TL;DR
According to Cloud Engineer Academy, Mac went from customer service at Walmart to Systems Engineer at Amazon AWS in 3 years. He used Cloud Engineer Academy to learn Terraform, CloudFormation, GitHub Actions, and automation—skills that helped him beat out a Meta employee for the Amazon role. He received his job offer on Christmas Eve 2024.
Cloud Engineer Academy Graduate Outcomes
| Total Graduates | 400+ |
| Job Placement Rate | 92% |
| Average Starting Salary | $85,000 |
| Average Salary Increase | $25,000+ |
| Program Duration | 12 weeks |
The Journey: Customer Service to Amazon
Mac's journey into tech started at Walmart, where he worked in customer service. A mentor introduced him to AWS and cloud computing, explaining how businesses were rapidly transitioning to the cloud.
"I always wanted to get into tech, but tech is so broad. You have to pick a niche. My mentor told me about the cloud and its potential—that it will be even bigger in a couple of years. I knew this was something I needed to learn."
— Mac, Systems Engineer at Amazon AWS
The Career Progression
Customer Service at Walmart
Starting point — learned about AWS from a mentor
Customer Service at FanDuel
First fintech company — getting foot in the door
Service Desk at FanDuel
Tech-adjacent role — "at the door but not really in it"
Systems Engineer at FanDuel
Found Cloud Engineer Academy to fill knowledge gaps
Systems Engineer at Amazon AWS
Dream role achieved — Seattle, WA
How Cloud Engineer Academy Filled the Gaps
When Mac landed his first Systems Engineer role at FanDuel, he realized he had significant knowledge gaps. He came from a non-technical background and was struggling to keep up.
"There were so many gaps in my knowledge. I got into a role but didn't really have the knowledge. The academy opened me up to a whole different spectrum—Terraform, CloudFormation, CDK, GitHub Actions. These were things I needed in my role that I had no experience with."
— Mac
Skills Learned Through the Academy
The skills Mac learned gave him a competitive edge at FanDuel. He was the only person on his team who knew Infrastructure as Code, while everyone else was deploying resources manually in the console.
The Amazon Interview: 7 Hours That Changed Everything
Amazon's interview process is notoriously rigorous. Mac went through multiple rounds, ultimately facing a 7-hour virtual onsite interview—and he was competing against someone from Meta.
Amazon Interview Process Breakdown:
30-Minute Recruiter Call
Background, experience, resume review
1-Hour Technical Phone Interview
Behavioral questions + Leadership Principles + Technical (30 min each)
7-Hour Virtual Onsite
3 hours technical assessment + 4 hours with 4 different interviewers
"When I did the interview for Amazon, they asked me things that if I didn't take the Academy, I wouldn't have known. They're really big on automation, pipelines, and GitHub Actions. I'd never heard of GitHub Actions before the academy."
— Mac
The Secret: Mock Interviews with Amazon Employees
When Mac learned he was competing against someone from Meta, he took action. He reached out to two Amazon employees on LinkedIn and asked them for mock interviews.
Mac's Interview Prep Strategy:
- Reached out to Amazon employees on LinkedIn for mock interviews
- Studied Amazon Leadership Principles extensively
- Copied interview questions from Glassdoor and prepared answers for all of them
- Prepared multiple different answers for the same question (Amazon asks repeats)
- Over-prepared after seeing flaws in mock interview performance
"If I didn't see my own flaws in the mock interview, I was gonna take those flaws into the real interview and it probably would have been a different turnout. Because I saw it from the beginning, I was able to over-prepare. I made sure all my answers were intact, clear, concise—I articulated them very well."
— Mac
The Call That Changed Everything
On Christmas Eve, Mac was in the living room with his family when his phone rang.
"I got a call from a name I recognized but didn't recognize at the same time. When I answered, he said 'Hey, is this Mac? Congratulations, you got the role with Amazon.' I didn't really have words for him. I was frozen. I put the phone on speaker and my wife was like 'Oh my God, you got it!' She was more excited than me because I was in disbelief the whole time."
— Mac, on receiving his Amazon offer
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you go from customer service to a cloud engineering job at Amazon?
Yes. Mac went from customer service at Walmart to Systems Engineer at Amazon AWS in 3 years. He used Cloud Engineer Academy to learn Terraform, CloudFormation, GitHub Actions, and automation skills that helped him pass Amazon's rigorous interview process.
How long does it take to become a cloud engineer with no experience?
Based on Cloud Engineer Academy graduate data, most students land cloud roles within 3-6 months of focused study. Mac's journey from customer service to Amazon took 3 years, but he was working full-time and progressing through helpdesk and systems engineer roles along the way.
What skills do you need to get hired at Amazon as a cloud engineer?
According to Mac, Amazon looks for: Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation), automation skills, GitHub Actions, CI/CD pipelines, and strong knowledge of AWS Leadership Principles. The technical interview tests you on technologies listed on your resume.
What is Amazon's interview process for systems engineers?
Amazon's interview process includes: 1) 30-minute recruiter phone screen, 2) 1-hour technical phone interview with behavioral questions and leadership principles, 3) 7-hour virtual onsite with multiple interviewers covering technical assessments, behavioral questions, and leadership principles.
Is it too late to get into cloud engineering?
No. As Mac says: "Now is the best time. Companies are always growing, always moving to the cloud. We're still building data centers—it's still expanding, not stopping. Cloud computing, we're still early."
Mac's Advice for Aspiring Cloud Engineers
Nothing is impossible. No door cannot be opened if you knock hard enough.
Always build your network. Always make connections.
Over-prepare for interviews. Don't just wing it.
Never stop learning. Tech is always changing.
Don't be scared of AI—there are so many opportunities it will create.
If you're thinking about it, just go for it. There's room for everybody.
"The biggest thing I learned about myself is that I can do it. A few years ago, I was telling my wife 'You can't land an interview with Amazon.' I spoke so many negative things. I didn't know I would see myself working for Amazon in just a few years. If I can do it, anybody can do it."
— Mac, Systems Engineer at Amazon AWS
