Many of us sign into AWS for the first time to learn or build something—whether it’s hosting a web app, running AI models, or automating processes. The urge to dive into a service and figure it out is natural and reflects the curiosity that drives great developers.
But AWS’s complexity can lead to pitfalls we might not see coming, and while mistakes are part of learning, some lessons are best avoided the hard way. To help you make the most of your early AWS experience, here are a few essential tips to stay safe and maximize your time.
Disclaimer
This post is for individuals starting with a personal AWS account. Companies with bigger goals should bring in experts early to build a solid foundation (more on this in a future post).
Here are my top recommendations for Day 1 of your AWS journey:
Safety First
The power and complexity that AWS and other cloud providers are capable of are astonishing, but also present the potential for an innocent mistake or lack of basic knowledge to cause massive damage in the form of data loss or extremely high costs, not to mention the risks of an account getting hijacked because of exposed credentials or anything along those lines.
Make sure you’ve checked these boxes before you move on to the fun stuff:
Secure access
Root Account MFA
Relying on username and password as your lone security mechanism paints a target on your back. Set up MFA for your account or user before you do anything else. Read more on that here.
Do not use your root account
Once that is out the way, you want to use your root account user as little as possible and instead do the following:
Look into creating a IAM user, it’s what you should be using in your day to day work in AWS. If you’re a company or dev team aiming to do serious work, look into setting up federated access through IAM Identity Center.
Regardless of your use case, make it your highest priority to understand the basics of how to access AWS correctly and securely, both through the CLI and the Management Console. You might want to look into this article about securing your AWS account.
Cost alerts
Most AWS services offer a free tier for 12 months or indefinitely, but mistakes can still lead to surprise bills that break the bank. Unfortunately, AWS doesn’t allow you to set a hard spending cap (yes, AWS, this is a complaint), but you can use AWS Budgets to set alerts when your costs exceed a chosen threshold. Learn more here and set it up!
Privacy by default
Managing access and permissions between AWS resources can be challenging, especially early on. Many “solve” this by toggling “allow public access” or using overly broad IAM policies to get things working.
This approach creates serious risks, from resource abuse to data leaks. The urge to “just get things working” often leads to bad habits that aren’t addressed until disaster strikes.
Take the time to understand IAM, VPC, and the services you use.
An ocean of tech
Anytime someone says the know AWS, I reply with a question: which parts of it?
AWS offers over 200 services, spanning areas like container orchestration, compute, CDN, machine learning, and CI/CD. Even AWS employees admit no one fully understands the entire ecosystem. On top of that, the AWS ecosystem is under constant change with floods of updates and new releases.
For us, that means two key takeaways:
Eternal Impostor Syndrome
No matter how good you get at any given area of AWS, there will always be a lot of things you still don’t know, many details you don’t fully grasp. Just like with tech in general, you’ll probably never know it all.
I personally think that is what makes tech so exciting and motivating, but the fact is that there are inevitable slumps where all the stuff we know some times gets overshadowed by the stuff we don’t. It’s a part of the cycle, so you better expect it.
Focus is key
AWS offers virtually infinite services, from general concepts like security and scalability to specific use cases like web hosting, automation, or machine learning. The best way to navigate AWS’s vast ecosystem is to focus on what you’re trying to build or solve. Whether you’re hosting an app or centralising data, focus on the AWS services that best fit your goals.
When I started with AWS, my focus was web development, though I’ve since learned adjacent areas like monitoring and security. But my core toolbox in AWS is constituted of services that, at least in my case, are highly related to software and web development.
The clearer your purpose for using AWS, the easier it is to focus on the services that matter most.
The community
The AWS and tech community is my favorite part of being in this field. Attending meetups and hackathons since 2021 has transformed my motivation and personal development. I’ve met countless inspiring people, made close friends, and explored paths I couldn’t have on my own.
I also love witnessing others’ journeys and how tech culture evolves in different companies. Over time, I’ve become more active in user groups and forums, and I’m constantly amazed at how much there is to learn and experience once you start connecting with people.
Find your community early
Yet, I can’t help but think that I might have been much further along in my own journey and development if I had gotten involved in the community earlier, so my advice is simple:
Find your local tech community early. If your town has an AWS User Group that’s awesome but if not, just find a community around your niche. There’s nothing like being surrounded by inspiring people to propel you forward and thankfully for us in tech, there are plenty of groups to chose from.
The power of mentors
As freeing as a blank page can be, it can get overwhelming to enter a complex domain without a clear direction. Focusing on a specific area helps narrow your scope—like building a house one brick at a time.
Mentors are invaluable for smoothing your learning curve. Meetups and gatherings are great places to find them, but they’re not the only option. The AWS community is vast, with amazing YouTubers, writers, and podcasters.
Here is a list of my personal favorites:
- Ari Palo
- Rossana Suarez (for spanish speakers)
- Yan Cui
- Eric Johnson
- Luc van Donkersgoed (and his site, The Unofficial AWS News Feed)
Explore early to find the voices and formats that resonate most with you.
To summarise
If you’re early on in your AWS journey or maybe just thinking about getting started, the best advice I can give you is:
Be safe
Make sure you’re not setting yourself up for unpleasant surprises and secure your AWS account. Understand how to experiment in a safe and secure way.
Have a focus area
You’ll be tempted to learn it all but the truth is you can’t, especially early on. Many services apply to most of us, but many don’t. The more you can go in with an idea of what it is you want to learn to build, the easier it will be to figure out what to learn and in what order.
Engage in the community, early
Find local user groups, meetups, hackatons and online forums. Explore them early and start finding the groups and environments that suit you. It’s impossible to quantify the value a good community will provide in terms of knowledge, inspiration and bonds, and AWS happens to have one of the most vibrant and engaged communities out there. Use it!
Thanks a ton for reading this far! If you’re early on in your AWS journey I sincerely hope you found some value, and if you’re still on the fence about starting out, listen to Nike: Just Do It
Have anything you’d add to the list? Put it in the comments or reach out to me on LinkedIn or BlueSky, I’ll be happy to chat! 😊
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