Chapter 96: AWS Cloud Exercises
AWS Cloud Exercises (also called AWS hands-on labs, AWS practical exercises, AWS workshops, Qwiklabs, AWS Builder Labs, AWS Cloud Quest, AWS Skill Builder labs, etc.)
When someone asks “What is AWS Cloud Exercises?”, they usually mean:
“I’ve watched videos and read docs… but I still feel I don’t really get AWS. Where do I actually touch the console, break things safely, and learn by doing — without paying huge bills or messing up a real account?”
So today we’re going to do a proper, detailed, 2026-updated guide — like your favorite teacher who wants you to really learn AWS, not just pass an exam.
1. Why theory alone is not enough (the honest truth)
You can watch 100 hours of Stephane Maarek, Adrian Cantrill, or freeCodeCamp AWS courses — and still feel lost when someone says:
- “Just create a VPC with public & private subnets and a NAT Gateway.”
- “Set up a least-privilege IAM role for this Lambda.”
- “Migrate this MySQL database to Aurora with zero downtime.”
- “Fix this 403 error on CloudFront signed URLs.”
Theory gives you words. Exercises give you muscle memory.
In 2026 India (especially Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai), almost every company that hires cloud engineers asks:
“Show me something you actually built on AWS — even a small project.”
If your answer is “I watched videos and passed Cloud Practitioner”, you lose to the person who says:
“I did 80 Qwiklabs, completed Cloud Quest Security, built a serverless API with Cognito + API Gateway + Lambda + DynamoDB, and deployed it with CloudFront.”
2. The Main Types of AWS Hands-On Exercises in 2026 (Ranked by Usefulness)
| Rank | Name / Platform | Free or Paid? | Best for (2026 reality) | Approx time to complete | Typical Hyderabad learner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWS Skill Builder – Digital Training Labs | Free (with limitations) / Paid subscription | Official AWS labs — best quality & most up-to-date | 30 min – 2 h per lab | Everyone – first choice |
| 2 | AWS Cloud Quest | Free | Game-based learning — very fun & motivating | 10–40 h (full quest) | Students, career switchers |
| 3 | Qwiklabs (now part of Skill Builder) | Free credits + paid | Classic hands-on labs — huge library | 45 min – 3 h per lab | Everyone – still excellent |
| 4 | AWS Workshops (workshops.aws) | Free | Deep, guided workshops — excellent for architecture | 2–8 h per workshop | Architects & intermediate |
| 5 | AWS Builder Labs (in Skill Builder) | Free / Paid | Short, focused labs — great for quick practice | 15–60 min | Quick refresh / exam prep |
| 6 | A Cloud Guru / Pluralsight / Linux Academy labs | Paid | Third-party labs — sometimes more creative | 1–4 h per lab | People who prefer video style |
| 7 | Your own free-tier account experiments | Free (if careful) | Ultimate learning — build & break your own stuff | Unlimited | The serious learners |
3. Recommended Learning Path in 2026 (Hyderabad Reality)
Absolute beginner (0–3 months):
- Watch Stephane Maarek / Adrian Cantrill Cloud Practitioner course
- Do AWS Cloud Quest – Cloud Practitioner (free game, very motivating)
- Do 10–15 official Skill Builder labs (free tier gives you credits)
- Take Tutorials Dojo practice exams
Intermediate (Cloud Practitioner passed, going for Solutions Architect):
- Do AWS Cloud Quest – Solutions Architect
- Complete AWS Well-Architected Labs (workshops.aws)
- Do 30–50 Skill Builder / Qwiklabs (especially VPC, IAM, S3, EC2, RDS, Lambda, CloudFront)
- Build your own mini-projects (see below)
Advanced / job-ready:
- Build real mini-projects (see list below)
- Do AWS Builder Labs for specialty topics
- Participate in AWS re:Invent workshops (recorded ones are free)
- Contribute to open-source or GitHub AWS examples
4. Real Hyderabad Mini-Projects (Do These After Cloud Practitioner)
These are the projects almost every good candidate in Hyderabad has done or can explain in 2026 interviews:
- Static portfolio website S3 + CloudFront + Route 53 + HTTPS (ACM certificate) → Cost: ~₹100–300/month
- Serverless REST API API Gateway + Lambda + DynamoDB + Cognito (user authentication) → Cost: usually ₹0–500 (free tier)
- Photo upload & resize app S3 upload → Event Notification → Lambda (resize with Sharp/Pillow) → save thumbnail back to S3 → Cost: ~₹200–800/month
- Secure VPC with bastion host Public & private subnets, NAT Gateway, bastion in public subnet, RDS in private subnet → Cost: ~₹1,500–3,000/month (NAT is expensive)
- KYC document processing pipeline S3 → Textract → Comprehend → Lambda → store in DynamoDB → Cost: ~₹2,000–8,000/month
5. Quick Hands-On — Start Today (Zero Cost)
- Go to explore.skillbuilder.aws → sign in with AWS account
- Search Cloud Quest → start Cloud Practitioner Cloud Quest (free)
- Do the first 3 quests → you’ll create VPC, EC2, S3, IAM role — safely
- When credits run out → use your own free-tier AWS account → continue experimenting
Summary Table — AWS Hands-On Learning Cheat Sheet (2026 – India Focus)
| Goal / Stage | Best Platform(s) | Approx Time | Cost (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute beginner – first touch | AWS Cloud Quest + Skill Builder free labs | 10–30 h | Free |
| Cloud Practitioner prep | Cloud Quest + 15–20 Skill Builder labs | 40–80 h | Free–₹1,500 |
| Solutions Architect Associate prep | Cloud Quest SA + 40–60 labs + own projects | 100–250 h | Free–₹3,000 |
| Real job-ready confidence | Own mini-projects + workshops.aws | 200+ h | Free–₹5,000 |
| Keep learning forever | Your own free-tier account + GitHub experiments | Unlimited | ₹0–2,000/month |
Teacher’s final note (real talk – Hyderabad 2026):
Watching videos gives you vocabulary. Doing labs gives you confidence.
The difference between someone who passes the exam and someone who gets the job is usually:
- 50–150 hours of hands-on labs
- 3–5 mini-projects they can explain in 2 minutes each
- Knowing how to read a bill & spot an idle t3.medium
So please — don’t just watch. Build. Break. Fix. Delete. Repeat.
Start with Cloud Quest today — it’s free, fun, and gives you guided labs.
Got it? This is the “stop watching, start touching” lesson.
Next?
- Step-by-step: Build your first serverless API (API Gateway + Lambda + DynamoDB)
- Deep dive: 5 mini-projects every Cloud Practitioner should build
- Or how to use your free-tier account without ever paying a rupee?
Tell me — next whiteboard ready! 🚀🛠️
