When we talk about a career in Tech, Clubs are a great place to find your footing as a fresher. You meet people with similar interests, get to know each other, help someone out, share resources — and ask them to throw a party when they land that internship!!

Overall, it sounds great — and it is. Building a community is beneficial for you and your peers. You get to explore the various domains in the Tech Landscape, geek out and grab coffee while working on cool project.

So, by the end of this article, you’ll learn how to become a Cloud Captain — and I’ll share some insights from my journey.

Prerequisites :

Before you start, there are a few prerequisites to becoming an AWS Cloud Captain:

Post-Secondary: You should be enrolled in a college or university.
Age: At least age of 18 and 27
Document : You’ll also need to submit a document from your university confirming that they’ll support and allow an AWS Cloud Club with a signature from one of your Faculty. (Only if you don’t have a existing Cloud Club)

What is AWS Cloud Club ?

AWS Cloud Clubs are student-led club for University/College students who are passionate about tech community and leadership, The Program has been running since 2023 and currently it’s in its C4 cohort (2025). The Program is managed by the AWS Community Team which oversee the Captains and help them out starting their Club.

Captains are expected to create core-team (4-5 people) which will help them out in carrying out different tasks. You are asked to choose the next captain for transition from your core team itself, Plus you're also responsible for creating a learning environment within the club and helping students explore new AWS tools and technologies.

You’re in direct contact with the AWSome Advocacy team (Tracy, Nayoung and Curtis) who are incredibly supportive and will help you out if you run into any challenges.

Responsibilities :

Being a Captain is not easy. You’ll have to manage a lot of task & people and there are key responsibilities expected from you :

Club Growth and Membership : Expanding the club for new members to join.
Event Management : Organize Club events, labs, webinars, workshops and guest sessions every quarter, focusing on AWS Tech
Data & Metrics : Document Club growth metrics and provide feedback to the AWS team.
Community Engagement : Networking and Connection among members, Collaboration with other Cloud Club, User Group, Community builder and AWS Heroes.
Leadership : Manage the Club and Leadership Transition.

Perks and Benefits

While the job as a Captain comes with its work and responsibilities, you also gets some great perks and benefits

A Swag Kit : A Swag kit containing a Captain Jacket, T-shirt, A Ring Light + Stand with a Mic.
Badges : Captain gets badges (Bronze → Silver → Gold →Diamond → Platinum) for completing different events and workshops.
AWS Credits : The core team and Captain get AWS credits.
AWS Certification Exam Vouchers : The Core team members and Captain can receive 1 AWS certification exam voucher.
QA Learning License : The Captain get an exclusive Learning License.

Application Process :

To become a cloud captain you have 2 options,

You get referred by the last Cloud captain
You become the first captain for your campus.

Both the approach have the same application process, so this doesn’t make a difference :

Essay : You are asked some question and to write a essay on your previous leadership Experience or your knowledge on AWS services. Reminder, these questions can vary each year so there is no fixed pattern here.
Video and Presentation : You’ll need to make a quick video around 4-5 minutes talking about an AWS service with a presentation (created by you). You can pick any service you like, here’s a video for reference.

Timeline :

As of now, the Cloud Club Applications are closed. the next application cycle, planned to be opened in August 2025. Till then use this time to Up-skill yourself and explore new AWS Technology everyday. To stay updated you can keep an eye on this website

My Journey :

I was a Cloud Club member for a year before getting referred for the Cloud Captain position, I’ve been very Interested in the Cloud and DevOps landscape from the very start - though lately I’ve been exploring Developer Relations. AWS in particular caught my interest as Infrastructure, Availability and the whole Ecosystem made me go - wow !

Becoming a Captain brought its own challenges. I had to build the courage to speak on stage in front of Hundreds of people. It wasn’t easy — but with a little push and consistent effort, I developed that skill. One Of the best parts of the role is the chance to teach others and build genuine connection with some of the Great minds.

The past 4 months of being a Captain were really very fast - paced , I got to conduct a speaker session Within the first week of being appointed to the role. It was intense at first but I adjusted and now I have Some tips for the future Captains :

Distribute the Work : Don’t try to do everything yourself — I made that mistake. Distribute tasks wherever you can. It’s not optimal to carry it all alone.
Pick the Right People : When choosing your Core team , don’t pick your friends for the sake of friendship - pick the right and accountable people who will really help you out and take responsibility for their actions.
Hands Dirty: To all the captains I’ve spoken to has had to get rid of people from their team due to their slaking off and not showing up which happens ! and you just got to get rid of them. Period.
Reach Out : Don’t be afraid to reach out to other captains or Developers in the relation position (DevRel, DevAdv ..etc) for help, building genuine and authentic relations will take you a long way.

Conclusion :

In the end its your own journey — and a beautiful one at that, Believe in yourself and you’ll do a wonderful job. I wish you all the best for your upcoming endeavors as a Cloud Captain. May the force be with you !

And hey, don’t hesitate to ping me if you any questions or wanna have a coffee chat ☕ .

How to Become a AWS Cloud Captain - My Journey with AWS.

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