AWS Learning Roadmap with Free Tier

6-Month Learning Journey

Month 1-2: AWS Fundamentals

Budget: $50-70

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand AWS global infrastructure
  • Master core services (EC2, S3, IAM, VPC)
  • Basic security and networking
  • AWS CLI and SDK basics

Curriculum:

Week 1: Getting Started

  • Complete 5 credit-earning tasks
  • Set up billing alerts and budgets
  • Explore AWS Console
  • Create first EC2 instance
  • Hands-on: Deploy simple web server

Week 2: Storage & Databases

  • S3 buckets and lifecycle policies
  • EBS volumes and snapshots
  • RDS setup and management
  • Hands-on: Build file upload system

Week 3: Networking

  • VPC concepts and setup
  • Security Groups vs NACLs
  • Internet Gateway and NAT
  • Hands-on: Multi-tier network architecture

Week 4: Identity & Security

  • IAM users, groups, roles
  • Policies and permissions
  • MFA setup
  • Hands-on: Secure multi-user environment

Projects:

  1. Personal Blog Website

    • EC2 + RDS + S3
    • Cost: ~$25/month

  2. File Sharing System

    • S3 + Lambda + API Gateway
    • Cost: ~$10/month

Month 3-4: Intermediate Services

Budget: $60-80

Learning Objectives:

  • Serverless computing with Lambda
  • API development with API Gateway
  • Container basics with ECS
  • Monitoring with CloudWatch

Curriculum:

Week 5: Serverless Computing

  • Lambda functions and triggers
  • API Gateway setup
  • DynamoDB operations
  • Hands-on: REST API backend

Week 6: Application Integration

  • SQS and SNS messaging
  • EventBridge event routing
  • Step Functions workflows
  • Hands-on: Event-driven architecture

Week 7: Containers & Orchestration

  • Docker basics
  • ECS clusters and services
  • ECR container registry
  • Hands-on: Containerized web app

Week 8: Monitoring & Logging

  • CloudWatch metrics and alarms
  • CloudTrail audit logging
  • X-Ray distributed tracing
  • Hands-on: Comprehensive monitoring setup

Projects: 3. Serverless Todo API

  • Lambda + API Gateway + DynamoDB
  • Cost: ~$15/month
  1. Microservices Architecture
    • ECS + ALB + RDS
    • Cost: ~$35/month

Month 5-6: Advanced Architecture

Budget: $70-90

Learning Objectives:

  • Design scalable architectures
  • Implement CI/CD pipelines
  • Advanced security practices
  • Cost optimization strategies

Curriculum:

Week 9: Advanced Networking

  • VPC Peering and Transit Gateway
  • Direct Connect concepts
  • CloudFront CDN setup
  • Hands-on: Global application architecture

Week 10: DevOps & CI/CD

  • CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy
  • CodePipeline automation
  • Infrastructure as Code (CloudFormation)
  • Hands-on: Automated deployment pipeline

Week 11: Advanced Security

  • AWS WAF and Shield
  • Secrets Manager
  • Certificate Manager
  • Hands-on: Secure production environment

Week 12: Optimization & Best Practices

  • Cost optimization techniques
  • Performance tuning
  • Disaster recovery planning
  • Hands-on: Production-ready architecture

Projects: 5. E-commerce Platform

  • Multi-tier architecture
  • Auto-scaling, load balancing
  • Cost: ~$45/month
  1. Data Analytics Pipeline
    • S3 + Glue + Athena + QuickSight
    • Cost: ~$25/month

Certification Path

AWS Cloud Practitioner (Month 2)

  • Exam Cost: $100
  • Preparation: 2-3 weeks
  • Success Rate: 90%+ with proper preparation

AWS Solutions Architect Associate (Month 4-5)

  • Exam Cost: $150
  • Preparation: 4-6 weeks
  • Success Rate: 70%+ with hands-on experience

AWS Solutions Architect Professional (Month 6+)

  • Exam Cost: $300
  • Preparation: 8-12 weeks
  • Success Rate: 50%+ with extensive experience

Learning Resources

Free Resources:

Community Resources: