How to get a job in cloud computing: 10 skills to master

By Alison DeNisco Rayome

TechRepublic, May 3, 2018 —

Job postings that include the terms cloud computing or cloud engineer have gone up 27% since 2015. — Indeed, 2018
AWS, Python, and Java are the most in-demand skills for cloud computing roles. — Indeed, 2018

More than half of tech pros say that the cloud and hybrid IT is their organization’s no. 1 most important IT strategy today, as nearly all organizations move some workloads to the cloud, a recent report found. This has led to a surge in cloud hiring over the past two years, according to research released Thursday from job search site Indeed: Job postings that include the terms cloud computing or cloud engineer have gone up 27% since 2015.

Further, searches for the terms cloud computing and cloud engineer have risen 141% in the past two years, the research found.

For those with the proper skillset, working in the cloud is lucrative: The average salary of cloud engineers in the US is $114,796, according to Indeed.

Here are the 10 most in-demand skills for cloud computing roles, according to Indeed, based on the percentage of job postings that contain them:

1. Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services (AWS) was the first large vendor of affordable cloud services, and remains the largest player in the cloud computing market. Knowing your way around AWS is also one of the top skills that employers are seeking across all tech positions.

2. Python

Python is the fastest-growing programming language, and is used by many cloud platforms.

3. Java

Java remains one of the most in-demand coding languages nationally, and a recent move may make it even more cloud-friendly.

4. Azure

Microsoft Azure adoption is catching up to AWS: 45% of companies were using the platform in 2018, up from 34% the year before, according to a recent report.

5. Agile

Agile project management has exploded across the enterprise in recent years, and offers continuous improvement for cloud development cycles.

6. Puppet

Used in DevOps environments, Puppet offers automation for AWS, which can save enterprises valuable time.

7. Chef

Chef is also used in DevOps, and can provide enterprise-wide analytics with its Automate tool.

8. Ansible

Open source Ansible is a cost-effective centralized server management system that helps with cloud deployments.

9. Docker

Docker—one of the leading containerization technologies—is an open source utility that automates the deployment and management of programs in software containers.

10. VMware

VMware offers cloud computing and platform virtualization software and services used by many enterprises. The company also has a partnership with AWS.