Building a Successful Cloud Computing Career

Starting or transferring to a professional cloud career requires cloud knowledge, cloud hands-on skill development, and passing cloud certifications, all of which we discussed in the previous chapters – the so-called hardware for a cloud career. In this final chapter of the book, we will discuss the software that is needed to develop a successful profession in cloud computing. We will focus on three topics:

• The cloud job market
• The soft skills in a cloud career
• My cloud story

Without question, cloud computing is booming, and we need both hard skills and soft skills to stand on top of the cloud.

The cloud job market

The cloud computing job market continues to grow rapidly as organizations increasingly adopt cloud technologies. Here are some key observations of the cloud computing job market at the time of writing:

• The cloud computing job market offers a wide range of roles, catering to different skill sets and expertise, including cloud engineers, cloud administrators, DevOps engineers, security specialists, data engineers, ML engineers, and solution architects.
• Cloud computing technology has become an integral part of modern business and technology operations, leading to an increased need for skilled cloud professionals who can design, deploy, manage, and secure cloud infrastructure and applications, across various industries and sectors.
• Many companies and organizations are in the process of migrating their existing infrastructure and applications to the cloud or implementing cloud-native solutions. Professionals with expertise in cloud migration strategies...

Soft cloud skills

While hard/technical skills are essential in a cloud computing career, soft skills are equally important for success. From my observations, the following are some key soft skills that can benefit professionals in a cloud career:

• Communication skills: Effective communication is crucial in cloud computing roles. You need to convey complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Clear and concise communication skills help in documenting requirements, collaborating with team members, and presenting ideas or solutions to clients.
• Collaboration and teamwork skills: Cloud computing often involves collaborative working with cross-functional teams, including developers, system administrators, network engineers, and business stakeholders. Being able to work well in a team, share knowledge, and collaborate on projects is essential.
• Problem-solving skills: Cloud computing professionals frequently encounter complex technical challenges...

My cloud story

I came to the United States with $400 borrowed from my advisor at Tsinghua University. When I entered US customs at the San Francisco port, on August 17, 1992, I was asked by the US customs officer, “How will you survive here with 400 dollars?”

Four years later, with a PhD in industrial engineering and a master of science in computer science, I started working at Chase Manhattan Bank as a Unix administrator. Working as a Unix administrator, a Cisco internet expert, and then an advisory Storage Area Network (SAN) architect, it took me eight years at Wall Street financial firms and 12 years in IT firms (EMC/VMware) to build a solid foundation in all aspects of IT infrastructure (server, network, storage, database, high availability, and disaster recovery). At that time, I had worked in the traditional IT industry for over 20 years and was very comfortable with my professional life.

My life changed in 2014. I was made aware of the cloud computing concepts...

Summary

In this chapter, we discussed the job market and soft skills in cloud computing career development, and I also shared my cloud story, hoping to provide some inspiration for your cloud journey.

This chapter concludes the fourth part of the book, and we have now reached the end of the book. Nevertheless, our cloud journey continues, and I look forward to seeing you in the clouds.