How to Get a Job in AWS as a Fresher

Landing your first AWS job has gotten complicated with all the certifications, bootcamps, and conflicting advice flying around. As someone who started from scratch with zero cloud experience and eventually built a career in AWS, I learned everything there is to know about breaking into this field. Today, I will share it all with you.

Understanding AWS and Its Importance

Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Before you chase AWS jobs, you need to understand why companies are hiring for these roles in the first place. AWS runs a massive chunk of the internet. Netflix, Airbnb, NASA, the CDC — they all run on AWS. That creates an enormous demand for people who know how to work with these services.

The market isn’t slowing down either. Every year more companies migrate to the cloud, and every year they need more people to manage their infrastructure. I’ve watched this trend for years now and the demand curve just keeps going up. That’s great news if you’re trying to break in.

Learning AWS Basics

Here’s where most freshers go wrong: they try to learn everything at once. AWS has over 200 services. Nobody learns all of them. Nobody needs to. When I was starting out, I focused on five core services and that was enough to get my first job.

Start with these: EC2 (virtual servers), S3 (storage), IAM (permissions), VPC (networking), and Lambda (serverless compute). Get comfortable spinning up instances, storing files, creating users with proper permissions, and setting up basic networking. If you can do those things confidently, you’re already ahead of most people applying for entry-level roles.

AWS has a free tier that gives you 12 months of limited access to core services. Use it. Don’t just read about EC2 instances — launch one. Install a web server on it. Point a domain at it. Break it and fix it. That hands-on experience is worth more than any tutorial you’ll watch.

Obtaining AWS Certification

I’ll be straight with you — the Cloud Practitioner certification alone won’t get you hired. But it will get your resume past automated screening systems and show hiring managers you’re serious. It took me about three weeks of studying to pass it.

After Cloud Practitioner, go for the Solutions Architect Associate. This is the cert that actually moves the needle. It covers architecture, security, networking, and cost optimization — basically everything a junior cloud engineer needs to know. Most hiring managers I’ve talked to consider this the minimum credible certification for AWS roles.

Study resources I’d recommend: Stephane Maarek’s courses on Udemy (worth every penny), the AWS Skill Builder free content (surprisingly good), and Tutorials Dojo practice exams (the closest thing to the real exam I’ve found).

Building Practical Experience

That’s what makes the AWS job market endearing to us cloud professionals — they value what you can build more than where you went to school. You don’t need a fancy degree. You need proof that you can actually do the work.

Build projects. Real ones. Here’s what I built before getting my first job:

• A static website hosted on S3 with CloudFront CDN and a custom domain
• A serverless REST API using Lambda, API Gateway, and DynamoDB
• A basic CI/CD pipeline using CodePipeline and CodeBuild
• A multi-AZ web application with an ALB and Auto Scaling group

Put them on GitHub. Write about what you built and the problems you solved. That portfolio is what got me interviews, not my resume bullet points.

Engaging in AWS Community

The AWS community is genuinely welcoming to newcomers. I was nervous about engaging at first but quickly realized that experienced professionals actually enjoy helping people break in. Here’s where to connect:

• Join your local AWS User Group — most major cities have one, and many run virtual meetups
• Participate in AWS Community Days and re:Invent (there’s a virtual option that’s free)
• Follow AWS heroes and community builders on LinkedIn and Twitter
• Contribute to open-source AWS projects on GitHub, even documentation improvements count
• Start a blog or create content about what you’re learning — this is how I built my professional network

Applying for Jobs

When you’re ready to apply, focus on titles like “Junior Cloud Engineer,” “Associate Cloud Administrator,” or “Cloud Support Associate.” Don’t aim for Solutions Architect roles right out of the gate — work your way up. I started as a cloud support engineer and moved into architecture within two years.

Tailor your resume for each application. Use keywords from the job description. Highlight your certifications, projects, and any hands-on experience. And don’t skip the cover letter — it’s your chance to show personality and explain why you’re passionate about cloud technology. Hiring managers do read them, despite what the internet tells you.

Final Thoughts

Breaking into AWS without experience is absolutely possible. It takes dedication, smart studying, and hands-on practice, but the payoff is worth it. The salaries are strong, the work is interesting, and the demand isn’t going anywhere. Start building, get certified, engage with the community, and apply relentlessly. You’ll land something. I did, and so can you.