EP8: My System Design Foundations Journey
Learning system design with AI as my mentor. Not as an expert, but as a student.
Howdy Friends,
If you have been following me, you know I have been working as a cloud engineer. To create real impact in my work and grow in my career, I am now on a journey to become a better cloud architect.
While searching for that path, one thing became very clear to me.
System design is the foundation you must have to become a better architect.
It teaches you how to think about scale, tradeoffs, constraints, and decisions. So I decided to begin my cloud architect journey by learning system design from the ground up.
Even though I had some experience designing systems as a cloud engineer, learning system design deeply felt like entering a new world.
I realized that making decisions sometimes is very different from understanding why those decisions exist. That deeper level of reasoning is what I wanted to build.
I started with popular system design books and blogs. But very quickly I found myself full of questions. Too many unknowns. Too many gaps.
So instead of rushing through books, I chose a different path. I decided to learn by building and thinking with AI as my mentor. I explored different tools, but since Amazon Q is already part of my daily workflow inside my IDE, I chose it as my learning partner.
Then I realized that before understanding complex systems, I first needed to learn basic estimation and how to ask better questions. To think from first principles and truly understand requirements.
I created a small repository called second brain where I write all my thoughts, questions, and learnings. Amazon Q helps me refine my notes, guide my thinking, and act like a mentor.
I asked it to treat me like a beginner and design a learning path for me. It created a simple structured plan, and every day I spend one hour continuing from where I left off.
I began with simple back of the envelope calculations. Converting monthly requests into requests per second. Estimating traffic and storage. Understanding scale. I also realized that asking deeper questions is a fundamental skill. The better I understand the requirements, the better I can understand the system.
I also wrote an article explaining back of the envelope in a simple way. Feel free to read it.
Slowly the fog started to clear. From there I moved into actual design using a simple system, a URL shortener. I am still learning through the same example, but now with much stronger fundamentals.
It has only been some weeks, yet the shift in my thinking feels real. I am no longer just thinking in services. I am beginning to think in systems.
Some days are confusing. Some days everything clicks. But showing up every day is changing how I understand architecture.
This newsletter is where I document my journey. The questions, the struggles, the small insights, and my gradual transition from cloud engineer to someone learning to think like a cloud architect.
If you are also walking this path, maybe this journey will resonate with you.
I will share more about my learning in the next episode.
Until then, happy weekend and keep learning.
Alon