Recently, two unlikely partners joined forces in the world of cloud computing when Apple signed up as a customer for the Google Cloud Platform. According to CRN, Apple will pay Google between $400 and $600 million for access to the platform. In other words, Apple is spending big with a company typically thought of as its chief rival.
Now, if a company of Apple’s magnitude will pair up with a direct competitor to power its own services, it’s a pretty good sign that cloud adoption is growing at a breakneck pace. Which means: jobs in cloud computing are a hot prospect right now (they pay well too, with a median salary of $124,300). Back in 2013, executives at Gartner, a leading IT research and advisory company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, predicted the cloud would see explosive growth this year. “…By 2016 this growth will increase to become the bulk of new IT spend,” reads a statement released by the company in October 2013. “2016 will be a defining year for cloud as private cloud begins to give way to hybrid cloud, and nearly half of large enterprises will have hybrid cloud deployments by the end of 2017.”
Turns out they were right. So how do you get a job in cloud computing? Read on.
First, get the right training and certificates
There are plenty of cloud certification programs that can help you get on track. If you’re a Java developer, software developer or other IT professional, adding cloud computing skills to your resume could widen your job possibilities as more and more companies begin to shift their data to remote internet servers.
Leading tech companies tend to focus their certification programs on their own products: Amazon offers Amazon Web Services Certification, Google has Google Cloud Platform CloudAcademy and Microsoft offers its own Microsoft Azure certifications. There are also more general certification programs like the Cloud Certified Professional program from the Arcitura Cloud School, and the (ISC)2’s Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) credential, which would be helpful to anyone seeking a cloud computing job specifically focused on security.
Still, while getting a certificate might improve your chances at finding a job in cloud computing, the relative newness of the field means that the technology is always changing, and the leading candidates will be self-taught to some degree. So be sure to stay on top of the latest technological trends in the cloud computing space, and try to keep yourself from getting too attached to a particular way of doing things—the best approach may have already changed.
Then look for work at a cloud computing company.
In today’s market, you could go direct to the source. Leading cloud computing companies like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Zerto, Cloudera, FusionOps or Microsoft Azure all have numerous openings. Amazon Web Services, for instance, is hiring solutions architects, UX designers and Linux engineers right now. There are also new startups in this space popping up all the time. And all of these companies have numerous non-IT roles available, such as copywriters, marketing managers, office assistants, recruiters, sales account managers and more.
While some of these non-tech positions may not command the same salaries as developers and engineers, joining a company that leads a rapidly growing market provides plenty of opportunity for career growth. Many of these companies also offer competitive health plans, stock options, 401(k) plans and other perks.
Or explore opportunities at a company that doesn’t specialize in cloud computing.
Even if you’re not looking to work directly for a leading cloud-based company, you could still be a cloud computing analyst or engineer for a traditional organization. Banks, IT companies and automotive manufacturers, as well as the government and military, are looking to hire cloud specialists in roles like cloud computing analyst, cloud administrator, cloud architect and cloud engineers.
These positions often demand ability with specific programming languages like Python, Java and Ruby on Rails, as well as experience with different operating systems (specifically Linux), and a database querying language like SQL. A company may already be committed to a specific cloud provider, so your resume may need to show you already have experience working with Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform or another product in their vein. If a company does not already have a cloud system in place, a cloud computing position may involve building and maintaining public, hybrid and private cloud services for a company.
This article was first published on Monster.com
