Olushola Oladipupo — Product Engineer

I was terrified I'd made a huge mistake. Six months into cloud computing, I felt like the dumbest person in every room. Imposter syndrome was winning. Then something shifted. Here's the story nobody tells you about levelling up in tech. I started with an Agricultural Economics degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Not exactly a tech pipeline. But I wanted more, so I landed an Executive Dean's Scholarship for a master's at Bournemouth University (Distinction, 2018). That's where I discovered data and got hooked on solving problems. NHS England hired me in 2018 as an entry-level Data Analyst. I was learning on the job, building confidence slowly. By 2021, I hit a ceiling. The work was good, but I wasn't growing fast enough. So I did something slightly mad: I reached out to a deputy director about a cloud computing opportunity. I didn't meet the requirements. Not even close. He said yes to a six-month secondment. I earned four Azure certifications in one year. Then AWS came calling in 2022, and I joined as a Solutions Architect with zero AWS experience. All my certs were Azure. Within 18 months, I was promoted. By 2025, I made the AWSome Legend Award: top 120 out of 900,000+ Amazon employees globally. What I actually do at AWS: I'm an Enterprise Solutions Architect working with some of the UK's largest organisations. I design cloud architectures for data migrations, legacy modernisations, and cost optimisation at scale. If your infrastructure is complex, ageing, or expensive, that's my day job. I also influence organisations to think about AI strategies and how it could help bring value to their businesses. Nine cloud certifications later (five AWS, four Azure), I also help people figure out cloud careers through one-to-one mentorship, guest lectures at Bournemouth University, and my weekly newsletter Shola's Tech Notes (every Tuesday). I built ResumeRadar (a free CV-scanning tool with 1,000+ users) and the DevOps Hiring Playbook, because I remember what it felt like to not know what I didn't know. Subscribe to Shola's Tech Notes for practical strategies on AWS, career transitions, and portfolio building, straight to your inbox every Tuesday. Or reach out directly: shola@sholastechnotes.com Views expressed are my own and do not represent my employer.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Cloud Solutions Architect with expertise in data migration and AI strategy for enterprise clients.

Location: London, United Kingdom

Experience: 8 yrs 6 mos