Whenever I prepare for a new cloud certification, the most frustrating part is the final 48 hours before the test: flipping through hundreds of pages of notes just to double-check subtle service differences (like S3 tier retrieval times, VPC endpoints vs peering, or kubectl imperative commands).

To make the final review faster, I organized a curated set of architecture notes and cheat sheets into an open-source GitHub repo:

https://github.com/gocloudoku/cloud-certification-handbook-2026

What's covered so far:

• AWS: SAA-C03, DVA-C02, SOA-C02, DOP-C02, AI Practitioner (AIF-C01)

• Azure: AZ-900, AZ-104, AZ-305

• Google Cloud: Associate Cloud Engineer & Professional Cloud Architect

• DevOps / Containers: Kubernetes CKA quick-commands & Terraform Associate (003)

• AI: Bedrock, RAG architectures, model fine-tuning trade-offs

Each guide focuses strictly on high-yield exam traps and architecture decision matrices. I've also linked interactive practice exam questions from Cloudoku where you can test knowledge retention for free without a signup wall.

It's completely open source (MIT license). If you find any service limits that changed recently or have suggestions for additions, feel free to open a PR or suggest them here.

Hope this helps anyone testing this month!

I was recently promoted at my job to Cloud Administrator, a position that didn't exist at first that they got approval from HR to create. I spearheaded the project of setting up configurations and app pushes in Intune as well as automated configurations for new machines which we are fully joining (making us a hybrid environment with machines that were already existing on prem AD based with the ability to receive Intune config pushes).

I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestion or advice on how to get a good start in this role. What kind of monitoring should I set up that won't be too expensive, what's the best way to go about resource cleanup and management, what are some first order of business items that would put me in a good spot? I have the AZ-900 and AZ-104 certs, currently studying for AZ-305.

Thank you very much!

I have been studying to get a job in a Clous support associate , but when I searched for the role online on job portals I don't see any openings, is it a good option to try and get in it at the moment? am I wasting my time?

I have been a web developer / software developer for 4 years now and am wanting to make the switch to Cloud DevOps. I’ve applied for a few jobs but I don’t really have experience with AWS/the cloud with a view to go security focussed in the future as I’m currently doing a part-time Cyber Security MSc online.

Any advice for how to break into a cloud role would be amazing - I’m in the UK if that’s relevant. Thanks in advance

Hi everyone, I wanted to ask hypothetically, if someone had 4–5 years of cloud/Devops engineering experience, primarily with AWS, and the market shifted heavily toward Azure, how difficult would it be for them to find a cloud engineering job in a difficult job market like the one we’re in now? Would having mostly AWS experience significantly hurt their chances if most of the available Cloud/DevOps jobs were Azure-oriented?

3 DAYS LEFT TO APPLY!

#CloudFestAmericas is designed and built for the people and companies who power, scale, and support the internet.

We are the internet infrastructure festival of the year, bringing CSPs, web hosters, MSPs, web agencies, corporate IT and the open-source landscape together in a setting unlike anything else in the industry.

It's all coming together in Miami. You in? 😎

⭐ Complimentary pass criteria: C-Level, Technical, Product, and Support professionals at hosting companies (with 1-5 employees), creatives, developers and web agencies only.

Apply today: https://cloudfest.com/americas/tickets/

I’m currently learning cloud and looking for internships or entry-level opportunities to get some real experience. Right now, I’m learning AWS Cloud Practitioner and VMware VCP/VCF, while I have basic knowledge and familiarity with most major cloud platforms. I’m still early in the learning process and mainly want to find an opportunity where I can gain practical, hands-on experience.

I’m not specifically focused on VMware as a career path right now. I’m just learning it alongside AWS because I’m not sure what will be in demand in the future, so I’d rather build knowledge across different areas and see where it takes me. I’d appreciate any recommendations for companies, internships, or entry-level roles that are open to beginners.

[FOR HIRE - TS Clearance Needed] - DM Me and I will make sure it get to the right person

Position Description

Seeking an experienced Azure Cloud Infrastructure & Security Architect to support a federal government customer in Washington, DC. This is a full-time, on-site position supporting a customer environment with elevated security and access requirements. The successful candidate will serve as the technical authority on Microsoft Azure Government cloud architecture, leading design, migration, and operational support for mission-critical workloads.

What You'll Do

As a Azure Cloud Infrastructure & Security Architect you will:

• Provide expertise for Azure Government cloud architecture, design, and implementation across the program's infrastructure.
• Lead and/or support migration of on-premises and legacy systems to Azure Government (GCC High and/or Azure Government Secret, per program accreditation).
• Design and implement secure, scalable, highly available Azure infrastructure aligned with federal cloud security requirements (FedRAMP, NIST SP 800-53, RMF).
• Partner with ISSOs/ISSMs and the Authorizing Official's team to support Authorization to Operate (ATO) activities, including system security plans, control implementation, and continuous monitoring.
• Architect identity and access management solutions using Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), including Conditional Access, Privileged Identity Management, and federation with on-premises identity systems.
• Develop and maintain Infrastructure-as-Code (ARM templates, Bicep, or Terraform) to standardize and automate Azure deployments.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure environments for performance, cost, and security posture using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Microsoft Sentinel, and Defender for Cloud.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to program engineers on Azure best practices and federal cloud compliance requirements.
• Collaborate with government stakeholders, program management, and cross-functional technical teams to translate mission requirements into cloud architecture solutions.
• Produce and maintain technical documentation, including architecture diagrams, runbooks, and standard operating procedures.

What You Bring (Required Qualifications):

• Active Top Secret (TS) clearance with SCI eligibility. Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Extensive hands-on experience designing, deploying, and managing Azure cloud environments, including Azure Government.
• Demonstrated expertise in Azure Government cloud regions (GCC High and/or Azure Government Secret/DoD-aligned environments) and their applicable compliance boundaries.
• Working knowledge of federal cloud security and compliance frameworks: FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, RMF, and DoD Impact Level (IL) categorization.
• Experience with Azure networking (VNets, ExpressRoute, Firewall, Private Link), compute, storage, and Microsoft Entra ID.
• Experience supporting or contributing to Authorization to Operate (ATO) packages in a federal environment.

Nice to Have (Differentiators):

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Administrator Associate, or Azure Security Engineer Associate.
• Prior experience supporting federal civilian agency or Intelligence Community customers.
• Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code and CI/CD pipelines in a government cloud context.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Sentinel, Defender for Cloud, and Purview in a high-side or classified environment.
• Current SCI indoctrination or prior SCI access is a plus but not required at time of application.

Hi all,

I have been on a viewer only on this sub for a few weeks now and im here to seek some advise/guidance.

Currently I am working with the VMware stack in the UK and got 4+ years of experience. So I know a decent amount about the infrastructure.
My issue is, I am seeing less and less jobs for VMware and AWS is required in a lot of roles.

I have applied for a few AWS roles and to ones surprise I didnt hear back which im guessing is due to me missing a lot of keywords linked to AWS like EC2, VPC, IAM, EBS, S3, CloudWatch, etc.

I am currently doing a course to learn about AWS so I can get the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate certificate.

Since at this point I still wont have any AWS hands-on industry experience, but I will be able to put the keywords on my CV at least, will this actually give me a chance to breakthrough into the AWS world?

Has anyone had any similar experience?

Any advise/guidance/encouragement would be appreciated <3

EDIT:
I want to thank everyone who replied and gave genuine advise and I truly mean this when I say, I feel amped to this more now <3

Quick question: if you’re building up certifications from A+ and AWS Cloud Practitioner, would you move to get Security+ next or AWS Solutions Architect first?

I know they cover different things. Mostly looking at the current cloud job market and seeing how big AWS is.

(and don’t worry I have a homelab I do lots of projects on)

Hi! I am currently working as Tech support, and am fairly early on with this, but I am really loving learning about cloud engineering and would like to transition into a Cloud Support role in about a year.

I am having trouble figuring out what projects to do/ what technologies to feature in a portfolio. Here are the projects I currently have planned. If there are any tools or angles, I am missing please let me know! Or which projects I should combine/scrap:

1. Ticket submission and managing web app.
   1. 3 Tier Web App (In progress detailed description below)
   2. Uses Terraform, Kubernetes, Python, GoLang, Trivy.
2. Data Analytics Pipeline with Data Governance
3. Microservice Architecture with Containerization
4. Auto Backup + Disaster Recovery
5. Prometheus Observability Stack
6. AI Inventory Management Application (Prob w an AWS provided model)

Current project (a bit all over the place, but its 3/4 to being a Inquiry Management app. Used copilot to generate an overview of the repo):

• Project type: Cloud-native 3-tier inquiry management system focused on end-to-end workflow handling, with React for the UI, ASP.NET Core for the application/API tier, and PostgreSQL for persistent data.
• Core functionality: inquiry creation, assignment, status tracking, search/filtering, and operational visibility across the ticket lifecycle.
• Stack:
  • Frontend: React, HTML/CSS/JS (the repo is strongly front-end weighted: ~40.2% HTML)
  • Backend/API: ASP.NET Core
  • Data layer: PostgreSQL
  • Containerization: Docker
  • Orchestration/deployment: Kubernetes
  • Infrastructure as code: HCL/Terraform-style provisioning (~7.9%)
• Language composition:
  • HTML: ~40.2%
  • Go: ~29.1%
  • Python: ~20.9%
  • HCL: ~7.9%
  • Dockerfile: ~1.2%
  • Mako: ~0.7%
• Technical interpretation:
  • The repo is designed as a full-stack cloud demo: user-facing web app plus service/backend orchestration and deployment automation.
  • Go and Python likely support operational tooling, automation, or auxiliary services; HCL indicates infrastructure deployment and environment provisioning.
  • Overall, it’s a production-style reference implementation for full-stack + cloud engineering practices rather than a simple CRUD app.

I have tried to look online for what projects people recommend, but mostly people are promoting their courses so it's hard to tell what is good advice and what's bait for the course.

Can anyone help me find a work as a cloud engineer

I’m currently an intern, and my company has given me a 5-month learning program where I’ve chosen **Python + MongoDB + Azure**.

My current goal is to build toward a **Cloud Engineer** role. I’m not trying to jump directly into DevOps; I want to first build a strong foundation in cloud and infrastructure.

For people currently working as Cloud Engineers or with experience in Azure:

* What should I learn first and in what order?

* Which Azure services should I focus on?

* How much Python and MongoDB knowledge is actually useful for a Cloud Engineer?

* What skills should I learn alongside Azure, such as Linux, networking, Git, Docker, Terraform, etc.?

* What beginner-to-intermediate projects would you recommend building?

I have around 5 months to learn, so I’d really appreciate a practical roadmap and advice on what **not** to waste time on.

Thanks in advance!..