🧠 What I Wish I Knew Before Working with AWS From a Cloud Engineer's Desk

When I started working with AWS, I thought I just needed to learn EC2, S3, and maybe Lambda. But here's the truth: AWS is not just a cloud platform - it's a mindset shift.

Looking back, there are things I really wish I had known earlier - not just technical concepts, but how to approach AWS smartly, avoid burnout, and think like an engineer.

Here are the top things I learned the hard way - so you don't have to.

☁️ 1. AWS Isn't Hard - It's Huge
AWS has 200+ services. You're not supposed to master all of them.

🔍 What I do now:
 I focus on the core services that matter for my projects. For me, that includes EC2, IAM, VPC, S3, Lambda, CloudWatch, and Terraform. Everything else is optional until needed.

👉 Tip: Start with projects, not certifications. Real-world scenarios teach better than multiple-choice questions.

🔒 2. IAM is the Heart of Everything
You can't do anything in AWS without Identity and Access Management (IAM). I ignored it at first - then spent hours debugging permissions and policy issues.

🔍 What I do now:
 I treat IAM as part of security and DevOps, not just configuration. I version control IAM policies and follow the principle of least privilege.

👉 Tip: Learn how IAM roles, policies, and trust relationships work. This knowledge will save you countless hours.

🔁 3. Repetition Builds Intuition

You don't become good at AWS by watching tutorials - you get there by:

• Launching EC2s (and breaking them)
• Writing broken CloudFormation or Terraform scripts
• Debugging VPC misconfigurations

🔍 What I do now:

 I build labs, write Infrastructure as Code, and break things intentionally - because fixing them is where the learning happens.

👉 Tip: Deploy a static website using S3 + CloudFront + Route 53 + ACM. It's a great exercise to understand how AWS services work together.

⚙️ 4. DevOps and AWS Go Hand in Hand

You don't "do DevOps" after AWS - you do DevOps with AWS.
Whether it's CI/CD, monitoring, auto-healing infrastructure, or IaC - AWS offers services designed for a DevOps mindset.

🔍 What I do now:
 I use Terraform, CodePipeline, CloudWatch, and Lambda to automate and optimize cloud operations. DevOps isn't just tools - it's how you think and build.

👉 Tip: Think in pipelines and systems, not manual steps.

🌍 5. Multi-Cloud is Real - But AWS is Still King

Yes, I explore Azure and GCP. But for now, AWS still leads, especially in infrastructure flexibility, community support, and breadth of services.

🔍 What I do now:
 I stay strong in AWS, but experiment across other clouds to keep my perspective sharp.

👉 Tip: Be cloud-agnostic in design - but deep in one provider.

🎯 Final Thoughts: Cloud is a Career, Not a Checklist

AWS has taught me more than just tech - it's taught me how to learn better, build smarter, and think long-term.

If you're just starting out, don't be overwhelmed. Pick one project, go deep, and share what you learn.

That's why I'm writing this - and why I'll continue sharing my journey.

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📌 Originally published on Medium: From a Cloud Engineer’s Desk

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