Learning Amazon Web Services (AWS) is quite possibly the single most valuable career move you can make if you want to work in cloud computing or data engineering. As of 2025, AWS controls a share of the global cloud market that exceeds 30%, and its ecosystem is the underlying technology infrastructure for thousands of data-powered companies. But while AWS presents infinite opportunities, newcomers frequently fall into predictable gaffes that stymie their efforts. So, here are a few problems to be aware of; correcting them early will help get your learning process on the right track and speed it up. Skipping the Core Foundations One of the most common mistakes learners make is jumping into services like S3, EC2, or Glue without a fundamental understanding of cloud architecture. Foundations are the “grammar” of AWS—fundamental concepts including global infrastructure, availability zones, IAM roles, and shared responsibility. Not mastering these precedents would be like trying to write a...