How to Become a Cloud Engineer?

From the mere process of storing photos and videos online to becoming a high volume data keeper for multinational companies and organizations, Cloud Computing has come a long way. As businesses transform from a piece-meal to a more holistic, end-to-end encrypted digital phase, the importance of cloud computing has reached up to a top C-suite level agenda elements for all. Due to such a rapid increase in this software technology, a career in cloud computing seems like a delight for many tech enthusiasts. If you are one of them, keep reading this article to have an in-depth understanding of how to become a cloud engineer.

What is Cloud Computing?

It may be mind-boggling to find out that “cloud computing” is everywhere. When you are not using your devices’ storage to store any multimedia or information but taking advantage of the internet to store these data over an online file, this process is nothing but cloud computing. 

Having dedicated online storage for all your information and files is what cloud computing looks like at a personal (consumer) level. But there is an entirely different function of the cloud when it comes to businesses and organizations.

Businesses are in need of enormous storage capacity which can be accessed in a few taps. Owing to this requirement they purchase services across the internet such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) which allows them to securely store millions of data across the internet. A big part of that security comes from something called a Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP), which helps protect the data and applications that businesses rely on every day thanks to continuous threat monitoring and protection.

The top service in this cloud service provider is Amazon Web Services (AWS), which caters to other global corporations such as Netflix. According to Statista, Amazon has emerged as one of the topmost cloud service providers since February 2020. According to this survey, it is predicted that 90 per cent of all organizations in the world will be utilising cloud computing in their business structure.

Steps to become a Cloud Engineer

Step 1: Gain Proficiency in a Cloud Computing Platform

The most in-demand cloud computing platform in the market right now are AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Your first priority should be to become proficient in at least one of these. From vocational online courses to Youtube tutorials, there are many ways to learn these platforms and their functionalities. After the completion of your course, it is necessary to get certified if you want to pursue a career in this field.

Step 2: Gain Experience in at least one Programming Language

Cloud Computing requires data-oriented programming languages such as Python, JAVA, and Clojure. To learn the base of cloud computing one must be familiar with any of these programming languages. Nowadays learning a programming language is as accessible as ever. From blogs to online classes, there are various courses on every programming language on the basis of the aspirant’s technical knowledge level.

Also Read: Python vs Java: Which is better?

Step 3: Specialize

After you are well acquainted with a cloud computing platform and gain enough coding skills, you are also required to know a few other key elements such as:

• Storage and Networking – It is essential for the aspirant to know the various ways they can store data according to its type and how you can access it back. In order to become proficient in this skill, you need to have enough experience of using services that Azure and AWS provide such as AWS S3 and Azure Storage in Microsoft Azure. An added bonus is if the aspirant is well-aware of the fundamental concepts of networking.
• Virtualization and Operating System – The majority of tasks for a beginner’s level will include configuring and managing virtual machines (VMs) while leveraging physical infrastructure in cloud data centres. Other than this, it’s recommended for the aspirant to get acquainted with VMs functionalities on virtual networks in the cloud. These clouds are mostly public clouds which are OS-agnostics such as Windows and Linux operating systems.
• Security and Disaster Recovery – It is crucial for every developer to be technically prepared for any kind of cybersecurity threats and malicious attacks. In order to avoid such situations, the aspirants should have enough knowledge on how to manage such unexpected situations and how to bring the system back up if such a disaster occurs.

Eligibility to Become a Cloud Engineer

Cloud Engineers are required to serve in an immense technical environment. Hence, it is important for them to be well-qualified within the technical field. Here are a few key skill sets that are required for a career in cloud computing:

• Knowledge of Database
• Programming Skills
• Linux
• DevOps
• Information Security
• Quality Assurance
• Data Integration and Analysis
• Understanding of Cloud Service Providers

Also Read: BSc Computer Science Subjects: All You Need To Know

Types of Cloud Engineers

According to their varied level of proficiency in their required skills sets, cloud engineers are further categorised under the following skills:

• Cloud Architecture – From planning the infrastructure ad distributed applications to combining strong business acumen to designing and optimizing, cloud architectures are the fundamental developers of an organization’s cloud-computing blueprint.
• Cloud Development – With their main focus on coding efficiency, cloud developers are the creators that bring the architect’s vision to life. By merging traditional programming techniques with dynamic knowledge on various cloud platforms, they are responsible for building, deploying, and optimizing cloud-based applications.
• Cloud Support – After the main infrastructure of a cloud is completed it comes under the responsibility of the cloud support to maintain the system of the actual cloud service providers with the everyday workflow of the company. They are also responsible for the onboarding, troubleshooting, and maintenance of the cloud computing systems.

Top Universities for Cloud Computing

As Cloud Computing falls under the subfield of Computer Science, it is recommended for aspirants to shortlist universities with the best possible Computer Science course suitable to their preferences. According to QS Rankings, here are the top universities for computer science where you can also pursue a module on cloud computing.

QS Rank	University	Overall Score
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	93.7
2	Stanford University	93.1
3	Carnegie Mellon University	93
4	National University of Singapore	90.3
5	University of California, Berkeley	89.5
6	University of Oxford	89.1
7	Harvard University	88.2
8	University of Cambridge	88
9	EPFL	86.2
10	ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology	85.6

Cloud Engineer Certifications

Other than college degrees, it is also essential for a cloud engineer to have skill sets that are certified. In a rapidly changing technology industry where you need to show your employers the latest expertise, it is important to have a certification of all your learned courses. By having certified all your skills, it will be easier for you to find better job prospects. Here are some of the most popular certifications for cloud computing engineers:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certifications
• Microsoft Azure Certifications
• Google Cloud Platforms Certs
• CompTIA Cloud+
• Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge
• VMware Cloud Management and Automation

Cloud Engineer Jobs and Salary

After learning how to become a cloud engineer, you must be wondering about how much does a cloud engineer actually earn? To answer this question, an average associate cloud engineer salary falls somewhere between $100,000 (INR 75.31 Lakhs) – $150,000 (INR 1.13 cr). There are multiple job designations when it comes to professional scope in Cloud Computing. 

Job Roles	Job Descriptions	Average Salary Per Annum
Cloud Architect	Manages the cloud infrastructure	INR 10 Lakhs – INR 23 Lakhs
Cloud Software Developer	Builds and maintains software features, functions, databases, and applications for the cloud	INR 5 Lakhs – INR 9 Lakhs
Cloud Security Engineer	Builds and maintains features to provide security for cloud-based platforms and applications	INR 9 Lakhs – INR 10 Lakhs
Cloud Administrator	Manages Software and Hardware associated with cloud-based services	INR 5 Lakhs – INR 7 Lakhs
Cloud Network Engineer	Manages and Supports network infrastructures and connections between clients and service providers	INR 4 Lakhs – INR 5 Lakhs
Cloud Automation Engineer	Focuses on automation, orchestrations, and integration of software features, databases, and applications on the cloud	INR 6 Lakhs – INR 18 Lakhs

Major Recruiters of Cloud Engineers

The job designation is not the only aspect on which the salary of a cloud engineer may differ, the recruiting company also plays a vital role in defining the salary range for this profession.

In order to get a better understanding of this aspect, let’s look at some of the top recruiters for cloud engineers.

Companies	Average Salary of Cloud Engineers
VMware	$160,996 per year (INR 1.21 cr)
Amazon	$135,000 per year (INR 1.01 cr)
Cisco	$134,793 per year (INR 1.01 cr)
Accenture Cloud Engineer	$127,329 per year (INR 95.89 Lakhs)
Microsoft Cloud Engineer	$114,986 per year (INR 86.60 Lakhs)

With the entire world going digital, there is a lot of scope for cloud engineering and all the computer science-related job designations. If you are planning to pursue a career in this field, our experts at Leverage Edu can help you choose the right course and university for your higher studies. Connect with us for a FREE consultancy session!