I come across a lot of resources, programs, and scholarships related to learning about and working with Amazon Web Services (AWS). I’ll be periodically updating this page as I find more. Have a recommendation? Leave me a comment!
Table of Contents
AWS Career Training Programs
AWS re/Start
AWS re/Start is a free cohort-based career development training program that prepares under/unemployed individuals for careers in the cloud and connects them to potential employers.
AWS re/Start provides:
- Coursework and hands-on labs to help students gain technical skills for mid-level cloud roles
- Professional skills training like resume/interview coaching to prepare for job interviews
- Access to AWS Emergent Talent Community upon graduation
- Connections with potential employers
- Complimentary AWS Certification exams
As of December 2022, they are providing this training program in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, and North America. Some are in-person, and others remote.
- Link: https://aws.amazon.com/training/restart/
- Share: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram
AWS Skills Centers
AWS Skills Centers are physical locations for anyone in the local community curious about cloud computing, providing cloud skills training, interactive exhibits, and free career networking and job placement events with local employers and organizations. They provide in-person classroom training and virtual classroom trainings for free.
Currently, there are locations in Seattle, WA and Arlington, VA, with more in the plans!
- Link: https://aws.amazon.com/training/skills-centers/
- Share: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram
AWS Training Resources
AWS Cloud Quest
AWS Cloud Quest gamifies learning and demonstrating in-demand cloud skills. You can play the Cloud Practitioner role game for free. Currently available role-specific tracks are:
- Cloud Practitioner
- Solutions Architect
- Serverless Developer
- Machine Learning
- Security
- Data Analytics
- Link: https://aws.amazon.com/training/digital/aws-cloud-quest/
- Share: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram
AWS Educate
AWS Educate provides hundreds of hours of free self-paced training and hands-on labs for complete beginners and advanced learners. Learners also have access the AWS Educate Job Board to search for an apply to thousands of jobs and internships with organizations all around the world partnering with AWS Educate to hire entry-level cloud talent. You can also earn digital badges you can share with your network!
- Link: https://aws.amazon.com/education/awseducate/
- Share: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram
AWS Skill Builder
AWS Skill Builder is a one-stop-shop for AWS’s official Training and Certification resources including courses, exam preparation courses and official practice exams, game-based learning modules, hands-on labs, and learning paths. Many resources are free, but some require a paid subscription.
Learning plans are curated to provide a path to achieve certain learning goals. Many of the resources are available in multiple languages for learners all across the globe.
- Link: https://skillbuilder.aws
- Share: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
AWS re:Skill
re:Skill is a self-training platform to help developers learn and upskill/reskill themselves on the AWS platform using articles, community events, and hands-on workshops. You can earn rewards for completing challenges and build networks.
- Link: https://awsreskill.com
- Share: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
AWS Newbies
AWS Newbies is a study blog for complete newbies to help them begin their journey into Amazon Web Services. When you go through the whole website, you will be fairly well prepared to take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam.
- Link: https://awsnewbies.com
AWS for Non-Engineers
AWS for Non-Engineers series of courses and book introduce Cloud Computing and Amazon Web Services to people with non-traditional technical backgrounds. They provide a pathway from “What is the Cloud?” to sitting for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam for people brand new to IT or Cloud Computing. Full disclosure, I am the author of both the course with LinkedIn Learning and the book published by Manning Publications.
The Introduction to AWS For Non-Engineers courses have been taken over 360,000 times since spring, 2020, and have been translated into Spanish and Portuguese.
- Courses: Introduction to AWS for Non-Engineers with LinkedIn Learning
- Book: AWS for Non-Engineers with Manning Publications
AWS Scholarships
AWS re:Invent All Builders Welcome Grant
As we all know, attending AWS re:Invent in person is expensive. You may have an opportunity to attend AWS re:Invent on a scholarship with AWS re:Invent All Builders Welcome Grant, which provides registration for re:Invent, airfare to Las Vegas, and hotel accommodations for the duration of the conference for underrepresented technologists in first 5 years of their careers.
Recipients of the grant have access to a welcome orientation, reserved seating in the keynotes, meetups, closing remarks with AWS leadership, and other events. All Builders Welcome is an effort to connect global network of builders and allies cognizant of inclusion, diversity, and equity.
Applications generally open around end of June, and close mid-August, so keep your eyes peeled for that year’s applications around then!
- Link: https://reinvent.awsevents.com/community/all-builders-welcome/
- Share: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
AWS Community Programs
AWS Community
AWS Community or AWS Developer Communities is a portal that links to many community generated content, events, and virtual communities. You can connect with an AWS Hero, learn about AWS Community Builders, join an AWS User Group, or start an AWS Cloud Club. You can also read community-authored content on hard-to-solve AWS issues, and learn about any upcoming AWS Developer Events like AWS Community Day, AWS Dev Day, or AWS Online Tech Talks. They also link you to different virtual communities like Developer Podcast and Reddit r/aws.
- Link: https://aws.amazon.com/developer/community
- Share: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
AWS Community Builder
AWS Community Builders program selects AWS builders from around the globe to provide technical resources, education, and networking opportunities to help share AWS knowledge to fellow AWS enthusiasts. You can receive swag and AWS promotional credits as an active AWS Community Builder. You’ll have opportunities to learn about cutting edge and new services and features directly from AWS subject matter experts, and network with fellow AWS Builders as excited as you are about working with AWS!
The program is application-based, and opens up applications 2 times a year. Be sure to reference their FAQ to increase your chance of being accepted: AWS Community Builders Program FAQ.
- Link: https://aws.amazon.com/developer/community/community-builders/
- Share: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
AWS Cloud Club
AWS Cloud Clubs are peer-to-peer student user groups. You could start one up in your region as a Cloud Club Captain! Being a part of an AWS Cloud Club allows you to attend career building events, host hackathons, and earn AWS credits and exam vouchers.
- Link: https://aws.amazon.com/developer/community/students/
- Share: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
AWS Student Hub
AWS Student Hub is a portal of resources for students interested in cloud computing, introducing resources, community events, ways to learn, internships, and more.
AWS User Group
AWS User Groups are AWS-focused peer-to-peer communities that meet regularly to share ideas, answer questions, and learn about different AWS services and best practices. There are currently more than 400 AWS User Groups around the world, ranging from general user groups to specialized user groups (such as those devoted to Databases or Game Tech).
- Link: https://aws.amazon.com/developer/community/usergroups
- Share: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
AWS Technical Resources
AWS Collective on Stack Overflow
AWS Collective on Stack Overflow is a “Collectives” for questions and answers regarding Amazon Web Services, hosted by Stack Overflow.
- Collectives: “dedicated tag-defined spaces on Stack Overflow where you can find relevant information from subject matter experts on specific platforms, ecosystems, or topics”
Through the establishment of AWS Collective, AWS wants to engage and support AWS developers by helping to simplify learning, enable interactions among community members, and providing responses written by AWS subject matter experts.
There are 230,000+ questions with 130+ tags, working as a curated, centralized community resource to find the most up-to-date and relevant solutions to AWS questions.
- Link: https://stackoverflow.com/collectives/aws
- Share: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
AWS re:Post
AWS re:Post is an AWS-run community forum that provides expert advice and answers for AWS-related questions from AWS employees, AWS experts, and fellow AWS technologists. You also have access to resources written by AWS employees and experts.
- Link: https://repost.aws
- Share: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn