Globalisation, automation, and rapidly changing needs means the future of employment will probably look very different from how it looks now. In fact, many current careers won’t exist in the next 10 to 20 years. So, it’s critical that students ask the important question: ‘Will my chosen study path lead to strong job opportunities after graduation and beyond?’
In this series, we’re exploring a range of occupations that are forecast to have strong employment prospects in the future. Some careers in the tech industry are quickly emerging. Plus, there are other existing careers that will also have an important place in the employment opportunities of tomorrow.
What is cloud computing?
If you’ve ever used Gmail, Dropbox, Facebook, or even Netflix, then you have benefitted from cloud computing. Put simply, cloud computing is the delivery of computing services, such as storage, databases, networking, intelligence, and software over the internet (“the cloud”). With the number of businesses employing cloud computing increasing significantly every year, the necessity for specialised software engineers, architects, and developers continues to grow. Read on to learn more about this unique new career pathway and one of the most sought-after in IT.
Why start a career in cloud computing?
Cloud computing has become mainstream. It is expected that by 2022, 60% of organisations will use a cloud-managed service – double the number in 2018. Businesses are choosing to utilise cloud computing as it offers faster innovation, flexible resources, and is often more cost-effective than owning and maintaining their own computing infrastructure or data centres, as companies can rent from a cloud service provider and pay for what they use.
As cloud computing hurtles towards becoming a $300 billion business by 2021, employer interest in cloud computing has increased exponentially. As stated by Vincent Quah, regional head of education, research, healthcare and non-profit organisations at Amazon Web Services (AWS):
“Cloud is now what we call the new normal. It’s no longer an experiment, it’s no longer an after-thought … when you talk to most companies, it is [no longer about] why they should use cloud, but when they should use it.”
There’s worldwide demand
In a study conducted by job-search site, Indeed, job searches for roles related to cloud computing have risen nearly 108% in the last three years, while employer interest in candidates with cloud computing skills increased by 33%. Cloud jobs are predicted to be one of the strongest tech careers of 2020, as it has been for the last few years. As such, there is an abundance of cloud computing jobs on offer around the world, the most in-demand positions being for software engineers, software architects, and development operations engineers.
You’ll learn a variety of specialised skills
Cloud computing requires a number of speciality skills, all of which are in high demand. Your chosen education pathway will allow you to develop these skills in preparation for a career in cloud computing. They can include coding and database management, cloud platforms and technologies, business management and data manipulation, amongst many others.
High income potential
Based on recent job figures, cloud engineers in Sydney and Melbourne can expect six-figure salaries. Cloud engineers are highly mobile and tend to be platform-specific, with the main three being Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Amazon Web Services (AWS). When it comes to deciding what you want to specialise in, make sure to do a little research – the most commonly sought-after and available cloud engineers tend to work with AWS, but AWS specialists may find slightly smaller salaries.
There’s a range of different cloud computing jobs
As well as a range of software engineer and developer jobs (think data, Java, cloud, .NET, front-end…), cloud computing also requires data scientists, system administrators and software architects. Whatever your interest in IT, there’s something for you in cloud computing.
Education pathways to a career in cloud computing
If you’re looking to study for a career in cloud computing, there are several options available:
- Bachelor of Information Technology
- Graduate Diploma of Information Technology
- Master of Information Technology
Meet a cloud computing student and graduate
Speaking to Charles Sturt University Study Centres graduate, Mohib, and current student, Siddharth, offers an insider’s perspective into what it’s like to study cloud computing, and what the future of the industry looks like.
Mohib travelled to Melbourne from his home in India to study a Master of Information Technology with a specialisation in Computer Networking and Business Analysis at Charles Sturt University Study Centres. Currently working in the field as an Application Support Analyst in Melbourne, Mohib guarantees that the future of cloud computing will be a long and successful one.
“Currently, cloud computing is only being used in major companies that need secure storage. I think, in the future, every single company or small enterprise will start storing on cloud. The future is quite bright.”
Siddharth, a current Charles Sturt University Study Centres student, moved from India to Australia to study his Master of International Technology in Cloud Computing and Systems Analysis. He also understands the importance of cloud computing, especially in this increasingly technologically-driven and mobile world:
“Cloud computing will be of great benefit because people can store their data anywhere, anytime. There are so many solutions for each customer.”
With this, Mohib is certain that the demand for cloud computing experts will continue to grow.
“They will need more IT experts to expand the technology, maintain it, make it more secure and reliable, and this will help make cloud computing affordable to every single business owner – even if it’s a single shop business, they will start using cloud. There will be a need to provide these services.”
Education providers need to remain up-to-date with changes in this technology, which is why Mohib and Siddharth found studying at Charles Sturt University Study Centres especially beneficial to them.
“The courses at Charles Sturt are constantly being updated,” shares Siddharth. “That way, they can focus more on the future.”
For future IT students, Mohib encourages specialisation in the field.
“In the span of five to six years most of the data for all companies will be stored in the cloud, so it’s high-time for all IT graduates to study cloud.”
