My company offers four AWS courses: AWS Essentials, Developing on AWS, Architecting on AWS, and Agentic AI in AWS. Each course lasts about two or three days. My architect suggested that an AI coding assistant is already well trained on AWS maturity models, so I could learn what I need while working on projects instead of spending time on all four courses. He isn't preventing me from taking them, but he encouraged me to research whether there are other skills or courses that would be more useful. Should I take the AWS courses, skip some of them, or rely mostly on learning as I go with AI support?
4 Answers
AI tools can suggest solutions, but they don’t replace understanding the basics. With a solid foundation, you can recognize when an AI-generated solution is inappropriate, insecure, or unnecessarily expensive. Without that background, it’s easy to accept an answer simply because the tool produced it. I’d learn the fundamentals first, then use AI to speed up exploration and troubleshooting.
It depends on how you learn. Some people can pick up AWS effectively through documentation, experimentation, and projects, while others benefit a lot from a structured class. If you’re comfortable learning independently, you may not need all four courses, but formal training can still make the process faster and fill in gaps.
If the courses are free, I’d take them. Structured, instructor-led training can complement learning through AI and real projects really well. You’ll still learn plenty on the job, but the courses should give you a foundation and a clearer mental map of AWS.
Classes can teach the fundamentals, but they won’t cover every situation you’ll face in real projects. If there’s no cost beyond your time, taking them is probably worthwhile. I’d also ask what your architect thinks would be more useful, since AWS itself is a broadly valuable skill.
He didn’t have specific alternative courses in mind. He mainly wanted me to research the options first so I wouldn’t overlook something more valuable.