From IT Technician to Cloud: My AWS SimuLearn Cloud Practitioner Journey

Ishu — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 04:28:53 +0000

A few days ago, I completed the AWS SimuLearn: Cloud Practitioner (Trained) certification from AWS Training & Certification — and I wanted to share not just the badge, but the story behind it.

Where I'm Starting From

I've spent the last 1.5+ years working as an IT Technician, dealing with real systems, real troubleshooting, and real problems that don't always have textbook solutions. Alongside that, I'm done CCNA certification, which gave me a strong foundation in networking — subnetting, routing, switching, the whole deal.

Now, I'm consciously shifting my focus toward Cloud Computing, and this AWS SimuLearn badge is my first official step in that direction.

What I Actually Learned

SimuLearn isn't just theory — it's a simulation-based, hands-on approach to learning AWS. Through this training, I got practical exposure to:

Compute services (like EC2) — understanding how virtual servers work in the cloud
Networking fundamentals in AWS — VPCs, security groups, and how traffic flows
Database services — the basics of managed databases on AWS
Security concepts — IAM, least privilege, and securing cloud resources

Coming from a networking and IT support background, a lot of these concepts clicked faster than I expected — turns out, on-prem troubleshooting skills translate surprisingly well to the cloud.

Why This Matters to Me

I didn't want this to be "just another badge" collecting dust. My goal is to build a genuine career in Cloud Computing, and I'm treating this as the starting point of a longer roadmap:

✅ AWS SimuLearn: Cloud Practitioner (Trained) — Done
🎯 AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (official exam) — Next
🎯 AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate — After that
🎯 Hands-on projects — deploying real infrastructure, not just reading docs
What's Next

I'll be documenting my prep, notes, and small projects here on Dev.to as I go — partly to hold myself accountable, and partly because writing things down helps me actually understand them.

If you're on a similar path — moving from traditional IT/networking into cloud — I'd genuinely love to connect and exchange notes. And if you've already made this switch, I'm all ears for advice on what helped you the most.

Here's my completion certificate as proof of the milestone:

You can also check out what I'm building on GitHub.

Thanks for reading — more updates soon as I work toward the official certification!

Verify my badge: AWS SimuLearn Cloud Practitioner Badge

From IT Technician to Cloud & DevOps: My Journey Has Just Begun

Ishu — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 07:06:04 +0000

From IT Technician to Cloud & DevOps: My Journey Has Just Begun

Hi DEV Community!

This is my very first post here, even though I've been part of this community for over a year (yes, I just unlocked the One Year Club badge and realized I never actually posted anything ). So let's fix that.

Where I'm starting from

I'm currently pursuing my BCA, and alongside my studies, I work as an IT Technician — a role I've been in for about 1.5 years now. My day-to-day involves troubleshooting systems, handling support tickets, and keeping things running smoothly for end users.

It's a solid job, and it's taught me a lot about how infrastructure actually behaves in the real world — not just in theory. But somewhere along the way, I realized I wanted to go deeper. I didn't just want to fix systems when they broke; I wanted to understand how to build, automate, and scale them.

That's what pulled me toward Cloud and DevOps.

Why AWS and DevOps?

A few reasons, honestly:

IT support gave me the "what." DevOps is teaching me the "why" and "how" — why systems fail, how automation prevents that, and how infrastructure can be designed instead of just maintained.
AWS is everywhere. Almost every company I look at, big or small, is running something on AWS. Learning it felt like the most practical next step.
I like fixing things at the root. DevOps culture — automating repetitive tasks, catching issues before they become incidents — matches how I already think as a support technician, just at a bigger scale.

What I'm learning right now

I'm currently getting hands-on with:

Core AWS services — EC2, S3, IAM, and VPC fundamentals
Linux — because almost everything in this ecosystem runs on it
Git & GitHub — version control basics and workflows
Docker — understanding containers and why they matter
Shell scripting — automating the small repetitive stuff first

Nothing fancy yet. I'm deliberately going slow and making sure I actually understand each piece instead of rushing to collect certifications.

The honest part

Balancing a full-time IT job, BCA coursework, and self-learning AWS/DevOps is not easy. Some days I only get 30–45 minutes to study. But I've learned that consistency beats intensity — a little bit of hands-on practice every day adds up faster than I expected.

I'm also learning to embrace not knowing things. Coming from support, I was used to having answers. In DevOps, I'm often the one Googling errors at 11 PM — and that's okay. It's part of the process.

What's next

My near-term goals:

Get comfortable enough with AWS to build small real projects (not just tutorials)
Learn CI/CD basics with GitHub Actions or Jenkins
Eventually move from "IT Technician" to a Cloud/DevOps role.

I'll be documenting this journey here on DEV — the wins, the confusing errors, and everything in between. If you're on a similar path (support/helpdesk → DevOps/Cloud), I'd genuinely love to connect and swap notes.

Thanks for reading my first post — more (and hopefully more technical) ones coming soon!

DEV Community: Ishu

From IT Technician to Cloud: My AWS SimuLearn Cloud Practitioner Journey

From IT Technician to Cloud & DevOps: My Journey Has Just Begun

From IT Technician to Cloud & DevOps: My Journey Has Just Begun

Where I'm starting from

Why AWS and DevOps?

What I'm learning right now

The honest part

What's next