01 · CORE
Systems & networking
Understand what the cloud is abstracting before you automate it.
- Linux command line and processes
- DNS, HTTP, IP, subnets, and routing
- Identity, permissions, and least privilege
A clearer route into cloud
Learn the cloud by building in it.
Choose a platform and a role. We’ll connect the right fundamentals, certification milestones, practical projects, and automation skills—without the expensive detours.
Start with:AWSMicrosoft AzureGoogle Cloud
1 · Choose your cloud
2 · Choose your direction
Your suggested route
AWS · Solutions Architect
6–9 months · beginner friendly
Certification is the checkpoint—not the curriculum. Build each project before booking the next exam.
Strong foundations
Three skills every cloud path needs
Provider knowledge matters. So do the fundamentals that travel with you to every platform.
02 · BUILD
Infrastructure as code
Make every lab repeatable, reviewable, and safe to remove.
- Git and pull-request workflow
- Terraform fundamentals
- Native templates: CloudFormation, Bicep, or Deployment Manager
03 · OPERATE
Cost & observability
A useful cloud engineer can explain both health and spend.
- Budgets and billing alerts first
- Logs, metrics, traces, and alarms
- Tagging, teardown, and cost reviews
Your first month
A 30-day cloud launch plan
Four focused weeks. One small portfolio project. No endless tutorial queue.
Map the territory
Learn regions, availability zones, identity, shared responsibility, and the core compute, network, storage, and database services.
Ship:A one-page architecture glossary in your own words.Build manually
Create a private network, deploy a small workload, add logging, and prove that access rules behave as expected.
Ship:An architecture diagram plus setup notes.Automate it
Rebuild the same environment with Terraform and Git. Use variables, outputs, formatting, and a clean destroy step.
Ship:A public repo with no secrets or account identifiers.Operate & explain
Add an alert, test a failure, inspect logs, estimate cost, and document the design tradeoffs you made.
Ship:A short runbook and a two-minute demo.Low-cost home labs
Small enough to afford. Real enough to matter.
Start with a budget alert, use the smallest eligible services, and remove resources when the session ends.
LAB 01 · BEGINNER
Static site delivery
Publish a small site through object storage and a CDN, connect DNS, enforce HTTPS, and capture access logs.
Your code
Git repository
Git repository
→
Object storage
Private origin
Private origin
→
CDN + HTTPS
Public edge
Public edge
Cost guardrail: set a tiny monthly budget and teardown checklist before creating resources. Free offers and limits change—confirm them on the provider’s pricing page.
LAB 02 · INTERMEDIATE
Serverless API
API endpoint → function → managed key-value database, with structured logs and an error alarm.
IdentityAPIsNoSQLMonitoring
LAB 03 · AUTOMATION
Disposable network
Build a network, subnets, route rules, and a tiny compute instance entirely from code—then destroy it cleanly.
TerraformNetworkingGitCost control
Automation toolkit
Learn the tools that compound
Start with one tool in each category. Add complexity only when a project demands it.
Terraform
A consistent infrastructure workflow across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
Provider CLIs
Use AWS CLI, Azure CLI, or gcloud to inspect, script, and troubleshoot resources.
GitHub Actions
Run checks and controlled deployments from versioned workflows.
Ansible
Configure operating systems and software after infrastructure exists.
Official starting points
Learn from the source
Use vendor learning plans and exam guides as the spine; use projects to turn knowledge into skill.
Pick one cloud. Build one useful thing.
Your first project will teach you more than another week of comparison.