🔧 Before You Start: Set Up an AWS Account 🚀 [Part 2]

Hey there, cloud explorers!
🌩️ Welcome back to the AWS Beginners Learning Journey series!
If you caught Part 1, you’ve got the basics down. Now, it’s time to get your hands dirty with hands-on and set up your AWS account—your ticket to the cloud!
Plus, as an added bonus, we’ll secure it with an IAM user to keep things safe. Ready to dive in? Let’s make this quick, fun, and actionable! ✨

🌟 Why Bother with an AWS Account?

An AWS account unlocks the AWS Free Tier—a playground for experimenting with cloud goodies like virtual servers, storage, and more, all for free!
It’s the foundation for epic projects we’ll tackle next, like hosting a website on S3 in Part 3. Let’s get you set up fast!

🛠️ Step 1: Create Your AWS Account

💡 Already have an AWS account?
Feel free to skip this and go straight to the next project in the series. See you there!

🤫 Tip: Want to restart your AWS Free Tier usage? You can set up a new AWS account with the same email address! You can do this with an email alias. For example, if you already have an AWS account under yourname@email.com, try signing up to a new one with yourname+aws@email.com.

But, if you're new to AWS, let’s zip through setting up your AWS account with a step-by-step guide, visuals, and tips to dodge any hiccups!

📋 Quick Steps to AWS Awesomeness!

🔍 Find AWS: Head to Google, search "AWS Console," and click AWS Management Console.
🖱️ Kick Things Off: Hit Create Account on the AWS homepage.
📧 Add Your Info: Enter your email (one tied to your name helps!) and an account name (💡 Tip: Use today’s date to track your Free Tier end).
✅ Verify Email: Click Verify email address, solve the CAPTCHA, grab the code from your inbox, and hit Verify.
🔒 Set Root Password: Pick a strong password, confirm it, and click Continue (step 1/5).
🏠 Fill Personal Details: Choose Personal - for your own projects, add your name, phone number, country, address, city, state, and PIN, then agree to the terms and click Continue (step 2/5).
🛡️ Secure It: Complete any country-specific verification and click Verify and continue (step 3/5).
💳 Billing Setup: Select Personal use and Individual, consent to verification, and click Continue (step 4/5).
📱 Phone Check: Enter your country code and number, click Send SMS, input the code, and submit.

🎉 Boom! You’re In!

You’ll see a shiny "Congratulations!" screen — once your AWS account is live!🚀

📹 Watch It Happen: Interactive Guide

Follow along with this slick visual walkthrough:

🖼️ Snapshots to Guide You

🔍 Search "AWS Console"
🖱️ Click "Create Account"
📧 Enter Email
✅ Verify CAPTCHA
🔒 Set Password

⚠️ Watch Out: Common Snags !!

💳 Credit Card Woes: You’ll need a card with international/national transactions enabled. AWS deducts a tiny fee (refunded almost under 10-mins) to verify you.
📧 Email Hiccups: Check spam if the code’s missing.
📱 SMS Delays: Ensure your number’s correct—codes can take a minute.

🔐 Step 2: Lock It Down with an IAM User

Your account’s ready, but let’s secure it with an IAM user. Why? The root user is your master key—keep it safe and use an IAM user for daily tasks.

🛡️ Why It’s a Must

Root Risks: Full access makes it a security target.
IAM Safety: Limited permissions keep your account locked tight.

📋 IAM User Setup in 10 Minutes

Here’s the step-by-step from the draft, with all the juicy details:

🔑 Log In as Root:
- Sign into the AWS Management Console with your root credentials.
🖥️ Hit the IAM Console:
- Navigate to the IAM Console from the AWS dashboard.
👤 Find Users:
- In the left-hand panel, click Users.
➕ Create User:
- Click Create user.
📝 Name It:
- Enter Yourname-IAM-Admin as the User name.
✅ Console Access:
- Check Provide user access to the AWS Management Console - optional.
- If you see “Are you providing access to a person?”, pick I want to create an IAM user.
🔒 Set Password:
- Select Custom password, type a secure one you’ll recall (💡 Tip: This is your go-to for projects!).
- Uncheck Users must create a new password at next sign-in - Recommended.
⬇️ Next Up:
- Click Next.
🛠️ Grant Permissions:
- Choose Attach policies directly, select AdministratorAccess from the list, then click Next.
✅ Finalize:
- Click Create user. Done!
📂 Save Credentials:
- Click Download .csv file to store your user’s access details.
🔗 Grab the URL:
- Copy the Console sign-in URL.
🚪 Switch Users:
- Log out of root, paste the URL, and log in with your IAM user’s username/password from the .csv.

🙏 Must-Do: Use your IAM user for all AWS tasks—security first!

💡 Quick FAQs

Why the Free Tier Card Ask?
AWS verifies you’re real and covers overages (stay in limits—no charges!).
What’s AWS Support?
Free Basic plan for billing help; paid plans give 24/7 expert access.
Free Stuff?
12 months of EC2, S3, and more, plus always-free Lambda! Details here.

🎉 You’re Set—Let’s Build!

Congrats! Your AWS account and IAM user are ready.
Hit the AWS Management Console and get exploring!
Next up: Part 3 Host a website on S3. 🌐

📚 What’s Next in the Series?

Part 2 of the AWS Beginners Learning Journey is just the start!
Upcoming:

[Part 3] 🌐 Host a Website on Amazon S3
[Part 4] 📊 Visualize Data with QuickSight
[Part 5] 🔐 Cloud Security with AWS IAM

🚀 Don't miss out! Each part builds upon the previous, creating your complete AWS toolkit.

Follow along the series ! →

🙏 Acknowledgments

This learning journey was powered & supported by NextWork's structured approach to cloud education, which made breaking down complex concepts into digestable-byte-sized-hands-on practice accessible through systematic skill building & clear-actionable steps.

This blog is based on - NextWork's AWS Beginners Challenge!