Navigating Cloud Careers

Due to the development of AI and increasing automation, many people are understandably concerned about their future job prospects. People in industries from music production to manufacturing are worried that, within a few years, their job security may be affected by technological change. While we do not know what the future will bring, many have been searching for careers that will offer stability and reliable opportunities for progression.

This is where careers in cloud computing come in. Cloud computing is an industry that is very much on the up. In 2020, around $252.5 billion was spent on public cloud services, yet in 2023, this had already risen to $304.9 billion. [1] By 2026, the cloud computing market is forecasted to be worth $947.3 billion,[2] and it will only get bigger over time.

Currently, around 94% of companies globally use cloud services, which is an increase of 14% since 2020. [3] As such, the demand for those with skills and training in cloud computing is significant. At the start of 2024, there were around 5.6 million cloud-related jobs worldwide, and this number is expected to rise by a million by the end of the year. [4] According to Bhavesh Goswami, CEO of CloudThat, most organisations will be looking to hire or train at least one cloud developer over the next three years. [5] Given the demand for these skills, salaries in cloud computing are high, with entry-level position in the US paying on average a base salary of $81,519 a year.[6] Obviously, pay can rise significantly from there as individuals gain experience, further training, and begin to specialize in particular areas.

So, what is cloud computing? Well, according to Microsoft Azure, one of the largest cloud providers, cloud computing is “the delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet (the cloud) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale.”[7] In short, the cloud allows companies, organizations, and individuals to use remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than having to rely on local servers or personal computers. Given the increasing reliance of almost every industry on such services, cloud computing is becoming an integral part of the running of our modern world.

So, how can I get into cloud computing? Usefully, you don’t have to have a background in computing or a degree in computer science. No matter if you’re a young person looking to start a career or somebody working in an unrelated field, you can easily acquire the qualifications needed to move into cloud computing. Here at Build Cloud Skills, we offer people the chance to earn these qualifications through online courses, bootcamps, and workshops. Within a few weeks, you can go from a complete rookie to a trained and qualified cloud engineer.

Given the scale of the cloud computing industry and the variety of tasks the cloud performs, there are numerous career opportunities in this industry. Over the course of this series of articles, we hope to outline some of the options available to those who wish to pursue cloud careers and explain the differences between them. Hopefully, this will give you some idea about which positions you would like to aim for as you begin your journey into cloud computing.