From Rookie to AWS Enthusiast: How I Tackled S3, IAM, and a ₹5000 Surprise
INTRODUCTION As a second-year student, I hadn’t quite figured out what I wanted to do. Regular web development was fun, but I felt the itch to explore something more niche and challenging. That’s when I took a leap of faith into the world of AWS. Spoiler: It wasn’t smooth sailing, but every stumble taught me a lesson I’ll never forget. This is the story of how I went from clueless about the cloud to deploying websites with S3, battling IAM policies, and surviving a shocking ₹5000 AWS bill. HOW IT ALL BEGAN I co-founded a startup, Zeber, with two friends. Our mission: to create something meaningful (and maybe make some money too). When the question of “how do we build this?” came up, I raised my hand to figure it out. Bold move, right? AWS seemed like the logical choice. My brother worked at Amazon (back then), I had a year of free AWS credits, and—well, why not? Armed with some YouTube tutorials, a Udemy course, and ChatGPT, I dove headfirst into the cloud. IAM: My First Cloud Battle My first encounter with AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management) was... humbling. I spent days trying to figure out how to properly assign access to my friends. Every attempt felt like solving a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded. Here’s how I finally cracked it: Discovered Piyush Sir’s YouTube channel and binge-watched his IAM tutorials. Turned to ChatGPT for every error, even the nonsensical ones. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it gave me philosophical advice instead. Slowly learned the principle of least privilege and how not to overdo permissions. Lesson learned: IAM is like the front door to your cloud. Get it wrong, and either no one gets in, or worse, everyone does. S3: The Struggle Was Real Deploying a static website on S3 sounded simple in theory. In practice? Let’s just say I invented new curse words. My first mistake: Trying to deploy through an EC2 instance instead of directly uploading files to S3. That cost me ₹5000. (Pro tip: Always monitor your budget panel!) Deployment errors became my nemesis. When I couldn’t figure out how to update files, I deleted and re-uploaded them manually. Time-consuming? Yes. Effective? Sort of. Despite the hurdles, S3 became my favorite AWS service. Here’s why: It’s beginner-friendly once you get past the initial hiccups. Hosting a static website feels like magic when it finally works. Pairing it with IAM teaches you essential cloud security practices. Despite the chaos, I finally deployed my first static website on S3. And let me tell you, there’s nothing like seeing your work live on the internet—especially when you know the struggle it took to get there. --- Key Learnings Along the Way Trial and Error Is Your Best Friend: No tutorial will cover every scenario. Use ChatGPT, Stack Overflow, and your brain to brainstorm solutions. The Billing Wake-Up Call: That ₹5000 EC2 charge due to wrong instace opening was a reality check. Always research pricing and monitor your usage. Start Small, Think Big: My first deployment was basic, but it set the foundation for more advanced projects like load balancers and dynamic websites. Hard Paths Lead to Smooth Roads: Taking on challenges like IAM and S3 wasn’t easy, but it made every success feel ten times more rewarding. The Road Ahead Now, I’m working on deploying a dynamic website—this time without blowing my budget. AWS has gone from being an intimidating labyrinth to a playground for experimentation and growth. If you’re just starting out, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Every error is a step closer to understanding. And remember: research, test, and always keep an eye on that billing dashboard. The ₹5000 Wake-Up Call This part deserves its own section. My first EC2 experiment was an unmitigated disaster. I didn’t realize instances could rack up charges so quickly, and one fine morning, AWS billed me ₹5000. Cue panic mode. Shoutout and appreciation to AWS for handeling my mess up well(
INTRODUCTION
As a second-year student, I hadn’t quite figured out what I wanted to do. Regular web development was fun, but I felt the itch to explore something more niche and challenging. That’s when I took a leap of faith into the world of AWS. Spoiler: It wasn’t smooth sailing, but every stumble taught me a lesson I’ll never forget.
This is the story of how I went from clueless about the cloud to deploying websites with S3, battling IAM policies, and surviving a shocking ₹5000 AWS bill.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
I co-founded a startup, Zeber, with two friends. Our mission: to create something meaningful (and maybe make some money too). When the question of “how do we build this?” came up, I raised my hand to figure it out. Bold move, right?
AWS seemed like the logical choice. My brother worked at Amazon (back then), I had a year of free AWS credits, and—well, why not? Armed with some YouTube tutorials, a Udemy course, and ChatGPT, I dove headfirst into the cloud.
IAM: My First Cloud Battle
My first encounter with AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management) was... humbling. I spent days trying to figure out how to properly assign access to my friends. Every attempt felt like solving a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded.
Here’s how I finally cracked it:
- Discovered Piyush Sir’s YouTube channel and binge-watched his IAM tutorials.
- Turned to ChatGPT for every error, even the nonsensical ones. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it gave me philosophical advice instead.
- Slowly learned the principle of least privilege and how not to overdo permissions.
Lesson learned: IAM is like the front door to your cloud. Get it wrong, and either no one gets in, or worse, everyone does.
S3: The Struggle Was Real
Deploying a static website on S3 sounded simple in theory. In practice? Let’s just say I invented new curse words.
- My first mistake: Trying to deploy through an EC2 instance instead of directly uploading files to S3. That cost me ₹5000. (Pro tip: Always monitor your budget panel!)
- Deployment errors became my nemesis. When I couldn’t figure out how to update files, I deleted and re-uploaded them manually. Time-consuming? Yes. Effective? Sort of.
Despite the hurdles, S3 became my favorite AWS service. Here’s why:
- It’s beginner-friendly once you get past the initial hiccups.
- Hosting a static website feels like magic when it finally works.
- Pairing it with IAM teaches you essential cloud security practices. Despite the chaos, I finally deployed my first static website on S3. And let me tell you, there’s nothing like seeing your work live on the internet—especially when you know the struggle it took to get there. ---
Key Learnings Along the Way
- Trial and Error Is Your Best Friend: No tutorial will cover every scenario. Use ChatGPT, Stack Overflow, and your brain to brainstorm solutions.
- The Billing Wake-Up Call: That ₹5000 EC2 charge due to wrong instace opening was a reality check. Always research pricing and monitor your usage.
- Start Small, Think Big: My first deployment was basic, but it set the foundation for more advanced projects like load balancers and dynamic websites.
- Hard Paths Lead to Smooth Roads: Taking on challenges like IAM and S3 wasn’t easy, but it made every success feel ten times more rewarding.
The Road Ahead
Now, I’m working on deploying a dynamic website—this time without blowing my budget. AWS has gone from being an intimidating labyrinth to a playground for experimentation and growth.
If you’re just starting out, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Every error is a step closer to understanding. And remember: research, test, and always keep an eye on that billing dashboard.
The ₹5000 Wake-Up Call
This part deserves its own section. My first EC2 experiment was an unmitigated disaster. I didn’t realize instances could rack up charges so quickly, and one fine morning, AWS billed me ₹5000. Cue panic mode.
Shoutout and appreciation to AWS for handeling my mess up well(
