinkedIn to keep in touch about your AWS cloud journey or to ask me questions! I’m always happy to discuss with you!