AWS, Azure, and GCP Learning Paths for Beginners

Cloud computing is one of the most in-demand skill sets in tech, but getting started can feel overwhelming. AWS alone has over 200 services. Azure and GCP are similarly vast. Without a clear path, it is easy to jump between topics, miss foundational concepts, and end up with scattered knowledge that does not hold together.

LearningBro offers structured learning paths for all three major cloud platforms, each containing 13 courses arranged in a logical progression from fundamentals through to advanced architectural principles. There is also a dedicated DevOps path for the tooling and practices that tie cloud infrastructure together.

This post breaks down what each path covers and how to get the most out of them.

How the Cloud Paths Are Structured

All three cloud learning paths, AWS, Azure, and GCP, follow the same proven structure. This is intentional. Cloud platforms differ in their naming conventions and specific implementations, but the underlying concepts are remarkably consistent. By following the same progression across all three, you build transferable knowledge that makes it easier to work across platforms or switch between them later in your career.

The 13-course structure moves through these stages:

Fundamentals — Core cloud concepts, service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), global infrastructure, and the basics of the platform's console and CLI. This is where you build the mental model that everything else hangs on.

Identity and Security — How authentication, authorisation, and access management work on the platform. Understanding IAM early is critical because it touches every other service you will use.

Compute — Virtual machines, instance types, scaling, and the various compute options available. This is the backbone of most cloud workloads.

Storage — Object storage, block storage, file systems, and when to use each. You will learn about durability, availability, and cost trade-offs.

Databases — Managed database services including relational, NoSQL, and caching options. The focus is on choosing the right database for the right workload.

Serverless — Functions-as-a-service and event-driven architectures. This is where you learn to build applications without managing servers at all.

Containers — Container orchestration services, registry management, and how containers fit into the broader cloud ecosystem.

Messaging and Integration — Queues, pub/sub systems, and event buses that decouple services and enable reliable distributed architectures.

Monitoring and Observability — Logging, metrics, alarms, and dashboards. Building something in the cloud is only half the job; you need to know when it breaks and why.

Infrastructure as Code — Defining and managing your cloud resources through code rather than clicking through consoles. This is essential for reproducibility and collaboration.

Well-Architected Framework — Each cloud provider publishes a framework for building secure, resilient, efficient, and cost-effective systems. This final course pulls everything together into architectural best practices.

The AWS Cloud Path

The AWS Cloud learning path takes you through 13 courses covering Amazon Web Services from the ground up. You will start with AWS fundamentals, covering regions, availability zones, and the AWS Management Console, before moving into IAM, EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, ECS, SQS/SNS, CloudWatch, CloudFormation, and the AWS Well-Architected Framework.

AWS remains the largest cloud provider by market share, so this path is a solid choice if you are targeting roles at organisations that have standardised on Amazon's platform. It is also strong preparation if you are working towards AWS certifications like the Cloud Practitioner or Solutions Architect Associate.

The Azure Cloud Path

The Azure Cloud learning path follows the same 13-course structure, adapted for Microsoft's cloud platform. You will cover Azure fundamentals, Azure Active Directory and RBAC, Virtual Machines, Blob Storage, Azure SQL and Cosmos DB, Azure Functions, AKS, Service Bus, Azure Monitor, ARM templates and Bicep, and the Azure Well-Architected Framework.

Azure is the natural path if your organisation uses Microsoft technologies or if you are in an enterprise environment where Microsoft 365 and Azure AD are already in place. It is also relevant for roles that require integration with on-premises Windows infrastructure.

The GCP Cloud Path

The GCP Cloud learning path covers Google Cloud Platform across the same 13 courses. Starting with GCP fundamentals, you will work through Cloud IAM, Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, Cloud SQL and Firestore, Cloud Functions, GKE, Pub/Sub, Cloud Monitoring, Terraform on GCP, and the Google Cloud Architecture Framework.

GCP is particularly strong in data engineering, machine learning, and Kubernetes (having originally developed the technology). If your career interests lean towards data or ML workloads, or if you are working with organisations that run on Google's infrastructure, this path gives you a thorough foundation.

Choosing Between Paths

If you are not sure which cloud to learn first, here are some practical guidelines:

Pick AWS if you want the broadest job market. More organisations run on AWS than any other cloud, so AWS skills are the most universally applicable.

Pick Azure if you work in an enterprise that uses Microsoft products, or if you are targeting roles in industries like finance and government where Azure adoption is particularly strong.

Pick GCP if you are drawn to data engineering, machine learning, or companies in the Google ecosystem.

That said, the skills are highly transferable. Once you understand compute, storage, networking, and security on one platform, picking up a second or third becomes significantly faster. Many cloud engineers are expected to work across multiple providers.

The DevOps Path

Cloud skills on their own only tell part of the story. In practice, deploying and managing applications in the cloud requires a set of DevOps tools and practices that sit alongside platform-specific knowledge.

The DevOps learning path covers 10 courses that give you a practical grounding in the toolchain modern teams rely on:

• Linux fundamentals — The operating system that runs the majority of cloud workloads
• Git — Version control for your code and infrastructure definitions
• Docker — Containerisation, building images, and running containers
• Kubernetes — Container orchestration at scale
• CI/CD — Continuous integration and continuous deployment pipelines
• Terraform — Infrastructure as Code that works across cloud providers
• Ansible — Configuration management and automation
• Monitoring — Observability tools and practices for production systems

These skills complement any of the three cloud paths. A common approach is to work through one cloud path first, then follow it with the DevOps path, or to alternate between the two if you prefer variety.

Earning Certificates

When you complete a learning path on LearningBro, you earn a certificate that you can share. This gives you something tangible to show for your effort, whether you are updating your LinkedIn profile, applying for jobs, or simply tracking your own professional development.

Certificates are generated on completion and can be accessed from your profile at any time.

Getting Started

Each learning path is designed to be taken in order, starting from course one and working through to the end. The courses build on each other, so the sequence matters. That said, if you already have experience with certain topics, you can skip ahead to where your knowledge gaps are.

All courses include lessons with clear explanations followed by quizzes to test your understanding. You can revisit any lesson or retake any quiz as many times as you need.

To get started, pick the path that aligns with your goals:

• AWS Cloud Learning Path — 13 courses from fundamentals to Well-Architected Framework
• Azure Cloud Learning Path — 13 courses covering Microsoft's cloud platform end to end
• GCP Cloud Learning Path — 13 courses through Google Cloud Platform
• DevOps Learning Path — 10 courses covering the essential DevOps toolchain

Whether you are a developer looking to understand the infrastructure your code runs on, a sysadmin moving into cloud roles, or someone making a career change into tech, these paths give you a structured way to build real, demonstrable cloud skills.