How to Become a Cloud Computing Professional

Cloud computing is behind much of our technological future, helping organisations and individuals to enjoy a streamlined, secure and straightforward way to work. If you are confident in cloud computing or are looking to learn more about it to explore cloud computing as a career, then you’ve come to the right place. 

Find out what it takes to become a cloud computing professional and to reap the benefits such as a fantastic salary, an abundance of job opportunities and excellent job security.

The cloud has a variety of uses, including managing data, testing and developing products, using applications, monitoring and protecting systems from malware and much more. 

The cloud computing definition is any computing which is centred around the cloud, such as retrieving data from the cloud or creating apps on the cloud and managing the overall cloud infrastructure of an organisation. 

However, not everyone is a cloud computing expert, so having someone who knows the ins and outs of the cloud environment and how to manage it is vital for millions of organisations.

A cloud computing professional helps an organisation manage all aspects of their cloud computing. The cloud is an incredibly useful tool which millions of people use to carry out fundamental IT tasks for their business and personal usage. 

As a cloud computing professional, you will be managing all cloud computing duties, such as:

There are several types of cloud computing professionals. Some of the most popular roles include a cloud computing engineer, cloud developer, cloud administrator or cloud architect.

As a cloud computing professional, you will likely be working for a cloud computing organisation in an office, working alongside a team on various projects. However, you might occasionally have to meet clients and discuss their cloud computing projects with them. 

The average cloud engineer salary in Ireland is €76k per year. However, the average salary amount can vary depending on the specific job you have in cloud solutions.

To become a cloud computing professional, you will need a degree in Computer Science, IT, Software Engineering, Data Science or a related field. If you have a bachelor’s degree in another field or want to enhance your CV further, then studying for a master’s degree or a postgraduate diploma in an IT field is a great way to stand out to employers. 

The main thing that employers are looking for when considering candidates is whether you are familiar with and proficient in using cloud technology. Therefore studying online cloud computing courses can help you develop skills and gain hands-on experience in key areas such as using Python and Java, developing apps, debugging, troubleshooting, transferring and analysing data and much more.

You can also study Cloud Computing courses to develop specific skills relevant to cloud computing as well as studying a cloud computing certification. There are courses available in DevOps, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cybersecurity, Microsoft Azure, software development or programming languages. 

Adding to your resume and becoming familiar with as many aspects of cloud computing as possible is a great way to become a cloud computing professional. 

You may also come across the opportunity for an IT internship, either as a cloud practitioner or in another IT-related role. Cloud engineering and cloud architecture experts are in high demand, so internships are a great way for employers to train suitable candidates and for interns to gain expert technical skills in the workplace.

There are several soft and hard skills needed to become a cloud computing professional, and gaining a qualification as well as experience can help you develop these essential skills. Some of the most necessary skills for a cloud computing professional include:

Through cloud computing courses, you can develop your skillset and secure cloud engineering jobs or become a cloud computing professional.  

Having practical IT skills is a must when it comes to becoming a cloud computing professional, so make sure you gain as much experience as possible. 

Gaining professional work experience or working within an IT role is ideal, particularly if it includes some work with cloud services. If you are struggling to find work or professional work experience, then you can always practise developing these skills yourself from the comfort of your own home. 

Most online cloud computing courses include practical lectures, lessons and assignments to help familiarise you with various aspects of cloud computing. You can also practise using cloud applications and carrying out IT work as employment, on a freelance basis for clients or on a voluntary basis, can also help you get valuable experience as an IT professional and can demonstrate your skills working in IT with other team members as well as with clients. 

There are entry-level roles in information technology which are available across a range of industries, and you could study an online course at the same time to develop your cloud computing skills.

Cloud computing professionals can be cloud engineers, cloud architects, cloud security engineers or cloud software engineers. As there are such a variety of jobs for cloud computing professionals, you have a lot of options when it comes to career prospects. 

Once you become a cloud computing professional, you can go on to become a senior cloud computing engineer or architect and lead a team of people on different projects. You can also side-step into other IT roles, such as network engineer or data engineer, or develop in key areas such as AWS cloud with further AWS certifications.