How to Create a Custom AWS Learning Roadmap

By Shweta | 29th July 2025

If you’re just getting started with AWS or aiming to advance your cloud career, you’ve probably asked yourself:

“Where do I even begin with AWS?”
“There are so many services… How do I make a plan?”
“How do I go from beginner to confident cloud architect?”

You’re not alone—and the answer is simple: Build your own custom AWS learning roadmap.

With the right structure (and the right training partner like Cloud Institution), you can go from cloud beginner to job-ready without feeling overwhelmed or lost. Let’s walk through this step by step—human to human.

Step 1: Know Where You’re Headed

Before you even open the AWS console, take a moment to define your why.

Ask yourself:

Am I aiming to become a Cloud Engineer or DevOps Engineer?
Do I want to pass the AWS Certified Solutions Architect exam?
Am I preparing for a career switch into cloud computing?
Do I want to build real projects that matter?

Knowing your end goal will help you stay focused, especially when the learning curve gets steep.

Tip from Cloud Institution: During orientation, students get a career planning call to help choose the right AWS track—Architect, DevOps, or Full-Stack Cloud. That clarity upfront makes all the difference.

Step 2: Build Your Cloud Foundation (Weeks 1–2)

Let’s keep it simple.

Start with the basics of cloud computing and get familiar with the AWS ecosystem:

What to Learn:

What is cloud computing?
How AWS compares with Azure/GCP
Global infrastructure: Regions, AZs, Edge Locations
IAM (users, roles, policies)
Billing, pricing, and support tiers

Start Practicing:

Create a free AWS account
Explore the AWS Free Tier
Launch your first EC2 instance (virtual server)

Need help?
Cloud Institution offers free AWS foundational lessons, beginner-friendly workshops, and weekly live Q&A to make sure you’re never stuck.

Step 3: Dive Into Core AWS Services (Weeks 3–6)

This is where your AWS journey really begins. You’ll start understanding how services work together to build real apps and systems.

Learn These Key Services:

Domain	Services
Compute	EC2, Auto Scaling, Lambda
Storage	S3, EBS
Networking	VPC, Load Balancer, Route 53
Databases	RDS, DynamoDB
Security	IAM, KMS, CloudTrail
Monitoring	CloudWatch

Cloud Institution labs let you practice all of these inside a sandbox environment—without risk of surprise AWS bills.

Step 4: Build Hands-On Projects (Weeks 6–8)

Reading is good. Doing is better. Start applying what you’ve learned with mini-projects.

Beginner Projects You Can Try:

Host a Static Website using S3 + CloudFront
Deploy a WordPress App on EC2 + RDS
Create a Serverless REST API using Lambda + API Gateway
Build a VPC with public and private subnets

These projects simulate what cloud engineers do in the real world—and they look great on your resume.

Start here:
How to Build Real‑World Projects During AWS Training

Cloud Institution provides step-by-step real projects, plus code templates, architecture diagrams, and one-on-one reviews to ensure you’re building correctly.

Step 5: Understand AWS Security & IAM (Weeks 8–9)

Security is a must-know topic—whether you’re a developer, architect, or sysadmin.

Learn About:

IAM roles vs users
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Shared Responsibility Model
Encryption with AWS KMS
Logging & compliance with CloudTrail

Cloud Institution includes a full Security in AWS module with real-world examples and best practices used by enterprises.

Step 6: Explore Automation & DevOps Tools (Weeks 10–12)

At this point, you know how to deploy manually. Now it’s time to automate.
Focus Areas:
- Infrastructure as Code: Terraform, CloudFormation
- CI/CD: CodePipeline, Jenkins
- Docker + ECS (Containers on AWS)
- Monitoring & logging with CloudWatch
Relevant resource:
Running Your First Terraform Program on AWS
Cloud Institution’s DevOps path includes dedicated hands-on labs for Terraform, Jenkins, and Docker—plus real CI/CD pipelines you can reuse

Step 7: Prepare for AWS Certification (Weeks 12–14)

If your goal is to get certified, now is the time to align your knowledge with the AWS exam blueprint.
Target Certifications:
- Cloud Practitioner (for absolute beginners)
- Solutions Architect Associate (most popular)
- SysOps/DevOps Associate (for hands-on professionals)
How to Prepare:
- Review official exam guides from AWS
- Take practice exams
- Use flashcards for services & pricing models
- Join a study group (Cloud Institution hosts weekly live mock sessions)
Start practicing here:
AWS Solutions Architect Questions and Answers Part-1

Step 8: Launch Your Career (Ongoing)

You’ve done the hard work. Now it’s time to put your skills into action:

Build Your Portfolio:

Publish AWS projects on GitHub
Write case studies on how you built your VPC or CI/CD pipeline
Contribute to AWS open-source projects

Start Job Hunting:

Apply for internships, junior cloud engineer roles
Freelance on Upwork or Fiverr (setup S3 websites, Lambda APIs, etc.)
Attend AWS Career Fairs & webinars

Cloud Institution offers job placement support, resume building, and mock interviews—plus lifetime access to updated material.

Bonus: Use Cloud Institution to Customize Your Plan

If you want a guided AWS learning experience, Cloud Institution provides:

Personalized career track (DevOps, Architect, Developer)
Weekly project-building challenges
Hands-on labs with real AWS accounts
AWS credit sponsorship for projects
Certification mentorship and exam prep
Interview readiness training

Check out:
What’s Included in AWS Training Subscription Plans?

Final Roadmap Snapshot

Phase	Duration	Outcome
Cloud Basics	Week 1–2	Understand AWS ecosystem & pricing
Core Services	Week 3–6	Master EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS, etc.
Project-Based Learning	Week 6–8	Deploy real-world apps & architectures
Security & Best Practices	Week 8–9	Secure your AWS account & resources
Automation/DevOps	Week 10–12	Learn Terraform, CI/CD, Containers
Certification Prep	Week 12–14	Get ready for AWS Associate exams
Career Launch	Ongoing	Build resume, get interviews, get hired

Final Thoughts

Creating a custom AWS roadmap isn’t about cramming all 200 services. It’s about choosing the right path for your goals—and staying consistent.

With the help of platforms like Cloud Institution, you don’t just learn theory—you build, practice, and prepare for real cloud careers.

If you’re ready to start, I can help you personalize this roadmap based on your experience level and goals.

Would you like a weekly planner or project roadmap? Let’s build one together!