Let’s talk about Brandon Croom’s cloud journey. Brandon started his work in IT infrastructure, which is where he first got introduced to Cloud Academy. Having limited exposure to cloud technologies, he decided it would be good to jump in and get some deeper knowledge in order to build a better foundation.
This was a great move for Brandon. As he educated himself, he was able to take on more responsibility at work and ultimately help set his company’s cloud strategy. Becoming fluent in cloud meant that Brandon was able to be well-grounded and comfortable so he could talk intelligently about cloud topics with both internal stakeholders and external vendors. This is a good example of the extra “soft skills” benefits you can get from training with Cloud Academy.
From skills gaps to multiple certifications
Brandon’s method for learning was to start addressing any skills gaps he had. As he gained confidence with new abilities, he decided to go down the certification route, starting with the AWS Cloud Practitioner and then the Solutions Architect Associate.
Since then, Brandon has transitioned into working in the analytics space. His new goals are to get two AWS specialty certifications: AWS Certified Machine Learning and AWS Certified Data Analytics.
What’s an average study day for Brandon?
At first, Brandon was fairly structured: he dedicated a couple of hours each day to studying. But as other priorities claimed his time, his studying became less structured and he would just check out the courses and labs whenever he could find time. Lunch breaks have proven to be perfect for these sorts of short bursts, allowing Brandon to quickly boost his confidence in new areas and enabling him to talk to more experienced colleagues in a productive way.
Favorite parts of Cloud Academy
Brandon loves everything about the courses themselves. He appreciates the varied and broad view across the entire cloud and tech space. He really enjoys that the lectures are not just a slide deck with a narrator — it’s helpful to have a face to look at and engaging visuals. In addition to all this, a real wallet-saver has been the lab playgrounds. They’ve allowed him to have fun exploring and not worry about ever getting any expensive bills from accidentally leaving instances running all weekend.
