Clouds

Inside the cloud computing job market

As technology has kept evolving over the years, its cloud computing sub-genre has reached the point of being one of the most talked-about topics today. Modern technology is moving towards updating IT processes that would offer companies a more cost-efficient and agile alternative to older methods. As a result, the cloud space – being one of those cost minimizers – has developed significantly over the years to meet this demand. While the job market of the cloud industry used to be non-existent up until only several years ago, today it pays a greater average salary than most regular jobs. With the greater demand for specialists and the prospects of higher salaries, cloud computing in particular is drawing in more and more professionals by the day.

The skills and mindset needed to be a cloud professional, however, are different in different companies and in different departments. Each company approaches the cloud differently, each with a different business model and goal. From cloud computing, many companies have emerged to take advantage of what “the cloud” offers. For example, many companies provide software as a service (SaaS). A SaaS company provides a cloud-based application that connects to other computers in “the cloud” and enables companies to simply run software as a service instead of having to do the behind-scenes maintenance and updates.

To work in cloud computing, it is important to have a base of IT skills, to be able to naturally think abstractly and out of the box and to have strong virtualization. If you are interested in polishing and expanding your skillset to land a job in the cloud computing, there are many training options. One could, for example, be CloudAcademy that offers cloud training online. The platform allows you to follow a tailored learning path for different areas of cloud computing and/or provides you with training for a specific certificate, such as for that of Microsoft Azure. For anyone interested in initiating his or her path towards becoming a part of this industry, additional training can be particularly helpful in terms of making you stand out as a candidate who is fully up to date with the cloud computing industry.

When it comes to careers in the industry, Dice.com, the popular tech-focused job site, identified some of the most available jobs in cloud computing. Dice.com posts over 3,800 cloud-related job listings on any given day and has identified the following as some of the most common cloud positions: cloud architect, cloud software engineer, cloud consultant, cloud software application engineer, cloud services developer and cloud security expert.

However, the cloud computing job market does not limit you to the technology industry specifically. One option is to be completely surrounded by the cloud environment and work for a cloud-specific company. On the other hand, you could pursue a cloud-specific position, such as cloud consultant, in a company that uses the technology but whose main operational industry has nothing to do with the cloud.

The cloud environment is being adopted worldwide, so even if you do not have experience in the industry, now would be a great time to get your foot in the door and join the cloud computing community. With an open-mind for and interest in the technology we have now (and the technology to come), the cloud computing space could be the perfect place for you.