My Learning Journey

Getting Started with AWS and Cloud Engineering

I began this journey in March 2025 as a way to shift my career. For the past 10 years, I’ve been a mechanical engineer, working in aviation since 2007. I never intentionally pursued a career in aviation—it just unfolded that way, and over time I built a lot of valuable experience. I’ve worked for multiple airlines, most recently joining Frontier Airlines in 2019.

When the pandemic hit and we shifted to remote work, I quickly adapted to—and preferred—that lifestyle. Until then, I hadn’t considered remote work an option. I’d never enjoyed going into an office but had always felt it was unavoidable.

In 2021, I left Frontier to co-found a startup with two friends. In hindsight, the business was very much a “pandemic-era” idea without long-term viability as the world returned to normal. Still, I loved the experience. We fully embraced the remote lifestyle, working from eco-resorts throughout Central and South America. My “office” was often surrounded by jungles and wildlife—it was an incredible period. Of course, that lifestyle came with its own stresses and challenges, but it remains one of the best times of my life.

By 2023, I needed more financial stability and chose to leave the startup. I had no backup plan—just a move to LA where I had some social connections. Within a month of moving, I landed a role at Boeing with the highest salary of my career. It was a moment of realization: my aviation experience had real value. While I gained financial stability, I had to give up the freedom of remote work.

Since then, I’ve loved building a stable life in LA, but I’ve continued to crave the flexibility of location independence. As pandemic effects faded and more companies (including Boeing) enforced strict return-to-office (RTO) policies, I knew it was time for a significant career shift.

I no longer wanted to accept that working in an office was mandatory. It was clearly an outdated policy, often used to encourage voluntary resignations. I evaluated my skills and realized I needed to learn something RTO-proof—but I wasn’t interested in going back to school, taking on debt, and spending years making this transition.

That’s when I began exploring IT and tech careers. After researching and consulting Perplexity.ai, I discovered the AWS certification programs—a practical and affordable path. I could self-study, earn certifications, and demonstrate my skills through personal projects.

I created a learning plan and project portfolio to reinforce my progress. Cloud Engineering resonated with my thinking style and engineering mindset. My initial goal: earn the AWS Solutions Architect – Associate certification and land a job in the field. From there, I plan to pursue the AI and Machine Learning Speciality and eventually the Solutions Architect – Professional certification.

AWS offers many certifications to build a well-rounded skill set. I chose to start from the very beginning. While I’m tech-savvy, my experience in IT and Cloud Engineering is limited. As of June 7, I passed the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam. It’s an introductory certification—useful for understanding the AWS ecosystem—but not sufficient on its own for employment just yet.

The purpose of this site is to document my ongoing learning journey and serve as a portfolio for self-directed projects. As I move toward becoming a Solutions Architect, I’ll continue adding more advanced content here.

Remote work remains a strong motivator, but I’m also driven by a love of learning and a desire to explore new professional adventures. This is just the beginning. After earning the Cloud Practitioner certificate, I’ve built this Hugo website, using AWS Route 53 for hosting and S3 buckets for file and data storage. For now, I’m keeping things simple, but I plan to add increasingly complex features as I progress in my training.