Competitive tennis player turned techie – Zaiba’s AWS Tech U Story

Editor’s note: This is article three of a four-part series that highlights AWS Education Programs. Our Education Programs remove barriers to education and forge new paths for individuals to develop cloud expertise and enter the technology workforce.

If you’ve been following along, you know we’re celebrating the fourth annual International Day of Education (IDOE) by highlighting three incredible AWS Education Program graduates who have transformed their lives and careers with cloud skills training. First, we put the spotlight on AWS Academy graduate, Anadi Sharma. Today, we’re highlighting AWS Tech U graduate, Zaiba Jamadar.

From black belt karate to engineering

Zaiba is as strong and determined as they come, which is evident by the black belt she holds in karate. The 27-year-old AWS Tech U graduate holds four AWS Certifications. This former competitive tennis player earned her undergraduate degree in computer science and engineering from the Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology in Bangalore, India before relocating to Canada, where she completed her master’s degree in engineering at the University of Toronto (U of T).

Though her undergraduate degree was technical in nature, Zaiba wasn’t exposed to the cloud until she began working on her master’s degree. At that time, Zaiba recalls, “I took an Introduction to Cloud Computing course at U of T, which first sparked my interest. After that, I started taking more and more courses on the subject, eventually moving on to harder ones, like Advanced Topics in Mobile and Cloud Computing.”

Zaiba’s journey to AWS Tech U

After graduating from U of T, Zaiba accepted an offer with Deloitte, and began working on large insurance implementations as a technical consultant in the systems engineering team. Her role didn’t include cloud work, but Zaiba’s manager at the time was a Solutions Architect (SA). Generally speaking, SAs are trusted technical advisors that help customers successfully implement technologies to solve complex technical challenges.

“I became extremely interested in the SA role once I started to learn more about it,” Zaiba remembers. “I started having conversations with my manager and leadership at Deloitte about things I could do to build the skills of an SA. It’s then that I learned you need to have industry experience to design and architect solutions for your customers. Meanwhile, I received a call from an Amazon recruiter, who introduced me to AWS Tech U. I was overwhelmed and excited, as the opportunity was exactly what I wanted to do.”

About AWS Tech U

AWS Tech U is developing the next generation of builders at AWS. The paid, full-time program helps early-career talent like Zaiba build technical and professional skills to jump-start careers in select roles at AWS globally. The program recruits individuals who are passionate about cloud technology, engaging with people, and solving complex problems, but need more hands-on training and exposure to the AWS Cloud.

In their first 12 months AWS Tech U residents complete a specialized curriculum, shadow AWS experts, and receive coaching and on-the-job training to help them succeed in their new role. The project-based portion of the curriculum focuses on simulated customer scenarios in domains such as big data, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence, migrations, and more.

Achieving her SA dreams

Zaiba started with AWS Tech U in June of 2020. As an AWS Tech U resident, Zaiba received paid on-the-job training as a full-time AWS employee. “Tech U taught me the cloud skills I needed to become a successful SA at AWS. In addition to receiving cloud skills training, I was surprised by the quality and depth of the professional development training I received. I learned how to go about my day as an SA, including how to prepare for meetings, what questions to ask, where to find information, where to go for help, how and when to escalate, and so on,” Zaiba recalls. “Tech U also helped me enhance my soft skills. I was in a customer-facing role at Deloitte, so my presentation and soft skills were already good. But Tech U enhanced these skills even further. By the end of the program, I was using zero filler words and my pace of speaking during a presentation had also improved.”

After graduating from AWS Tech U in December, 2020, Zaiba began working as an SA on the AWS Enterprise Central Canada team. She soon earned her own territory and set of accounts, and now she works with her customers to help solve their technical and business challenges. Zaiba proudly recalls a recent project where she helped a customer move 30TB of data to AWS.  “Tech U definitely helped me accelerate my career. The program gave me the confidence required to go into a meeting and drive a technical conversation and maintain my customers’ trust,” Zaiba shares.

Looking back

Though the process wasn’t always easy— especially when joining at the start of a global pandemic— Zaiba looks back on her AWS Tech U experience fondly. “Completing the capstone presentation was the most rewarding part. We spent the last few weeks heads down, working on our project and it felt amazing to present our idea.” When asked what advice she’d give to others considering AWS Tech U, Zaiba offered, “Learn as much as possible during the program, because once you graduate, there is less time to learn as freely as you could during your residency. And I encourage everyone to make friends and network within your cohort. The friends you make at Tech U will be a very good support system once you graduate and move into your new role at AWS.”

Final thoughts

Zaiba received on-the-job training and coaching, which has set her up for a successful cloud career. AWS Tech U is one of several AWS Education Programs. In our final blog of this series, we’ll highlight AWS re/Start learner, Charlotte Wilkins, and learn how she transitioned from the food service industry to tech. In the meantime, learn more about this program and find jobs in AWS Tech U.