Cloud lunchn learn_howtobecomeacloudarchitect_part2

Azure Dublin Meetu
Hugo Barona Elkhan Yusubov

Overall Agenda (Part I , 2 and 3 ) -

What will we cover in Part 2 ?

Let me (briefly) introduce myself -

Currently , an Assistant Director,
Cloud Practice at EY (Ernst & Young).
Before that I led the CCOE ( Cloud
Centre Of Excellence Team ) at Accenture.
Have 10+ years of IT experience , working on
Cloud since 2017.
But , most importantly (and I want to
focus on this for a minute) , I successfully transitioned
my career
from being a C#,SQL developer
to a CSA(Cloud Solution Architect).

What happened in 2017-2018 ?
1 . Realization that I needed to
transition to something else ( Most
important).
2 . I documented my purpose / future
goals clearly.
3 . Then , I took appropriate steps to
enable my cloud journey.

I want to help you do the same , in case
you guys are interested in making
this transition !!

I will try to leave 5-10 minutes at the
end ,and in-between to address any queries you might
have on this topic.
So , you can ask the questions on chat .
If I cannot answer them during the session
I promise , I will personally reach out to you ,
and answer them later.

What did I learn from my session in Part 1
You all were kind enough to share me
some extensive feedback based on Part 1
, and in spirit of continuous learning and
reinforcement , I have tried to incorporate
the suggestions , into this talk , as much
as possible .

So , what changes ?
1 . You said the session was too long , so I have reduced it to 40
minutes , this time.
2 . You said there was less time for questions , with the reduced
presentation time , the Q&A time will go up automatically.
3 . You said there was not a lot of interaction with the audience . In
this talk , after every major section , I will leave around 5 minutes
for interaction with audience , asking questions , and candid
discussions.
4 . You said you wanted more real-life experiences , so this time I
have modelled this talk around my personal experiences of moving
from a traditional SQL/C# developer background to a full-time
Cloud architect role.

So , let me introduce you to Turja (myself)
We will use my persona to navigate the complex
waters of cloud computing , and also discuss possible solutions
to the issues I faced , during my journey.

To , understand the context and the
background , let us get into a time machine .
And travel back to 2017 .

It’s 2017 .
I am employed as a C#,SQL Developer in PwC
, based out of Kolkata , India

Overall ,
My career was undistinguished .
I felt I was underpaid , and overworked .
I felt I was doing the same thing for a long
time now .
My work was not exciting enough .
Most of all , I was not satisfied and wanted to
change or transition to something new.

But , getting a new job isn’t easy .
I had no distinguishing skills.
No company wanted to pay me more than what I
was currently getting.
Too many engineers were in the market with the
same skill , for me to be able to make a difference.
Surprisingly , sometimes even senior engineers ,
with more experience were getting paid the same ,if
not less.

Luckily , at this time something happened -
The software , created using C# and SQL where I was the tech-lead was being
migrated to Public Cloud ( AWS ) , as we wanted to move from a client-hosted
solution to a SaaS product offering.

This was my turning point -
I knew that I needed to learn Cloud
computing and associated technologies, as
it will quickly become the next big thing .
This will also be my ticket to high-paying
cloud architect/SME jobs.
But , there were quite a few challenges I
needed to overcome .

Challenge 1 -
I was concerned about what will happen
to my existing expertise in C# , SQL ,
programming and so on .
Will it go to waste ?

Myth 1 – Moving to cloud means your existing
expertise will go to waste !
This is the biggest myth of all .
No previous knowledge , be it 5/10/15 years will go to waste
, if you start transitioning to Cloud technologies.
All of it will still matter , and more so , help you in your
journey.
You will be able to pick things up quicker , and map your
existing knowledge to the cloud ecosystem better.

It doesn’t necessarily matter who/where you are right now -
All roads lead to Rome , Cloud Architect
Ref - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2pXoh3Cmo8

Challenge 2 -
How to get started ?
Cloud looks so daunting at first
- What should I start with ?
- Who should I reach out to ?
- Who can help me on this journey ?
- How can I quickly upskill/reskill
myself without spending a lot of
money , or a lot of time ?

Now , I will share what worked for me .
Disclaimer –
There is no need to exactly replicate what I share here .
Do whatever works for you .
This worked for me , does not mean it will work for you .
The circumstances / context might be different for you.
But , still you will get some high-level idea of how to
proceed .

Step 1 – Focus on a single cloud to start with
In hindsight , this was my best decision .
Learning one cloud well enough is difficult , let alone two , or
three .
Quite frankly , most enterprises also rely on a single cloud .
And if you know Azure , you can learn AWS relatively fast , or
vice-versa.
I chose AWS , as it was what my company worked with at
that time .
Tip - Try to choose something that your company is invested
in , will give you more chance to explore stuff during your
office hours.

Step 2 – Watch Level 100 videos on YouTube
For the first month or two , I did not even login to the AWS
console.
I just watched hundreds of Getting Started / Level 100 videos .
Since I was ramping up on AWS , the ReInvent videos were a
great start .
One thing I did at this stage , was focus more on official
vendor/conference videos , rather than individual videos made
by evangelists , in their own channels .
The idea was since I was relatively new at this stage - I wanted
to rely on official , trusted sources . It is very important to
separate out the noise , and focus on information that really
matters.

Step 3 – Get yourself a cloud subscription
This is very important.
At some stage or other I needed to at least login to the portal,
to have a sense of what it was that was displayed during the
Level 100 videos I went through .
But , Most Cloud Service Providers will ask for a credit card ,
which is something many learners face an issue with .
Even I was not comfortable with sharing my credit card details –
what if I get charged a huge bill ?
So , what to do here ?

This is a very, very valid concern.
True story –
I was once got a call from Amazon , saying an AWS account
that was linked with my phone number , had an outstanding
bill of around 22,000 USD .
I was shocked , to say the least .
Thankfully , it was an account linked with my ex-company ,
so they figured it out by themselves .
This actually happened around 3-4 months post me leaving
that company .

However , there are solutions -
- Ensure you have put in place CSP budgets to provide you
alerts when you are about to cross your threshold .
- Always turn off services if you are not using them .
- Most importantly , do not forget about your
accounts(AWS)/subscriptions(Azure)/projects(GCP) ; login at
least once every 2-3 days , and check the cost explorer page
to get some idea of what resources are running , how much
it is costing you.

Also , leverage the CSP Free Tier
Most CSPs provide a free tier , whereby , even if your credit
card is provided to the CSP , they will not charge you for any
cloud resources you create/consume , as long as you are
within the free tier .
So , learn about this free tier clearly , and ensure you are
playing by the rules , to avoid a huge charge in future .
If you follow these simple rules , and pay attention to your
cloud workloads , you should be okay .

Step 4 – Enroll on a good full-length course
This might just be the game-changer .
Level 100 videos are good , but they will not help you learn
something from scratch , or focus on the minute details.
You need a full length course to get that 360-degree view into
any new system.
That is why , even today , when I need to learn something
new , I try to go for a full-length course as a next step .
A full-length course gave me the total overview of the cloud
ecosystem , instilled in me the confidence that I actually
understood the concepts , and even included hands-on labs
to practice.

Since ,I was on AWS , I quickly enrolled for the extremely
popular - “AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
Courses“ on Udemy , by Ryan Kroonenburg , ACloudGuru
Some , alternatives could be –
“Ultimate AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate
(SAA) by Stephane Maarek”
Or Adrian Catrill’s “AWS Certified Solutions Architect -
Associate (SAA-C02)“

For Azure , you might go with Tim Warner or
Mike Pfeiffer – their courses are really
detailed and directed towards beginners .
For GCP , Dan Sullivan or Ranga Karanam’s
courses are awesome .

The point I am trying to make is , I opted for a full-fledged course which ran for around 15-
16 hours , as I wanted a 360 degree perspective of the cloud ecosystem.
Tip - At this stage , try to avoid courses which are specialized .
Go with courses that start from the absolute beginning and gradually progresses into
specialized domains.
Also , go with well known instructors ( seasoned ones ) , rather than newbies , at this stage
, as the course delivery also plays an important role .
Since , I was relatively new at this point , I needed an instructor who could help me stay
focused and make the content engaging enough for me to remain interested .

Step 5 – Start following Cloud/Technology
Influencers on LinkedIn
This plays a really important role in overall knowledge
building.
I have always been a keen believer in letting others show the
way forward .
The only way to stay at par in this current ecosystem , is to
be aware of what your peers, colleagues , competitors are
doing .
What certifications did they pass ? What conference did they
attend ? What blog did they read ? and so on.
So , I did a lot of research at this stage , and then started
following some really wonderful , talented people , and I am
indebted to them for what I am today.

Some wonderful people I follow are -
Yujun Liang Tim Warner
Gregor Hohpe Mike Pfeiffer Luca Mezzalira
Satyen Kumar Saiyam Pathak Cheryl Hung Biswajit
Mohapatra
Helen Beal
And many , many more.

Use LinkedIn effectively , but -
In this aspect , keep something in mind –
- Focus on people whose interests are aligned with you , do
not go celebrity hunting.
- Check whether the LinkedIn accounts are active , or not .
Only follow / add people who are active in the community ,
and regularly spread knowledge or information that you can
consume.
- Refine this list from time to time , to ensure that your
newsfeed is not cluttered with noise .
Remember , you don’t have a lot of time , you need focused
information , not garbage !

Step 6 – Start your certification journey
This is by far one of the most important things you need to
do .
Many will argue that certifications are not a true judge of
knowledge , and I kind of agree .
But , at the same time , in today’s market with x jobs , and
1000x applications , companies need a quick way to filter ,
and certifications do play a role here .
I started doing certifications in the later part of 2017 . So ,
once you are a little comfortable with the cloud (
AWS/Azure/GCP ) , and you have finished a full-length course
, you can kick-start your certification journey .

I always start with the most popular certification , as you will
get a lot of material in the market out there .
At that time , since I was on AWS , I started with my AWS
Solution Architect Associate certification .
It was by far the most popular certification in 2017 , and
already there was a lot of study material available in the
market .
Tip - This is important , try to start with the one where you
have the most information already available – it directly
increases your chance of passing .
Nobody likes to fail , and I have unfortunately seen many
people quit their cloud journey because they failed their first
cert .

So , the first exam is something that you need to pass .
Use whatever information you have to do that .
Do not go for dumps , they are meaningless , and most
answers are wrong anyway .
Rather go for sites , where they explain the answer , and link
to the relevant documentation .
The idea should be to be able to relate to a question , find its
correct answer , and be able to link it to a piece of Cloud
provider documentation.

Whizlabs – By far , one of the best set of questions and
answers I have seen on Cloud certification exams . And the
good thing , they have kept it updated also .
Some resources that helped me a lot -
In recent years , I came across a site called examtopics
(https://www.examtopics.com/) – this also contains some
great questions , but the best thing there is the community
area , when people collaborate and answer the questions .
Their official answers are mostly wrong though.
Finally , you can always rely on Udemy for some great
content . Most of the time you can get sample tests for
something in 10USD or less ( INR 400 – 500 ) . However ,
check the ratings and comments before purchasing
something.

This is something that I believe in from the core of my heart .
To pass certification exams , you must do sample tests before .
I personally feel that even a seasoned cloud
engineer/architect/SME will not be able to pass the current
certification exams unless they try out a few sample tests
beforehand.
The reason is pretty simple . Most cloud engineers only use a
small subset of the cloud services , but , the exams focus on
the entire gamut of services , which is impossible for
someone to cover , without practice .
Practice tests are a must !!

What order should you take exams ?
Again , this is not
something that has
to be followed to
the letter .
Do whatever you
are comfortable
with , but this is
something that
mostly makes sense
to me.

Myth 2 – Cloud certifications do not matter
It actually does .
It helps you get a seat on the table.
Cloud certifications might not be a true judge
of your knowledge , but they still serve as the
dominant way of a recruiter to determine
whether they should select a candidate for
interview or not,

True story-
In 2018 , when I started looking for a job , I had
applied to a firm called Neudesic .
They asked me whether I had the AWS CDA
certification or not .
At that time I was only AWS CSA certified , but I said
yes .
They went ahead with the interview , and by that
time I finished the AWS CDA and AWS SYS OPS
certification.
Certifications do matter - 1

Similarly , I still remember that when I interviewed
for Accenture , in my 2nd round , my interviewer
asked me whether I had any AWS Certifications or
not .
I said I had 4 , which was true at that time .
Post that , he did not ask any other question.
Even today , you will see Job Descriptions
highlighting that cloud certifications are a ‘must’ or
‘good-to-have’.
Certifications do matter - 2

At this point , I started giving interviews , and
applying for jobs .
If I applied for 20 jobs , maybe 5-7 would interview
me , but that was okay .
These interviews turned out to the best source of
knowledge for me , as I could understand what was
the gap between what I knew and what the industry
needed.
Between 2017 end , and mid-2018 , I might have sit
for 20-30 interviews.
Step 7 – Start your interview journey

Some of you might not be looking out for a job also , but
from my perspective , it might still make sense to sit for
interviews .
Interviews are the best way to validate your knowledge ;
there is no better way .
While giving interviews around 2017-2018 , I started
getting a few jobs offers also.
At that time I got a job offer from Neudesic , and
another one from Accenture .
They were kind of a validation that I was on the right
track.

This is also very important .
Creating and deploying an application on the cloud ,
is a great way to learn and at the same time
demonstrate that knowledge to the world .
But , the question that most comes to mind is what
should I create ?
I needed to choose something that is easy enough
for me to create , but at the same time interesting
enough that I can show it off .
It does not need to be extremely functional or
useful , but it should still be appealing enough.
Step 8 – Create something

The best one to start with Forrest Brazeal’s Cloud
Resume Challenge -
https://cloudresumechallenge.dev/
Another option would be to create an easy to use
To-Do app.
OR
Create a simple voting app to allow users to vote
between 2 options and save the results
Some ideas

I remember that at that time , I had created a site for my
resume , mapped it a Cloudflare domain , and used to
showcase it during my interviews .
It indeed helped push a positive perception of my knowledge
to the interviewer.
I had mostly used AWS serverless components like AWS S3 for
static site , DynamoDB for data , lambda for getting the data
out from backend , API Gateway for exposing the APIs ,
Cognito for authentication and so on.
But , the overarching idea is I wanted to showcase something
that I created myself during the interviews .

Even today , when I learn a new thing , I always try to make it
accessible to end-users .
For example , a few days back I was learning about a topic in
k8 , and to practice that I deployed a sample voting app to an
AKS cluster hosted in Azure.
You can go to - http://20.62.221.90/ , and check that it is a
fully functional application , with limited use.

This is something that has helped me the most .
Ever since in 2017 , I was introduced to AWS , I have
not stopped my learning spree on cloud/related
technologies .
There are enough things out in the market today ,
both free and paid , that it will take a lifetime to go
through them all .
This can include blogs , certification exams , books ,
hackathons , whatever .
The idea is to be aware of what is happening in the
market , stay up-to-date , and do what is necessary
to stay relevant in the industry ecosystem.
Step 9 – Focus on continuous learning

Just in the badge site , Credly , I hold around 45 certification badges , some of them
free also. Besides that , I also hold certifications which are not issued to Credly.

But , there is one thing here ,which is very important to
keep in mind .
Do not lose your focus .
I have seen people , learning anything and everything , if
free .
This is something I do not approve of .
Put a ring-fence around what you need to learn , and focus
on those topics only .
This is something even I am guilty of . In 2017 -18 , I used to
do any and every free certification that I could get my
hands on.
I used to think it is free ,but what I did not understand ,
nothing is free , I was paying for it , with my “time” which is
the costliest resource of all.

Step 10 - Focus on developing T shaped skills

SNEAK PEEK INTO PART 3 -
• We will discuss actual questions that can come up
in a cloud architecture interview.
• We will go over sample scenarios and use-cases
and discuss possible solutions and approaches.
• We will conduct mock interviews and discuss how
to handle difficult interview sessions.
• Finally , we will conclude with what are some
resources/links that we can refer to for more
information.

Join me if you are free next week !!

Scan below QR code to
contact me on LinkedIn
Or if you are URL kind-
of-a-guy , use the below
hyperlink -
TurjaChaudhuri-LinkedIn

1 . Follow other ,
better solution
architects.

2 . Listen to cloud
podcasts while
talking a walk , or
chilling out.

3 . Write a small
program , in
whatever language ,
at least once a
month.

4 . Subscribe to good
newsletters to stay
updated.

5 . Get the basics
right .
Start with the why ,
before the how .

6 . At work , try to get
a gig that lets you
think about
architecture.

7 . Write at least one
blog , a month , on
technology , and
architecture , no
matter what.

8 . Get certified , as
much as possible.

9 . Try to speak on
cloud
technologies/software
architecture at events.

10 . Attend as many
cloud interviews as
possible

Cloud lunchn learn_howtobecomeacloudarchitect_part2

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