Many of us sign into AWS for the first time to learn or build something—whether it’s hosting a web app, running AI models, or automating processes. The urge to dive into a service and figure it out is natural and reflects the curiosity that drives great developers.
But AWS’s complexity can lead to pitfalls we might not see coming, and while mistakes are part of learning, some lessons are best avoided the hard way. To help you make the most of your early AWS experience, here are a few essential tips to stay safe and maximize your time.
Disclaimer
This post is for individuals starting with a personal AWS account. Companies with bigger goals should bring in experts early to build a solid foundation (more on this in a future post).
Here are my top recommendations for Day 1 of your AWS journey:
Safety First
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Do not use your root account
Once that is out the way, you want to use your root account user as little as possible and instead do the following:
Look into .
Regardless of your use case, make it your highest priority to understand the basics of how to access AWS correctly and securely, both through the CLI and the Management Console. You might want to look into to set alerts when your costs exceed a chosen threshold. Learn more
Anytime someone says the know AWS, I reply with a question: which parts of it?
AWS offers over 200 services, spanning areas like container orchestration, compute, CDN, machine learning, and CI/CD. Even AWS employees admit no one fully understands the entire ecosystem. On top of that, the AWS ecosystem is under constant change with floods of updates and new releases.
For us, that means two key takeaways:
Eternal Impostor Syndrome
No matter how good you get at any given area of AWS, there will always be a lot of things you still don’t know, many details you don’t fully grasp. Just like with tech in general, you’ll probably never know it all.
I personally think that is what makes tech so exciting and motivating, but the fact is that there are inevitable slumps where all the stuff we know some times gets overshadowed by the stuff we don’t. It’s a part of the cycle, so you better expect it.
Focus is key
AWS offers virtually infinite services, from general concepts like security and scalability to specific use cases like web hosting, automation, or machine learning. The best way to navigate AWS’s vast ecosystem is to focus on what you’re trying to build or solve. Whether you’re hosting an app or centralising data, focus on the AWS services that best fit your goals.
When I started with AWS, my focus was web development, though I’ve since learned adjacent areas like monitoring and security. But my core toolbox in AWS is constituted of services that, at least in my case, are highly related to software and web development.
The clearer your purpose for using AWS, the easier it is to focus on the services that matter most.
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