As FinTech and Investment Banking rapidly shift towards cloud-first strategies, there's a strong demand for experienced IT professionals who understand both legacy systems and modern cloud environments. If you've spent a decade supporting critical apps on UNIX/Linux, managing databases, scripting in Perl/Shell, and following ITIL practices—your skills are not obsolete—they’re foundational. This guide helps you bridge your traditional knowledge with AWS, enabling a successful pivot into cloud-based support roles such as:

• AWS Cloud Support Engineer
• DevOps/Platform Engineer
• Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)

Why Shift to AWS Cloud Support in FinTech?

Core AWS Cloud Tech Stack for FinTech Support

1. AWS Core Services

2. Supporting Tech

• Linux OS (Amazon Linux, Ubuntu)
• Scripting: Python (preferred), Bash (still valuable)
• Infra as Code: Terraform, CloudFormation
• DevOps Tools: GitHub Actions, Jenkins, CodePipeline
• Observability: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK
• APIs: REST, boto3 (Python AWS SDK)

3. Containers (Docker, ECS, EKS)

✅ Why Docker is Non-Negotiable

What to Learn

• Docker Basics: docker run, docker build, docker-compose
• Dockerfile syntax
• AWS ECR (Elastic Container Registry)
• ECS tasks, EKS pods, Fargate
• Docker Best Practices: multi-stage builds, minimal base images, non-root users

How Your Traditional Experience Maps to AWS

Learning Pathway (Step-by-Step Guide)

Phase 1: Cloud Foundations (1–2 Months)

What to Learn

• AWS Basics: EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS
• Shared Responsibility Model
• Intro to Well-Architected Framework

Resources

• AWS Skill Builder
• Udemy: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (Stephane Maarek)
• YouTube: FreeCodeCamp AWS Full Course

Hands-On

• Create an EC2 instance, attach EBS
• Configure IAM users & roles
• Host static website on S3

Phase 2: AWS Support & Operations (2–3 Months)

What to Learn

• EC2 monitoring & patching with Systems Manager
• CloudWatch alarms and dashboards
• S3 lifecycle, RDS performance tuning
• CLI, boto3 for automation

Resources

• Coursera: AWS SysOps Admin
• ACloudGuru: SysOps Admin Course
• AWS Support Whitepapers & Blogs

Hands-On

• Automate EC2 backups via Lambda
• Troubleshoot CPU spikes with CloudWatch & logs
• Use SSM for patch automation

Phase 3: Docker & Containers (1–2 Months)

What to Learn

• Docker engine, Compose, Dockerfiles
• Deploy container to AWS ECS & EKS
• Container monitoring & scaling

Resources

• Docker Docs
• Udemy: Docker Mastery by Bret Fisher
• YouTube: TechWorld with Nana - Docker Series

Hands-On

• Containerize a Python app
• Push to ECR
• Deploy on ECS using Fargate
• Monitor with Container Insights

Phase 4: FinTech-Specific Cloud Knowledge

What to Learn

• PCI-DSS, GDPR, RBI Guidelines on Cloud
• Multi-AZ architecture
• Fault tolerance & disaster recovery
• AWS KMS, Shield for sensitive apps

Resources

• AWS Compliance Center
• AWS Well-Architected Tool
• Blogs on FinTech AWS Architectures from AWS

Tools You’ll Commonly Use

Use Cases for Hands-On Practice

• Simulate EC2 Failure: Restore using AMI + CloudWatch alarms
• Setup RDS with Failover: Use Multi-AZ Aurora + snapshots
• Deploy Containerized FinTech App: ECS + Fargate + CloudWatch
• Automate Log Rotation: Lambda + CloudWatch + S3

Certifications (Optional but Recommended)

Career Roadmap After Transition

✅ Final Tips

• Practice every day: Use AWS Free Tier, experiment often.
• Document your journey: Build a GitHub portfolio of scripts, IaC, and solutions.
• Bridge the language gap: Learn to translate business/ITSM processes into cloud automation.
• Don’t reinvent: Use AWS Well-Architected Framework to guide decisions.