Post by Tamelly Lim

Last week marked my farewell to AWS after 3.5 years. I got challenged to write this post without any AI so here goes nothing! I joined as a bright-eyed fresh grad, this was my first "big girl" corporate tech role. Back then, cloud felt very abstract, having never seen the inside of a data center and interacting with apps that "just works". While I knew some system design theory from my studies, I couldn't link it to real world applications. AWS changed that. I got exposed to customer innovations, tackling cost optimisation, performance improvements, Well-Architected patterns and more. The opportunity for constant global travel also brought cultural immersion and real-world growth that I never expected to experience growing up. I thought it would be nice to wrap up my time here with 3 key takeaways from AWS that helped me tremendously: 1. Customer Obsession: Making sure to start with the problem, then working backwards from it. Doesn't just apply to tech, but also with everyday life. 2. Embrace change: Tech is constantly evolving at AWS, there are new service features every week, where sometime even customers know it first. 3. Prioritising genuine relationships: My biggest takeaway? The peers and mentors who became true friends and inspire me every day to be better in all aspects of my job. Thank you to all of my colleagues and leaders who have made an impact and shaped not just my career, but me! Like all good things in life, this initial chapter has come to an end, and I am excited for my next adventure. Quoting Lesson 42 from a book titled “Paul’s Life Hacks L500+”, “𝘚𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 & 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩!”