AWS vs Azure for Cloud Engineers: A Practical Comparison

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Create a private storage bucket and upload a file (AWS)
set -euo pipefail
REGION=ap-south-1
BUCKET=example-portfolio-bucket-$RANDOM

aws s3api create-bucket --bucket "$BUCKET" --region "$REGION" \
  --create-bucket-configuration LocationConstraint="$REGION"
aws s3api put-public-access-block --bucket "$BUCKET" \
  --public-access-block-configuration \
  BlockPublicAcls=true,IgnorePublicAcls=true,BlockPublicPolicy=true,RestrictPublicBuckets=true
echo "hello" > hello.txt
aws s3 cp hello.txt "s3://$BUCKET/hello.txt"
aws s3 ls "s3://$BUCKET/"

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Create a storage account, container and upload a file (Azure)
set -euo pipefail
RG=portfolio-rg
LOC=centralindia
ACCOUNT=portfoliostore$RANDOM

az group create --name "$RG" --location "$LOC"
az storage account create --name "$ACCOUNT" --resource-group "$RG" \
  --location "$LOC" --sku Standard_LRS --allow-blob-public-access false
az storage container create --name files --account-name "$ACCOUNT" --auth-mode login
echo "hello" > hello.txt
az storage blob upload --account-name "$ACCOUNT" --container-name files \
  --name hello.txt --file hello.txt --auth-mode login
az storage blob list --account-name "$ACCOUNT" --container-name files \
  --auth-mode login --output table

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Sid": "ReadOnlyOneBucket",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": ["s3:GetObject", "s3:ListBucket"],
      "Resource": [
        "arn:aws:s3:::example-portfolio-bucket",
        "arn:aws:s3:::example-portfolio-bucket/*"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Give a user read-only access to blobs in ONE storage account
set -euo pipefail
USER=asha@example.onmicrosoft.com
SCOPE=$(az storage account show --name portfoliostore123 \
  --resource-group portfolio-rg --query id --output tsv)

az role assignment create \
  --assignee "$USER" \
  --role "Storage Blob Data Reader" \
  --scope "$SCOPE"

az role assignment list --assignee "$USER" --output table

provider "aws" {
  region = "ap-south-1"
}

resource "aws_vpc" "main" {
  cidr_block = "10.0.0.0/16"
  tags = { Name = "portfolio-vpc" }
}

resource "aws_subnet" "private" {
  vpc_id     = aws_vpc.main.id
  cidr_block = "10.0.1.0/24"
  tags = { Name = "private-subnet" }
}

resource "aws_security_group" "web" {
  vpc_id = aws_vpc.main.id
  ingress {
    from_port   = 443
    to_port     = 443
    protocol    = "tcp"
    cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"]
  }
}

provider "azurerm" {
  features {}
}

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "rg" {
  name     = "portfolio-rg"
  location = "centralindia"
}

resource "azurerm_virtual_network" "main" {
  name                = "portfolio-vnet"
  address_space       = ["10.0.0.0/16"]
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
}

resource "azurerm_subnet" "private" {
  name                 = "private-subnet"
  resource_group_name  = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
  virtual_network_name = azurerm_virtual_network.main.name
  address_prefixes     = ["10.0.1.0/24"]
}

Collect 20 cloud engineer listings in your target city or remote.
Count how many mention:

- AWS only
- Azure only
- Both or 'any major cloud'

Also note: which companies or industries prefer which.
Learn the provider your listings mention most, first.

Phase 1  Core concepts: networking, identity, compute, storage
Phase 2  First provider deeply: hands-on labs, one project
Phase 3  Terraform for that provider
Phase 4  Second provider: map services, rebuild the same project
Phase 5  Interview practice: explain both side by side

Concept            AWS               Azure
Virtual machine    EC2               Virtual Machines
Object storage     S3                Blob Storage
Private network    VPC               VNet
Firewall rules     Security group    NSG
Identity           IAM               Entra ID + RBAC
Kubernetes         EKS               AKS
Serverless         Lambda            Functions
Native IaC         CloudFormation    Bicep / ARM