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Introduction to AWS - Understand AWS basics in 5 hours! (Udemy.com)

Updated 2026 - A quick, fun, and easy to follow introduction to AWS. Learn Hands-on Skills. Ideal pre-certification prep

Created by: Rick Crisci

Last updated June 2026

Our take

Based on the ratings of 21,493 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in June 2026. No course pays to be reviewed.

Rick Crisci's course is a quick survey of AWS for people starting from zero. It runs about 5.8 hours across 53 lectures, and most lessons are short. The syllabus covers account sign-up, the Free Tier, regions, S3, EC2, IAM, VPCs, Lambda, RDS, DynamoDB, CloudWatch and ECS, plus a brief look at Bedrock. It is a map of the platform, not training on any one piece of it. The last update was in June 2026, so it is recent.

Reviewers keep coming back to the same things: clear explanations, a calm speaking pace, and analogies that make sense to non-technical people. A few say they watched at 1.5x or 2x without trouble. The demos get credit for reinforcing the concepts, and one reviewer liked the interview-style role-play sections. Complaints are mild. One student wanted deeper practical detail, another found it too much to fit around a workload. Roughly nine in ten of the 21,493 ratings are four or five stars, and only a few hundred are one or two.

Hands-on work is light. The course has 21 quizzes but no coding exercises, and the labs mostly mean creating an S3 bucket or an EC2 instance. One reviewer also notes it points toward the instructor's own exam prep courses. That is fine for a first pass. Pick it for a fast, low-pressure overview before cert study or a cloud-heavy job, and plan a second course if you want to build things.

Best forComplete beginners and non-engineers who need AWS vocabulary fast, before a cert track or a cloud-heavy job.
Skip it ifYou want deep hands-on labs or exam-level detail on any single AWS service.

Pros

  • Short lessons with plain analogies that non-technical viewers say they follow easily
  • Covers a wide spread of services, from S3 and EC2 to IAM, Lambda, ECS and Bedrock
  • Holds up at 1.5x or 2x speed, so the 5.8 hours can shrink for busy people
  • Updated in June 2026, with 21 quizzes and downloadable PDF study guides

Cons

  • Hands-on practice is thin, mostly creating an S3 bucket and an EC2 instance
  • Breadth over depth, so one reviewer wanted more practical detail in the videos
  • One reviewer found it too long to fit around work, and it nudges toward the author's exam courses
Great starting point for anyone new to cloud technologies. The explanations are straightforward and easy to understand, and the demos help reinforce the key concepts.
Paudel Namaraj, a student

Fits true beginners and non-engineers. It asks for no AWS experience and works on any computer.

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What you will learn

  • Learn basic concepts of key AWS services quickly
  • Use the AWS console to create EC2 instances, S3 buckets, and more!
  • Use downloadable PDF study quides to reinforce what you learn
  • Learn how you can become AWS Certified
  • Follow the demos or use written PDF lab guides to try these tasks in your AWS account
  • Complete quizzes at the end of each key lesson to test your knowledge

Course content

2 sections · 53 lectures · 5.8 hours of video 21 quizzes

  1. 1Introduction 6 free previews51 lectures · 19 quizzes · 5.5 hours
  2. 2AWS Use Cases 1 free preview2 lectures · 2 quizzes · 17 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • Anyone who needs to get started with the basic concepts of AWS
  • Anyone that plans to work on achieving AWS certifications, but doesn't know where to start

What you need before you start

  • No AWS experience needed!
  • Any computer works — Windows, macOS or Linux

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Course Description

"Great introduction to AWS. I wanted a quick course to understand the basics, and this course delivered." - Susan

"The explanation was really good and could be easily understood by beginners." - Chopra


Are you brand new to AWS?

If you need a clear, beginner-friendly AWS basics course that explains core cloud concepts in plain language, this AWS for beginners training is for you.

Why should I choose this course?

Most lessons are just 5–10 minutes long, so you can quickly build a solid understanding of how AWS works and which services matter most for beginners. You’ll learn how to use the AWS Free Tier, explore the AWS Management Console, and see how AWS compares to other major cloud providers in simple, real-world terms.

In about 4 short hours, you’ll have a practical introduction to AWS. You’ll recognize common AWS services, navigate the AWS Console confidently, and understand how AWS fits into real-world cloud use cases

Will I actually learn how to use AWS in the real world?

Yes! You will learn how to sign up and how to take advantage of the free tier. You'll also learn some basic skills in the AWS Console, including creating S3 Buckets and EC2 Instances.

In this AWS for beginners course, you’ll learn how to sign up for an AWS account, safely use the AWS Free Tier, and navigate the AWS Management Console step by step. Through short video lessons, hands-on labs, quizzes, and role-play scenarios, you’ll build practical skills with core AWS services and real-world cloud concepts.

You will:

  • Get an introduction to AWS, common use cases, and the AWS learning path and certifications

  • Learn the basics of AWS AI solutions like Bedrock

  • Learn how to sign up for an AWS account, use the AWS Free Tier, and navigate the AWS Console

  • Explore how AWS compares to other cloud providers like Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure

  • Understand AWS Regions and Availability Zones and how they impact your architecture

  • Work with storage and compute services, including Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, EBS, and EFS

  • Learn the basics of AWS networking with VPCs, load balancers, and highly available architectures

  • Get introduced to serverless computing with AWS Lambda and practice with hands-on labs

  • Understand key cloud concepts such as elasticity, auto scaling, and the shared responsibility model

  • Practice essential security skills with IAM, multifactor authentication (MFA), and billing alerts

  • Monitor and audit your environment using CloudWatch and CloudTrail

  • Work with managed databases like Amazon RDS and DynamoDB

  • Run containers in the cloud using Amazon ECS and the AWS CLI for command-line management

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Instructor Details

Rick Crisci

I am the owner of TrainerTests and have delivered thousands of hours of official live training to my students, and I love teaching people new skills.

I provide video training unlike any other organization. I believe in using high quality illustrations and animations to simplify complex concepts. In my courses you will get the technical depth that you need, with a focus on making sure that you completely understand the underlying concepts.

Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, I always enjoy making new contacts with my students!

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Reviews

4.6

21,493 ratings on Udemy

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By Axay Bhakta on 7/27/2026

I enjoyed starting my journey into AWS with your course. The analogies used by you were basic and I believe that they can be understood by anyone. Thank you for the Intro.

By Paudel Namaraj on 5/21/2026

Great starting point for anyone new to cloud technologies. The explanations are straightforward and easy to understand, and the demos help reinforce the key concepts. I also appreciated the references to other courses, which make it easier to continue learning.

By Bhupesh Gupta on 5/10/2026

I really appreciated the smooth flow and clear delivery of the lectures. I watched them at 1.5x speed to complete the course more quickly, and I’m very satisfied overall. The content was concise, focused, and stayed on point without unnecessary digressions.

By Rakesh Upadhyay on 5/2/2026

I found the training to be very well-structured and especially helpful as a beginner. The concepts were explained in a simple and clear way, which made it easy for me to follow along and build a strong foundation. One of the most impactful parts for me was the role-play sessions. They weren’t hands-on, but were conducted more like interview-style discussions that really made me think. I had to analyze scenarios, organize my thoughts, and articulate my responses clearly. This approach helped me gain a much better understanding of how to apply the concepts in real situations and boosted my confidence. Overall, I feel this training is highly valuable for beginners, as it not only covers the basics well but also encourages active thinking through its unique role-play format.

By Harsh Kumar on 4/23/2026

4 hours, zero fluff, and you walk away with a solid mental model of AWS. As a backend developer upskilling for bigger roles, I needed an intro that didn't waste my time. This delivered. Every service explained was relevant, every concept was crisp. Best intro to AWS I've come across.

By Anonymized User on 4/13/2026

It didn't knew about AWS before but has a good understanding now. Role plays feature in this course is an excellent addition that helps you iterate what you have learned.

By Mukti Pattnaik on 4/11/2026

Course was good, Lot of information for beginners, but the advertisement for other courses repeatedly was bit disturbing.

By Milos Vincic on 3/18/2026

Overall the course was good and I like the idea with Role Plays in terms of preparing you to be better prepared for interviews and some live case scenarios but AI is still not working properly and it's really frustrating talking to when listener is not "working" properly

By Greg Sadler on 2/5/2026

Excellent overview with practical demos of the basic AWS services. Great refresher for those who have worked in AWS, moved on to other job responsibilities, but want to renew their familiarity with the latest services and terminology in AWS. Course moves quickly and is presented very well.

By Prashant Patil on 12/28/2025

This is one of the best AWS basics courses I’ve taken. The explanations are clear, practical, and easy to follow, even when covering complex services. I especially liked that each service ends with a quiz and an AI assistant to answer questions — it really reinforces learning and helps check understanding right away. The examples feel realistic, and the pacing is perfect for beginners while still useful for someone revising fundamentals. Highly recommended for anyone who wants a solid foundation in AWS with interactive learning along the way.

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Overall Score : 92 / 100