Cloud Engineer
Build and operate cloud infrastructure across AWS, Azure, and GCP
Job titles
Cloud Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure Engineer +
UK salary range
£55,000–£85,000
US salary range
$90,000–$140,000
Time to first role
6–12 months from scratch
About this role
Cloud engineers design, deploy, and maintain scalable infrastructure on public cloud platforms. Demand is driven by enterprise cloud migration and the ongoing shift from on-premises data centres. The role spans networking, compute, storage, identity, and automation — making it one of the broadest and best-paid paths in IT.
Key skills employers look for
Certification roadmap
Foundation
Understand cloud concepts before specialising — pick one cloud provider
CLF-C02AWS Cloud Practitioner
Broad cloud concepts, AWS service map, and pricing models. Takes 3–4 weeks and removes gaps that trip up every AWS Associate exam.
AZ-900Azure Fundamentals
Equivalent Azure foundation. Pick CLF-C02 or AZ-900 based on which cloud your target employers use — not both.
GCDLGoogle Cloud Digital Leader
GCP foundation if targeting Google Cloud environments or big-data-heavy roles.
Core Cloud Skills
The role-based cert that employers actually screen for
SAA-C03AWS Solutions Architect Associate
The most in-demand cloud cert globally. Covers VPC, IAM, EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, and the most common architecture patterns. Opens the most junior cloud engineer roles.
AZ-104Azure Administrator
Azure equivalent of SAA-C03. If your target market is Azure-heavy (UK public sector, financial services), this opens more doors than SAA-C03.
ACEGoogle Associate Cloud Engineer
GCP operator cert. Valued at companies running Kubernetes-native or data platform workloads on GCP.
Infrastructure Automation
IaC is non-negotiable in any modern cloud team
Terraform AssociateHashiCorp Terraform Associate
Terraform is the industry standard for provisioning cloud infrastructure. This cert proves you can write, plan, and apply production-quality IaC — and appears in roughly 60% of mid-level cloud job postings.
Professional Level
For senior cloud engineer and architect roles — 2+ years experience recommended
SAP-C02AWS Solutions Architect Professional
The hardest and most respected AWS cert. Required for senior architect roles. Covers migrations, multi-account strategies, and complex HA/DR designs.
AZ-305Azure Solutions Architect Expert
Azure equivalent of SAP-C02. Requires AZ-104 as prerequisite.
Frequently asked questions
AWS or Azure — which should I start with?
Follow demand in your local job market. AWS leads globally and in the US. Azure leads in UK enterprise, financial services, and public sector. If you're unsure, AWS SAA-C03 is the safer first bet — it transfers more widely and is required for the most diverse set of roles.
Do I need all three cloud certs?
No. Pick one cloud provider and go deep. Multi-cloud breadth is useful at senior level but employers at entry and associate level want depth, not breadth.
Is Terraform worth doing before I get a cloud job?
Yes. Increasingly employers screen cloud candidates on IaC experience before invite. A Terraform Associate cert demonstrates you understand declarative infrastructure even without production experience.
Key terms for this career path
These concepts underpin the certifications in this roadmap and appear regularly in exam questions.
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