Your Cloud Learning Roadmap

🔄 Quick Recall: In the previous lesson, you explored modern cloud architecture — containers (portable application packages), Kubernetes (container orchestration at scale), and serverless (code that runs only when triggered). You learned that 78% of teams use hybrid architectures combining these technologies. Now you’ll map everything you’ve learned into a personal roadmap.

What You’ve Learned

Over the past seven lessons, you built a cloud computing foundation:

Lesson	What You Learned
Lesson 1	Why cloud computing matters — market, careers, and basics
Lesson 2	Service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and shared responsibility
Lesson 3	AWS vs. Azure vs. Google Cloud — strengths and how to choose
Lesson 4	Hands-on deployment — VMs, static websites, free-tier accounts
Lesson 5	Security fundamentals — IAM, least privilege, encryption, zero trust
Lesson 6	Cost management — FinOps, right-sizing, billing analysis
Lesson 7	Modern architecture — containers, Kubernetes, serverless

You now understand the vocabulary, the concepts, and the critical thinking framework for cloud computing. The next step is turning that foundation into real-world capability.

Build Your Personalized Roadmap

Help me create a cloud learning roadmap.

About me:
- Current role: [your job title]
- Goal: [career change to cloud / add cloud to current role /
  build a specific project / manage cloud for my team]
- Available time: [X hours per week for learning]
- Technical level: [completed beginner course / some programming /
  experienced developer]
- Platform preference: [AWS / Azure / Google Cloud / not sure]
- Budget for learning: [free only / up to $X / employer pays]
- Timeline: [X months to reach my goal]

Create a roadmap with:

1. MONTH 1 - Foundation:
   - Hands-on projects on the free tier
   - Resources (courses, documentation, tutorials)
   - Skills to build

2. MONTH 2-3 - First Certification:
   - Which certification to target and why
   - Study resources (free and paid options)
   - Practice exam recommendations
   - Study schedule fitting my available hours

3. MONTH 4-6 - Specialization:
   - Based on my goal, which area to go deeper in
   - Projects that demonstrate real-world skills
   - Community to join for networking
   - Second certification if applicable

4. ONGOING:
   - How to stay current (cloud evolves fast)
   - Communities, newsletters, events
   - When to add a second cloud platform

✅ Quick Check: Why should hands-on projects come BEFORE certification study in your learning roadmap? Because certification study is 3-4x more effective when you have practical context. When you’ve launched a VM, deployed a website, and configured IAM, exam questions about those topics connect to real experience instead of abstract memorization. Build first, certify second.

Free Learning Resources by Platform

Every major provider offers substantial free learning:

AWS Free Resources:

AWS Skill Builder: 500+ free courses
AWS Free Tier: 12 months of hands-on access
AWS Well-Architected Labs: real-world scenarios
AWS Cloud Quest: gamified cloud learning

Azure Free Resources:

Microsoft Learn: complete learning paths with hands-on labs
Azure Free Account: 25+ always-free services
Azure Fundamentals learning path: 6-10 hours, covers AZ-900

Google Cloud Free Resources:

Google Cloud Skills Boost: labs in real environments
$300 free credits for 90 days
“Getting Started with Google Cloud” path: ~8 hours

The Certification Path

For most beginners, this progression makes sense:

Step 1: Entry-Level (2-4 weeks study)

AWS: Cloud Practitioner ($100)
Azure: AZ-900 Fundamentals ($99)
Google: Cloud Digital Leader ($99)

Step 2: Associate (4-8 weeks study)

AWS: Solutions Architect Associate ($150)
Azure: AZ-104 Administrator ($165)
Google: Associate Cloud Engineer ($200)

Step 3: Professional/Specialty (8-16 weeks study)

Choose based on your career direction: architecture, security, data, DevOps, or AI/ML

The entry-level certification validates everything in this course. The associate-level certification is the most valued by employers for cloud roles.

Project Ideas to Build Your Portfolio

Real projects demonstrate skills better than certifications alone:

Project	Skills Demonstrated	Difficulty
Host a personal website on S3/Blob/Cloud Storage	Static hosting, CDN, DNS, HTTPS	Beginner
Deploy a web app with a database	PaaS, managed databases, environment variables	Beginner+
Set up a CI/CD pipeline	Automation, version control, deployment	Intermediate
Build a serverless API	Lambda/Functions, API Gateway, DynamoDB	Intermediate
Design a multi-tier architecture	VPC, subnets, load balancing, auto-scaling	Advanced

Key Takeaways

Hands-on building on free-tier accounts is the most effective learning method — build first, certify second
Start with an entry-level certification (Cloud Practitioner, AZ-900, or Cloud Digital Leader) as a 2-4 week project that validates fundamentals
All three major providers offer substantial free learning resources — AWS Skill Builder, Microsoft Learn, and Google Cloud Skills Boost provide hundreds of hours of content
Real projects (hosted websites, deployed apps, serverless APIs) demonstrate skills more convincingly than certifications alone
Cloud learning is ongoing — the technology evolves rapidly, and staying current through communities, newsletters, and hands-on experimentation is essential