Welcome to the very beginning of my cloud journey and the launch of a new blog series I’m calling “From Cloud Newbie to Architect.”
Hi, I’m Tanya, and this might just be the millionth time I’ve decided to dive into something new in tech.
At first, I thought I’d become a blockchain engineer. Then I shifted gears and pursued .NET development. Before I could fully settle into that, I found myself working in AI testing and eventually with a company called Tomorrow’s AI. It felt like everything was nudging me toward AI, so I seriously considered making it my focus.
But during my time at Tomorrow’s AI, I ended up working mostly with AWS and web technologies — and I loved it. That’s when things finally clicked. I realized that what truly excites me isn’t just AI or blockchain (though I’m still interested in both), but designing scalable, cloud-based solutions.
So now, I’m officially pivoting toward something that’s been calling to me more and more: cloud architecture, more specifically, becoming a Solutions Architect. That doesn’t mean I’m ruling out AI, development, or anything else. I’m just choosing to lean into the path that feels the most aligned with what I enjoy and where I want to grow.
Why AWS and Why now?
Why not? After building a few cloud-based projects using AWS services and integrating third-party tools like SendGrid and Twilio and our websites, I realized something important. I don’t just love writing code; I love building systems that connect everything together. Whether it’s wiring up event-driven workflows with Lambda, API Gateway, and EventBridge, or triggering real-world actions like emails and texts, I’m most excited when I’m designing the bigger picture. This path blends two things I’ve always been passionate about: planning and technology. So now, I’m going all in.
I’m currently reviewing the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner material to build a strong foundation and get a broad understanding of the core AWS services. I’m not planning to take the certification exam for this one. I just want to make sure I don’t skip any essential concepts that could help me later.
Once I’ve got the fundamentals down, my goal is to study for and earn both the AWS Solutions Architect Associate and the AWS Developer Associate certifications, back-to-back. These two paths overlap a lot and I want to understand not just how to architect cloud solutions, but also how to build them.
What to Expect from This Series
Each week, I’ll share a post capturing my progress. I will go over the wins, the roadblocks, and everything in between. My goal is to make this series as honest and useful as possible, both for myself and for anyone else starting their cloud journey.
In each post, I’ll include:
- Key AWS concepts I studied that week
- A hands-on mini project using real AWS services
- Reflections and lessons learned, including what clicked and what didn’t
- Questions I had along the way
- Occasional notes or standalone posts to explain specific topics I want to remember or help others understand
I’ll be mostly using Mammoth Club and ChatGPT as my main learning resources, so I may not always list external links unless I find something especially helpful. I also may or may not share a detailed roadmap for the week ahead. I like to leave room for flexibility based on what grabs my interest or how deep I want to go. My current plan is to write this blog series alongside building a small project each week that will a have separate post (and possibly a GitHub repo) for each one. But I’m also mindful of burnout. I don’t want to get so caught up in creating content or staying “busy” that I lose focus on what matters most, actually learning and growing.
What Else I Will Be Working On
This isn’t just about passing exams, I will also be:
- Rebuilding my portfoli to highlight AWS projects
- Publishing every project on GitHub with full documentation and architecture diagrams
- Writing notes, walkthroughs, and mini-guides to help others learn from my process
Why I am Sharing This Publicly
I’m writing this blog to keep myself accountable and to reinforce what I’m learning through teaching and reflection. But more than that, I hope it helps others. Whether they are just starting out in tech, exploring cloud for the first time, or thinking about making a career switch, I hope that this will help others. I also want this blog to show future employers that I’m not just studying cloud, but I’m actively building, learning by doing, and fully committed to this path.
Next Up, Week 1
I plan to write what I learned about AWS fundamentals and my first impressions of the Cloud Practitioner material. I will be sure to include any confusion that I have and any answers that I sought out. Without going over the material, I am not sure if there is a specific project that I can include that goes over the material learned. I will be sure to include one if there is and plan for future projects. If so:
Let’s Learn together and build something amazing!