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Are You Obsolete Yet? Why Every Cloud Career Has a Silver Lining

In the world of IT, those skilled in the latest technologies have always been one step ahead of the rest in terms of career opportunities, market demand, and consequently, salary.

And as cloud solutions become more mainstream, the demand for cloud-skilled IT professionals is certainly increasing. But instead of an opportunity simply to advance your career and remuneration, it should also be seen as a wake-up call to survive in an increasingly competitive jobs landscape.

Waiting for a cloud that never comes

But if your company has not yet made the move, it would be a mistake for you to sit back and wait, expecting to learn these skills when your employer finally decides to go cloud.

Reason number 1: as cloud-based solutions become more complex and more pervasive, there will be a wider range of specialized external cloud consultants for enterprises to employ to make the cloud shift smoothly and risk-free.

Reason number 2: as these companies – the last to adopt the cloud – realize the business opportunities they are missing out on with every passing day, they will be more likely to leverage ready-made external consultants immediately, and not wait until their IT teams have ‘caught up’.

Changing IT departments, changing IT roles

Reason number 3: cloud learning is not just about learning a new technology, it is about learning a new business paradigm. The cloud is changing the structure of the IT department and the job roles within it, putting some careers at risk.

Cloud-rich IT departments spend less time and fewer internal resources on operations and technical support of applications, systems, and servers. Their focus has instead switched to IT/business liaison, user adoption, vendor relationship management, and security.

• For example, according to Nemertes data, 37% of organizations shifting to the cloud increase spending on security audits, to ensure their connections to cloud services do not create potential avenues of attack.
• Cloud vendor management and selection become critical IT functions because of the enormous potential for mistakes and waste if business leaders fail to select or manage cloud services properly.
• The biggest increase in IT staff assignments, however, is in promoting user awareness and adoption – not least because organizations frequently add new features when migrating to the cloud.

Thus, where previously, IT success was measured in terms of uptime and performance or calls to the helpdesk, for companies adopting the cloud it is measured in user adoption of new capabilities and in business value derived from investment.

Embracing the cloud is, therefore, as much about developing cloud business acumen as technical skills.

This means the longer you wait to learn cloud skills, the more obsolete your current technical and functional skills are becoming – and the more likely you are to eventually be replaced by a ‘cloud-skilled professional’.

Reaching for the cloud – exciting job roles

There are two main types of cloud computing careers emerging today, both of which are highly lucrative: IT pros with specific cloud skills, and IT admins with cloud architecture know-how.

• Roles requiring specific cloud skills account for the majority of cloud computing jobs today. Such jobs include configuration, development, and operations positions, with salaries in the USA ranging from US$110,000 to US$220,000 annually.
• Cloud architecture roles – such as ‘cloud solutions architect’, ‘cloud technology broker’, or ‘cloud services broker’ – require strategic knowledge of most cloud computing technology and providers, as well as the ability to shape those clouds to fit enterprise needs.
• US annual salaries for these roles currently range from US$150,000 to US$250,000. Cloud architecture positions involve a large amount of travel, but in either case, there will be no shortage of opportunities for qualified professionals.

Safeguard your career! Earn Cloud Certifications

At this point in time there are about 100 cloud jobs for each qualified candidate, according to technical recruiters.

The key word here being ‘qualified’.

While many companies may be desperate to fill cloud roles, nobody wants to hire an unqualified applicant - especially for a business-critical function.

Therefore, the best way for you to get ahead in the cloud, to advance your career today while safeguarding it for the future, is to acquire cloud certifications.

Armed with well-respected cloud certifications, you will  be ready when your current company makes its shift to the cloud.

And if your company waits too long and goes out of business before that happens, well, there will be plenty of other enterprises eager to employ your services, and line your cloud career with silver.

By: Ana Opris  Global Social Media Communications Manager