Every workload in today’s world is being shifted to the cloud. Cloud is something like software that operates on the Internet. The major benefit of shifting to the cloud is you don’t need to save files and folders which consume the internal memory of the system. Almost 94% of enterprise uses the cloud as a storage system. The demand is huge and the cloud computing market is expected to be worth $800 million by 2025. Very soon, it will acquire a market size of 7.3 billion. Since this has become a subject of concern, let’s discuss the qualifications and skills required, steps to become one, the salary provided and the future scope cloud engineers have.
Let’s understand who’s a cloud engineer before we dive deep into it.
Who’s a Cloud Engineer?
An IT professional who manages the design, plans, and maintains the company’s infrastructure and is responsible for exploring alternatives to switch to the cloud for database storage. They develop solutions to transfer databases to the cloud-based system and deal with all the technical aspects of cloud computing. One who administers analyzes and works on improving cloud-related issues.
What Do They Do?
Cloud Engineers profession has various roles to perform but the three majorly ones are:
- Cloud Development – Cloud Developers are those who integrate coding with the tools and come up with the best software one can use to perform cloud computing. They are the ones who combine programming skills in cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure to build and deploy cloud applications.
- Cloud Architecture – Cloud Architecture has wide insights on the terms which could help in designing and optimizing an organization’s prototype of cloud computing. It refers to components like applications and databases to solve business issues.
- Cloud Support – They are the technical experts who handle troubleshooting, onboarding, and maintaining solutions and work for leading cloud service providers such as Google, AWS, and Microsoft Azure. They manage security and access to cloud-based systems.
Education
One needs a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information science, and technology, or choose any field required to get a job in this domain. You can have 2+ years of experience in this field to get an excellent salary. Also, certifications related to AWS and Azure are a plus point if you want to get into this role.
Also to bring to your notice, even if you don’t have a bachelor’s degree, it’s completely fine. Experience and skills are all that matter. Try to get certified through some courses by renowned websites like AWS, Azure, and Google. One must be well aware of the software’s technical aspects and various other technical terms.
Skills Required
- Programming Skills: One should be proficient enough in programming languages such as Java, Python, PHP, and .NET. To become a pro in cloud engineering, get yourself well-versed with these programming languages and work on them to gain implementation ideas.
- Operating System: Cloud Engineers should know to work with various operating systems. They should be familiar with Linux, Ubuntu, and Windows. A thorough understanding of Linux is a must as in recent years, it has become a mandated part of cloud computing.
- APIs: A deep knowledge of APIs is beneficial if you want to become a cloud engineer. The foundation of cloud architects is APIs and web services. They are the ones responsible for the deployment of websites on different platforms.
- Cloud Service Providers: Cloud Engineers should be aware of the top leading cloud service providers which are AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. Try to get a certificate in any one of these to understand the techniques behind its working.
- Database: Data is everything in today’s tech-driven world and it is being generated exponentially on a day-to-day basis. Database management skills like Hadoop and MySQL should be understood well as they will be beneficial.
- Security: Security is the main concern when you deal with data and that too storing it in the cloud. Here, the role of cloud engineers is to protect the data using several techniques such as IAM (Identity Access Management) and firewalls.
Read more about the Skills Required to Become a Cloud Engineer
How to Become Cloud Engineer? (Step-By-Step)
1. Get Proficient in Skills Required
Having a good grasp of programming languages one needs to know to get into the world of the cloud. The languages you should focus on are Perl, PHP, Python, and Java. You should also have a command over MySQL and Hadoop to deal with data. A thorough reading of APIs, OS, and cloud service providers is a must.
2. A Bachelor’s degree
Although, not having a degree can never be a hindrance in your career but having a bachelor’s degree in a specified discipline i.e., Computer Science and Information Technology is a plus point for you to get into the cloud career.
3. Certifications
Get certified from top leading cloud service providers which are Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services. Having certifications from any one of the mentioned platforms which help you in getting into this domain and also will help you in gaining knowledge about the work.
4. Apply for Jobs
Once, you have gained sufficient knowledge and know about what kinds of work are assigned, you’re ready to get into the company. Start exploring different websites and apply to companies that offer higher salaries and future-scopic. Companies like Zscaler, SAP, Zoho, Google, Slack, and many more hire cloud engineers in bulk every year.
5. Gain Experience
As you work more, you gain experience and this is how you become perfect in any domain. Now, when you have gotten into the career, gain experience and you can delve into more options wherein you can showcase your talent and expect a salary in crores.
Salary Insights
Companies are moving towards the cloud to gain organizational benefits and to keep growing with the pace, you must get into Cloud Engineering. Here, you will get a great salary and also with experience and skills it’ll multiply to a greater extent. We have filtered salaries given to cloud engineers based on their experience level in India and abroad.
Note: You can also expect a change in value depending on the role or qualification one possesses.
Based on Experience:
| Experience | In Abroad | In India |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | $104,000 | 10.5 LPA |
| Intermediate | $135,000 | 15 LPA |
| Expert | $160,000 | 19 LPA |
Based on Roles Offered:
| Roles | Salary (On an Average) |
|---|---|
| Cloud Development | 21 LPA |
| Cloud Architecture | 30 LPA |
| Cloud Support | 20 LPA |
Career Overview
Companies seek cloud engineers who have superior skill sets and can give their best in the job. As the world is migrating towards the cloud, you must give it a try and will observe a boom in your career. Without any second thought, you must go through the skills required to become a cloud engineer. Also, there are ample opportunities in 2022 and the coming years and it is expected to grow by 35 percent in recent years. Be a cloud engineer and make a space for yourself in this booming career.