What qualification is required for cloud computing?

[kathi_mickle]

Hello,

I'm in the process of doing a career change, and since I'm already in a tech-related field, I thought this would be a good choice. One of my biggest motivators is that I want to work remotely, and the cloud may offer just that. The big question is what ecosystem (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle Cloud infrastructure) and then what in that specific field. With the folks in the area I've spoken to, it seems that "Cloud Architect" is a key field in which significant demand exists.

• What eco system would you recommend to get your feet wet in/are currently in demand and future demand?
• What specific niche should you pursue in that ecosystem?
• What potential pitfalls are there that I'm missing?

 

[rachel_toor]

I would go with the two most prominent: AWS and Azure. They are the two with the largest market share and have the resources to hold their positions for a long time.

As for which, it will depend on your previous work experience in IT: Were you working on databases (and what kind(s)), or were you coding in Java or c# / .NET? You can start a focus area from scratch, but having previous experience with something on-prem will accelerate your ramp-up time. If that's not what you want to do, I will start with one of the foundational certs, which will give you an overview of everything for that cloud platform (and see what you like most).

The only pitfall I can think of is getting lost and feeling overwhelmed. Each cloud platform has hundreds of tools, frameworks, databases, etc. You don't need to be an expert in all of them; give yourself some grace to learn.

 

[kathi_mickle]

I would go with the two most prominent: AWS and Azure. They are the two with the largest market share and have the resources to hold their positions for a long time.

As for which, it will depend on your previous work experience in IT: Were you working on databases (and what kind(s)), or were you coding in Java or c# / .NET? You can start a focus area from scratch, but having previous experience with something on-prem will accelerate your ramp-up time. If that's not what you want to do, I will start with one of the foundational certs, which will give you an overview of everything for that cloud platform (and see what you like most).

The only pitfall I can think of is getting lost and feeling overwhelmed. Each cloud platform has hundreds of tools, frameworks, databases, etc. You don't need to be an expert in all of them; give yourself some grace to learn.

Thanks for your reply. Previous experience is relational MySQL db, coding in embedded C and C++, and some experience in low-level IoT, all hosted on-premises—no real experience in high-level languages. I think the foundational certs are a good idea and something I'll pursue.

When I first looked at AWS, I was pretty much overwhelmed with all the services and what they do.

 

[albaclark]

I already have a business in mind that runs on-prem and could move to the cloud. I was initially unsure which provider but narrowed it down to AWS and Azure for now. Even though AWS has a larger market share, I'm keen to know if there may be more demand for Azure.