Posted on Jul 3 • Edited on Jul 6

AWS re:Invent: How I Finally Found My Sense of Belonging

AWS re:Invent is one of the largest tech conferences hosted annually in Las Vegas with the aim of bringing together cloud computing professionals, developers, and industry leaders for a week of keynote presentations, technical deep dives, and hands-on learning.

In December 2024, I had the opportunity to attend AWS re:Invent as part of the All Builders Welcome Grant. This is a long-overdue post on how the experience not only expanded my technical knowledge but helped me find the sense of belonging I’d been searching for since I started my career.

But first, what is the grant and what does it offer?

The grant gives people in the first 5 years of their technology career the opportunity to attend AWS re:Invent for free by eliminating the financial barrier and promoting diversity in tech.

The grant includes:

Ticket to AWS re:Invent
Return flight to Las Vegas
5 nights accommodation
$75 Uber voucher for airport transfers in Vegas
$250 gift card for any expenses
Exclusive lounge and mentoring sessions
Reserved seats for keynote talks
Certification exam voucher
Dedicated mentor to support you throughout the week

What did I get up to during the week?

If you’ve ever been to an AWS Summit, you’ll know how huge these events are but nothing could’ve prepared me for just how massive re:Invent was! With multiple venues hosting various talks and workshops there was truly something for everyone.

I attended some talks around DevOps, CI/CD and Kubernetes and although these were quite interesting, my key highlights from the week and what I gained the most value from were live sessions and the interactions I had with other people. Being able to learn from and hear the stories of such a diverse group of people from all walks of life was incredibly inspiring.

I attended fireside chats with senior engineers and leaders, had a peer talk with Jeff Barr where I got to ask him some questions and even speed mentoring sessions in the exclusive All Builders Welcome lounge.

I particularly enjoyed the DevOps GameDay where I worked as a team to solve problems on AWS exploring services like EKS and ECR. This session really helped me understand my strengths, the various tools I like working with and gave me a steer on the direction I want my career to progress.

Other highlights:

Attending the AWS Partner Awards
Participating in sessions focused on women in tech
AI and ML quizzes in the Certification lounge
Networking at the expo and adding to my collection of tech related socks. I even got a cookie with my face on it!

So how exactly did I find my belonging?

Through community!😊

I started working as a Network Engineer a few months before Covid and was going into the office 4-5 days a week, having workshops and whiteboarding sessions with different teams to learn as much as I could. I even got the chance to configure a physical switch and take it to a data centre to rack and stack it. I went from that to working from home completely and having to get used to the world of teams calls and limited interactions.

When I transitioned to DevOps, it was hard to ask people for advice or find mentors to help me grow as I could no longer tap someone on the shoulder for a quick chat and didn't know who to reach out to. I often felt like an imposter and as though I wasn’t good enough to be a DevOps Engineer. So, thanks to covid (and no thanks to me being an introvert) I was able to hide away at home, have limited interactions with team members and little to no networking events. I hadn’t found (or looked hard enough clearly) for any online communities that resonated with me and was very isolated from many people out there who are willing to contribute and help others grow.

That all changed from the very first night I landed in Vegas. I met a wonderful lady at the airport who is an active member of the AWS Community. She introduced me to others and thanks to her, I found myself at various events including an AWS Women in Cloud bus tour meeting like-minded people from career changers to seniors who shared their stories. I was also fortunate to have an amazing mentor throughout the week who guided me on how to make the most of re:Invent and offered valuable career advice. It was then that I realised I wasn’t alone in feeling this way.

These interactions reminded me that feeling out of place or uncertain at times is something we all experience regardless of how far along we are in our careers. What matters is how we learn from those moments and continue to improve. Being surrounded by this energy really gave me the push I needed to keep going.

I now have dedicated communities that I’m part of which play a huge role in giving me that sense of belonging I’d been searching for. Through these connections, I’ve not only grown my network but also my confidence as an engineer and woman in tech. I’ve since had the chance to get involved in incredible opportunities like the AWS New Voices public speaking programme and the AWS Community Builders programme. Both have given me a platform to learn, contribute, and connect with others who share similar passions, reminding me that there’s a place for everyone no matter where they are in their journey.

What would I advise first time attendees?

Network as much as you can! You never know where it might lead you
Attend live sessions over ones that will be recorded
Make use of the reflection rooms. Whether you're looking for a place to pray, relax with some colouring and puzzles or even take a nap, these rooms were my refuge any time I was feeling overwhelmed.
Start your day fuelled. Each day can get really busy so make sure you start with breakfast every morning which is provided across all the venues. It's also a great chance to meet new and very interesting people. It was over breakfast that I met someone who introduced me to the Irish tradition of putting raisins in curry. Pineapple on pizza I can excuse (sorry Italians) but raisins in curry?? HORRIFYING.
Bring moisturiser, lip balm and stay hydrated! The air is very humid and your skin will get incredibly dry
Bring comfortable shoes - you’ll be walking A LOT. I averaged 20k-25k steps a day with my highest being 28k!
Have fun! Re:Invent isn't just about networking and learning, it's a chance to experience new things. Sign up for after conference events and arrive a few days early or stay for longer after the event if you can to explore Vegas and surrounding areas. I did a 2 day tour around Arizona and got to explore LA too!