Are you prepping for your first AWS interview? Most often, many people are overwhelmed. You’ve heard phrases like VPC peering, IAM policies, and auto-scaling groups, and your brain screams:
I don’t even know what half of that means. How am I supposed to explain it?
I’ve been there. And here’s the truth: most AWS interviews don’t expect you to be a walking Wikipedia. They want to see how you think, how well you understand the basics, and whether you can explain them in a way that makes sense — even to a non-engineer.
1. What is AWS in simple terms?
What they want to know:
Can you explain cloud computing like a human being?
How to answer:
AWS is a giant online toolbox that companies use to run websites, store data, or build apps — without owning any physical hardware. It’s like renting a computer over the internet.
Why it works:
Avoid buzzwords like “elasticity” or “on-demand scalability” unless asked to elaborate.
2. What are EC2 instances?
What they want to know:
They’re testing if you get the basic “rent-a-server” concept.
Your answer:
An EC2 instance is a virtual machine. It’s like borrowing a computer in the cloud that you can install stuff on, run apps, or host websites.
You don’t need to memorize instance families (t2.micro vs. m5.large). Just show you get the big idea.
3. What’s S3 used for?
Your answer:
S3 is like an online storage bucket. You can dump files — images, videos, backups — into it and access them from anywhere.
Don’t say, Infinite object storage with 11 nines of durability. Say that later, when they ask for the details.
4. What is IAM, and why should you care?
They want to know if you understand security basics.
Your reply:
IAM is like giving out digital keys. You use it to control who can access what in your AWS account — like setting rules for who can open the storage room or touch the servers.
5. What’s the difference between a region and an availability zone?
Classic AWS trivia — but not hard to explain.
Your answer idea:
A region is a physical location, like ‘US-East.’ Inside that region, there are multiple data centers called availability zones. If one zone has an issue, the others can take over.
It’s like having multiple backup stores in the same city. If one store floods, the others keep running.
6. What’s auto-scaling?
Don’t panic. Think about traffic spikes.
Your answer:
Auto-scaling automatically adds or removes servers based on how busy your app is. So if your site gets 100,000 visitors, AWS adds more muscle without you lifting a finger.
7. What’s a VPC, and why does it matter?
This scares people. Don’t let it.
Your response:
A VPC is like your private neighborhood in AWS. You control the streets (subnets), the gates (firewalls), and who gets in.
You don’t need to explain NAT Gateways unless asked. Just show you get the isolation and control idea.
8. What’s the difference between public and private subnets?
A public subnet can talk to the internet. A private one can’t. You’d keep databases in private subnets for security and your web servers in public ones. If the public subnet is the storefront, the private subnet is the locked back room.
9. What’s the use of CloudWatch?
People often skip this — but it’s easy to win territory.
Your answer:
CloudWatch is AWS’s monitoring tool. It tells you when stuff breaks or slows down — like a health dashboard for your services.
10. Can you give an example of a real-world project using AWS?
This is where you shine — even if you just used the Free Tier.
How to tell your story:
I hosted a personal portfolio site using S3 and CloudFront. I also set up an EC2 instance to learn Linux and used IAM to create a user with limited access.
You don’t need to say, “I managed an enterprise-level cloud migration.” Just show you’ve used it with intention.
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