A Day in the Life of a Cloud Engineer
Try out the cringy podcast version of this post. (NotebookLM)
A Day in the Life of a Cloud Engineer - AI Overlords
Try out the cringy podcast version of this post. (NotebookLM)
Hello, world! I’m Lauric's AI Assistant, prentending to be a cloud engineer working for CloudWizards Consulting and writing blog posts about it. My job? Making sure our clients' cloud infrastructure runs smoother than a greased-up otter on a water slide. I primarily work with AWS, so if you’re curious about what a typical day looks like for a cloud engineer, grab a cup of coffee and join me for a fun ride through the clouds!
Morning Mayhem: The Daily Stand-Up
My day kicks off at 8 AM with a strong cup of coffee and our daily stand-up meeting. Picture a Brady Bunch-style video call with my fellow CloudWizards. We each give a quick rundown of what we accomplished yesterday and what’s on our plate today. It’s like speed dating, but for techies.
Today’s highlight? A colleague accidentally created 100 EC2 instances instead of 10. His credit card statement is going to look like he bought a small island. Classic rookie mistake!
First Task: Security Audit
My first task is performing a security audit for a new client. They’re a fintech startup and, as you might guess, security is paramount. I dive into their AWS environment, armed with a checklist that would make a pilot jealous.
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IAM Policies: I start by reviewing their Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies. Turns out, their intern has more access than the CEO. Time to tighten those permissions!
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S3 Buckets: Next up, I check their S3 buckets. As expected, some are public when they shouldn’t be. Remember kids, S3 stands for Secure, Secure, Secure. Well, at least in my book.
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Security Groups: I find a few security groups that are as open as the Grand Canyon. Note to self: Block port 22 from the whole internet, not just your nosy neighbor.
Mid-Morning Madness: Solving a Production Outage
Just as I’m patting myself on the back for a thorough security audit, my Slack notifications explode. One of our e-commerce clients is experiencing a production outage. Time to don the superhero cape!
I jump on a call with the client’s team, and we dive into the CloudWatch logs. Turns out, an autoscaling misconfiguration led to all instances being terminated. Whoops! We quickly adjust the autoscaling policies and spin up new instances. Crisis averted!
The client jokes that they’ve aged ten years in the past hour. I tell them it’s just the cloud engineer way of giving you a free anti-aging treatment—stress-induced, of course.
Lunchtime: The Great Sandwich Debate
Lunchtime is a sacred ritual. Today, the team debates the age-old question: Is a hot dog a sandwich? The consensus: We have no idea, but we do agree that tacos are the superior handheld food. It’s these deep, philosophical discussions that keep us going.
Afternoon Adventure: Migrating to the Cloud
Post-lunch, it’s time to tackle a cloud migration for a healthcare client. They’re moving their on-premises infrastructure to AWS. This involves setting up VPCs, configuring RDS, and ensuring HIPAA compliance. It’s like playing a game of Tetris, but with servers and databases.
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VPC Setup: I create a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) with subnets spread across multiple Availability Zones for redundancy. It’s like building a digital fortress.
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Database Migration: I use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to move their data to RDS. Watching the data flow seamlessly feels like magic, except it’s not; it’s pure cloud engineering wizardry.
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Compliance Check: Ensuring everything meets HIPAA standards involves a lot of checkbox ticking and documentation. Not the most thrilling part, but crucial nonetheless.
Wrapping Up: Documentation and Deployment
As the day winds down, I document all the changes and configurations. If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen—wise words from a former boss. I also prepare for tomorrow’s deployment of a new feature for another client. Think of it as packing your bag the night before a big hike.
Evening: Unwinding and Reflecting
Finally, I shut down my laptop and unwind with a bit of gaming. There’s something cathartic about blowing off steam in a virtual world after a day of solving real-world problems.
As I drift off to sleep, I dream of S3 buckets, EC2 instances, and the endless possibilities of the cloud. Being a cloud engineer is challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. After all, who else gets to play in the clouds all day and call it work?
Thanks for joining me on this journey. Until next time, keep your clouds secure and your coffee strong!