The cloud computing field is reaching new heights. In fact, the field of cloud computing is projected to have a market size of $623.3 billion in the next two years, and 94% of computing is expected to be run through cloud data centers this year.

What’s more, according to Robert Half Technology’s State of U.S. Tech Hiring research, three out of the top five jobs center around cloud computing, including cloud security, cloud computing and cloud architecture

With cloud computing growing so quickly, tons of new jobs will soon hit  the market. If you’ve thought about entering the tech industry, now is a great time to prepare and begin exploring the world of  cloud computing.

Find out what cloud engineers do and how you can land your dream job as a cloud engineer in 2021.

The In-demand Job Skills Cloud Engineers Need 

There are a few areas of expertise that anyone working in cloud computing should have. To be a cloud engineer, it’s important to know about:

  • Databases – Understanding how to store and access data with SQL
  • Programming – Coding and scripting in languages like Python, Golang and PHP
  • APIs and Web Services – Connecting internal and external systems together
  • Networking – The fundamentals of IT
  • Operating Systems – Particularly, interfacing with Linux via the command line
  • Data Storage and Security – Following best practices and preventing attacks

A Day in the Life of a Cloud Engineer

The daily work of a cloud engineer can change drastically depending on the size of the company and the exact title of the job. But overall, the work typically involves writing infrastructure as code, managing migrating projects to the cloud or building new projects on the cloud and working closely with DevOps teams and build engineers to manage project pipelines. 

Just like in traditional IT, there’s a lot of different areas of the cloud to get to know and it’s easy to be able to gravitate towards the area that interests you the most.

Cloud Engineer Salary: What to Expect

Cloud engineers make over six figures on average in the U.S. ZipRecruiter reports an average salary of $117,000 for cloud engineers and Glassdoor comes in slightly lower with their average reported salary, just hitting $100,000. Salary.com comes in the highest with average yearly pay ranging from $113,000 to $134,000.

Where to Find Cloud Engineering Jobs

Typically, you’ll find more cloud engineering roles at organizations with big data centers, like Amazon, Cisco and Google. In fact, AWS has 32% of the cloud vendor market. A quick search on Glassdoor finds almost 40,000 open cloud engineering jobs, with titles ranging from Cloud Security Engineer to Azure engineer. Indeed has a whopping 50,000 cloud engineering jobs available, from intern to full-time.

How to Land a New Job as a Cloud Engineer

If you’re interested in becoming a cloud engineer, you need to add g skills in cloud computing to your resume. Udacity’s School of Cloud Computing is a great place to find courses that will train you in everything from AWS Cloud Architecture to Microsoft Azure development. Udacity program includes projects based on real-life data that can be used to showcase your skills to future employers.

Check out Udacity’s Cloud Computing Nanodegree programs today and you’ll be on your way to a bright new future in the cloud in no time.

Start Learning

Jennifer Shalamanov
Jennifer Shalamanov
Jennifer is a content writer at Udacity with over 10 years of content creation and marketing communications experience in the tech, e-commerce and online learning spaces. When she’s not working to inform, engage and inspire readers, she’s probably drinking too many lattes and scouring fashion blogs.