What is AWS?
AWS started in 2006. Amazon had built massive server infrastructure for its own e-commerce operations and, the story goes, decided to rent that infrastructure out to other companies as well. That's how AWS began.
AWS is one of the world's most widely used cloud platforms, offering servers, databases, AI, video delivery, IoT, and much more. The number of services, their names, and pricing all change over time, so rather than memorizing specifics it's more useful to think of AWS as "a giant toolkit where you borrow whatever IT components you need over the internet."
AWS's key services
AWS has over 200 services, but beginners only need to know these four. With EC2 for compute, S3 for storage, RDS for your database, and Lambda for automation, you can build a fully functional web service.
Who uses AWS?
Video streaming, e-commerce, games, corporate systems, research computing — AWS is everywhere. The list of users and the scope of adoption change over time, so check AWS's official customer stories for the latest. The key takeaway for students is that services worldwide combine their own servers with cloud infrastructure to operate.
Recommended ways to start
AWS has a free tier, but which services qualify, for how long, and up to what limits can change. You'll need a payment method to register, so talk with a parent/guardian first and set up billing alerts and a budget limit before you begin. The most common mistake when learning cloud is forgetting to delete resources and getting an unexpected bill.
The best first project: launch an EC2 web server and display a page with your name on it. The moment your HTML is live on real cloud infrastructure used by the world's biggest tech companies is genuinely exciting.
If you want a gentler start, try hosting a static HTML file on S3 or experimenting with Linux commands in CloudShell. Rather than diving into complex networking or databases right away, focus on the "create, see it work, delete" cycle. Deleting resources you no longer need is part of learning cloud.
Common pitfalls
- Charges start immediately once you exceed the free tier. Always set a billing alert for your monthly limit.
- Accidentally pushing an access key to GitHub is a common cause of large unexpected bills due to abuse.
- There are too many services — it's easy to get lost. Start with just EC2, S3, and IAM.
How does this help your future?
AWS skills are useful across web development, infrastructure, AI, data analysis, security, and more. Certifications exist, but for students, hands-on experience matters just as much — "I published a small site," "I stored files in S3," "I set up billing alerts." People who know how to use cloud safely are well-positioned to keep learning in any professional environment.
Things you can try today
- Talk with a parent/guardian and create a free AWS account (credit card required)
- Set a billing alert at ¥100/month to prevent unexpected charges
- Launch an Ubuntu server on EC2 and display a simple web page
Summary
Check AWS in one line is?