This Is How I Taught Myself Cloud Engineering - Part II
This roadmap helped me level up. Now I design and build production systems that serve real customers.
Welcome back to this new edition of What’s New Cloud Newsletter, where I share my insights on AWS cloud, AI/ML news, Terraform feature updates and DevOps Trends.
This is Part II of our production-ready roadmap for learning AWS and Cloud Engineering.
If you missed Part I, you can read it here.
Let’s continue:
4. Specialize: Build Real AWS Architectures (Production Patterns)
Go beyond tutorials. Build architectures real companies use today.
Focus on:
→ Event-driven architectures (SQS, SNS, EventBridge)
→ API-driven services (API Gateway, Lambda, ECS)
→ Secure networking (PrivateLink, Transit Gateway)
→ Data storage patterns (DynamoDB, Aurora, S3 intelligence)
Top Courses I Recommend:
AWS Architecting Specialization
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/aws-architectAWS Well-Architected Framework
https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/aws-well-architected-frameworkAWS Serverless Microservices with AWS Lambda & API Gateway
https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-serverless-a-complete-guide
5. Build End-to-End Production Projects (This Is Where It Clicks)
If you want to stand out, you need projects that look like real work.
Build projects like:
→ A serverless API with Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway
→ CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions + AWS CodeBuild
→ A VPC-secure three-tier architecture
→ A multi-region disaster-recovery setup
→ A cost-optimized data lake with S3 + Athena
Top hands-on resources:
6. Learn Cloud Operations, Security & MLOps (Production Reality)
This is what separates hobbyists from real cloud engineers.
Focus on:
→ Monitoring, logging, incident response
→ IAM security, least privilege, access boundaries
→ Scaling, load balancing, blue/green deployments
→ Cost optimization
→ MLOps for production AI/ML apps (SageMaker, CI/CD, inference)
Top Resources:
AWS Cloud Security
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/aws-securityAWS Monitoring & Observability
https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-monitoringPluralsight – AWS Networking & Security
https://www.pluralsight.com/paths/aws-networking-securityDevOps and AI on AWS Specialization
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/devops-ai-aws
My Take
Most people stop after learning AWS basics. Some stop at serverless.
Almost everyone stops before Ops + Security + Architecture.
You don’t need every resource. Pick the ones aligned with your goals.
But if you want production-ready AWS Cloud Engineering skills, don’t skip the engineering fundamentals.
Share this with someone who needs a production-focused AWS roadmap.
Stay tuned for more updates. I cover cloud news, AWS releases, AI/ML changes, Terraform automation, and the trends shaping DevOps—three times a week, all in one place.