Best AWS Path for an MBA Graduate Starting from Zero

Phase 1 — Daily Schedule (Cloud Practitioner):
7:00 AM — Wake up, exercise (30 min)
8:00 AM — Review goals for the day
9:00 AM — Deep study (2 hours)
   - Week 1: Cloud concepts
   - Week 2: AWS core services
   - Week 3: Billing & support
   - Week 4: Practice tests
11:00 AM — Hands-on practice (1 hour)
12:00 PM — Lunch break
1:00 PM — Practice questions (1 hour)
2:00 PM — Notes & flashcards (1 hour)
5:00 PM — Review progress, plan tomorrow
6:00 PM — Exercise, rest
8:00 PM — Read AWS docs (30 min)
10:00 PM — Wind down

Week 1 Review:
□ Do I understand cloud vs on-premise?
□ Can I explain IaaS, PaaS, SaaS?
□ Have I created an AWS free-tier account?

Week 2 Review:
□ Do I know what EC2, S3, RDS do?
□ Have I launched a small EC2 instance?
□ Do I understand VPC basics?

Week 3 Review:
□ Do I understand AWS pricing?
□ Do I know the support tiers?
□ Have I explored the billing dashboard?

Week 4 Review:
□ Am I scoring 80%+ in practice tests?
□ Have I booked the exam?
□ Do I feel ready for Cloud Practitioner?

Phase 2 — Daily Schedule (Solutions Architect):
7:00 AM — Wake up, exercise (30 min)
8:00 AM — Review goals for the day
9:00 AM — Deep study (3 hours)
   - Week 5: Networking & IAM
   - Week 6: Storage & databases
   - Week 7: Scaling & resilience
   - Week 8: Projects & exam prep
12:00 PM — Lunch break
1:00 PM — Hands-on lab (2 hours)
3:00 PM — Architecture review (30 min)
5:00 PM — Review progress, plan tomorrow
6:00 PM — Exercise, rest
8:00 PM — Practice questions (30 min)
10:00 PM — Wind down

Week 5 Review:
□ Can I design a basic VPC?
□ Do I understand security groups vs NACLs?
□ Have I set up IAM users and roles?

Week 6 Review:
□ Do I know when to use S3, EBS, EFS?
□ Can I pick between RDS and DynamoDB?
□ Have I created a small database?

Week 7 Review:
□ Do I understand ELB types?
□ Can I design a highly available app?
□ Have I configured Auto Scaling?

Week 8 Review:
□ Have I drawn 3+ architecture diagrams?
□ Am I scoring 80%+ in practice tests?
□ Have I booked the SAA exam?

Phase 3 — Daily Schedule (Specialization & Career):
7:00 AM — Wake up, exercise (30 min)
8:00 AM — Review goals for the day
9:00 AM — Deep work (3 hours)
   - Week 9: Specialization fundamentals
   - Week 10: Build a specialization project
   - Week 11: Portfolio + resume
   - Week 12: Apply & interview
12:00 PM — Lunch break
1:00 PM — Hands-on project (2 hours)
3:00 PM — Network & apply (1 hour)
5:00 PM — Review progress, plan tomorrow
6:00 PM — Exercise, rest
8:00 PM — Interview prep (30 min)
10:00 PM — Wind down

Week 9 Review:
□ Have I picked a specialization?
□ Do I know the main AWS tools in it?
□ Have I found 2-3 real case studies?

Week 10 Review:
□ Is my specialization project complete?
□ Is it documented clearly?
□ Is it on GitHub or a portfolio page?

Week 11 Review:
□ Is my resume AWS-focused?
□ Does it show business + cloud impact?
□ Is my LinkedIn updated?

Week 12 Review:
□ Have I applied to 30+ roles?
□ Have I done mock interviews?
□ Am I interviewing confidently?

Month 1 — Cloud Foundations:
Week 1 — Cloud concepts and AWS global infra
Week 2 — Core services (EC2, S3, RDS, VPC)
Week 3 — Pricing, billing, and support
Week 4 — Practice tests + Cloud Practitioner

Daily routine:
9:00 AM — Theory (2 hours)
11:00 AM — Hands-on (1 hour)
2:00 PM — Practice questions (1 hour)
5:00 PM — Review & notes (1 hour)

Milestone:
□ Cloud Practitioner ready
□ Comfortable with AWS console
□ Created 3 mini labs

Month 2 — Solutions Architect:
Week 5 — Networking & IAM
Week 6 — Storage & databases
Week 7 — Scaling & resilience
Week 8 — Projects + SAA-C03

Daily routine:
9:00 AM — Theory (3 hours)
1:00 PM — Labs (2 hours)
5:00 PM — Architecture review (30 min)

Milestone:
□ Designed 3+ architecture diagrams
□ Comfortable with pricing trade-offs
□ SAA-C03 ready

Month 3 — Specialization & Career:
Week 9 — Pick specialization (Cost/Security/DevOps/Data)
Week 10 — Build a specialization project
Week 11 — Portfolio, resume, LinkedIn
Week 12 — Apply & interview

Daily routine:
9:00 AM — Specialization study (2 hours)
11:00 AM — Project work (2 hours)
2:00 PM — Apply / network (1 hour)
5:00 PM — Interview prep (1 hour)

Milestone:
□ 2-3 portfolio projects
□ Resume + LinkedIn updated
□ 30+ applications sent

Daily Tracker:
Date: _________
☐ Morning routine completed
☐ AWS theory (2 hours)
☐ Hands-on lab (1 hour)
☐ Practice questions (1 hour)
☐ Networking / applying (30 min)
☐ Exercise completed
☐ Reviewed progress
☐ Planned tomorrow

Today's Accomplishments:
1. 
2. 
3. 

Tomorrow's Priorities:
1. 
2. 
3. 

Weekly Tracker:
Week: _____ (Month 1 / 2 / 3)

Goals for this week:
1. 
2. 
3. 

Daily Progress:
Mon: ☐☐☐
Tue: ☐☐☐
Wed: ☐☐☐
Thu: ☐☐☐
Fri: ☐☐☐
Sat: ☐☐☐
Sun: ☐☐☐

Weekly Wins:
1. 
2. 
3. 

Challenges & Solutions:
1. 
2. 

Next Week's Goals:
1. 
2. 
3. 

Monthly Tracker:
Month: _____ (1 / 2 / 3)

Monthly Goal:
_______________________________________________

Week 1 Progress: ☐☐☐
Week 2 Progress: ☐☐☐
Week 3 Progress: ☐☐☐
Week 4 Progress: ☐☐☐

Monthly Wins:
1. 
2. 
3. 

Skills Gained:
1. 
2. 
3. 

Projects Completed:
1. 
2. 
3. 

Applications Sent: _____
Interviews: _____
Offers: _____

Next Month's Goal:
_______________________________________________