Hello world! It's been quite some time since my last blog, back at the beginning of my journalism career.
Now I found myself neither gainfully employed as a member of the press nor in the manufacturing field I followed it into. And yet, here I am, more excited for the future than I have ever been. So what exactly am I so excited about? Before I start, I'd like to acknowledge I will be breaking the cardinal rule of journalism: never, EVER put yourself in the story. However, not only am I allowing myself to ignore my training - but in this era of personal branding - it is encouraged. I can BE the story.
So then, what is my story?
There are many ways to follow this headline. The truest account - and please respect what remains of my journalistic integrity - goes something like this.
I've always harboured an interest in computers so when the Digital Jobs Program came on my radar I jumped at the opportunity - even though I was employed at the time as an assistant manager at a manufacturing company. I choose the AWS Re/Start course because it covered a wide variety of topics and would provide a decent foundation for a career change. I didn't know much about cloud computing but the syllabus really appealed to me and I was ready to give it my all.
So I left my job to take on this program and take a step into the great unknown.
Luckily for me, I loved the course from the outset. I was spending my days and evenings absorbing as much new informations as I possibly could. I then came across Forest Brazeal's 'Cloud Resume Challenge' which is touted as the ultimate test for anyone looking to get into a cloud career. The premise of the project is simple - host your resume in the cloud. There are, however, several conditions.
1. Get an AWS certification
2. Write the resume in HTML & styled with CSS
3. Deploy as an Amazon S3 Static website
4. Use a custom DNS Domain name with HTTPS security
5. Include a visitor counter made from Javascript, DynamoDB, API Gateways and Lambda functions (written in Python)
6. Python tests for Lambda
7. Deploy all resources via a Serverless Application Model (SAM) template instead of using the console!
8. Use Github as source control, and Github Actions for CI/CD
Needless to say, I had never done anything like this before - but I saw it as a opportunity to build on my learning. It was a huge challenge, and took me several weeks alongside my coursework to complete. There where many evenings when I had absolutely no clue how to tackle the next step. But with a little bit of research and a lot of head-scratching and persistence, I'm happy to report I overcame the challenge! I'll go deeper into specific challenges I faced during this project in my next post.
I made this diagram showing my architecture and you can see the finished project here. It was such a rewarding experience and my confidence in my practical skills has skyrocketed.
If you've made it this far - I highly recommend the challenge if you're looking to test your skills! There's a supportive community and a plethora of learning materials available at the Cloud Resume Challenge. Finally, I'd like to thank Forest Brazeal and the CRC community for their efforts in making the cloud accessible to all.