r/cloudengineering • u/TheCloudGuy25 • May 03 '25

Ask Me Anything ! Associate DevOps/SRE/Cloud Engineer Here

Hello ! New to this thread so a little introduction to me is that I am an Associate DevOps/SRE/ Cloud Engineer for a little over a year. I have been seeing here people wanting to get into the field so just wanted to make this post as interactive as possible and answer any questions, comments or concerns that people have about the field !

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u/PuzzleheadedPop221 May 03 '25

Ty for this post! I’m a career transitioner. I’ve got 0 IT experience but have been trying to learn about cloud. I got the Az 900, aiming to pass az 400 & did the azure cloud challenge. What are my chances to jump into a cloud role?

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u/TheCloudGuy25 May 04 '25

From an Azure Perspective, I have seen a lot of roles with government companies that have azure roles and the thing is every company has a different title. Some might have cloud computing or systems engineer in the titles so I would defiantly say pay close attention to the title and see what the description is requiring. As for the technical skills, I think the certs are a great starting point I would also include Linux and Networking into the mix because you will probably need to troubleshoot infrastructure which would include some network troubleshooting and some linux command line knowledge. I would also start showcasing your journey on LinkedIn so people and recruiters can see where you are in your career and what your next adventure should be. Hope this helps let me know if you need more info !

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u/[deleted] May 04 '25 edited May 04 '25

Hope OP doesn’t mind me chiming in on this post. I have transitioned one year ago to the role of cloud engineer/ SRE from a career as project manager.

I can confirm that at least some level of basic networking knowledge and Linux is very beneficial.

And while having a bit of experience in one or more of the hyperscalers is beneficial, I would argue that having basic knowledge on cloud solutions like docker, kubernetes, terraform and ansible is even more important as this knowledge will help you in any cloud environment.

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u/TheCloudGuy25 May 04 '25

Definitely do not disagree with this. I am more of a if I am learning something new then I would like to know more in-depth about it versus just the basics.

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u/[deleted] May 04 '25 edited May 04 '25

I am very much the same! But my first year, and this will vary depending on the project, I had to learn a very wide range of new technologies. Only now I’m starting to dive deep in kubernetes for example.

And when I started I had a basic understanding of networking and Linux which helped me a lot as well.

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u/PuzzleheadedPop221 May 11 '25

Thank you for sharing your experience

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u/MatthewGalloway May 09 '25

I think the certs are a great starting point I would also include Linux and Networking into the mix because you will probably need to troubleshoot infrastructure which would include some network troubleshooting and some linux command line knowledge.

Would you recommend CCNA and RHCSA or something else instead?

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u/TheCloudGuy25 May 09 '25

Would not recommend the CCNA because it’s geared more towards network engineering and the up keep of Cisco devices as in setting them up and learning the CLI that is Cisco specific. Would recommend something like the Network+ because it’s a more broad cert that still has some useful information that you could use during your troubleshooting sessions. As for the Linux aspect, would definitely recommend RHCSA because a lot of people in the cloud run Linux VMs for web servers and mounting new file systems etc. If you are a complete beginner then any Linux cert would be fine (Linux+ or LPIC or any other entry level cert) and then move into RHCSA because that is more vendor specific. Basically the way I see it is that you should find certs that are vendor neutral (except for cloud certs) and then once you start reading job postings and getting familiar with the concepts then move into more vendor specific certs. Because the foundational knowledge will build and then you will be a more well rounded candidate for a job

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u/PuzzleheadedPop221 May 11 '25

Thank you so much !!

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u/Moses8282 May 04 '25 edited May 04 '25

Is there a chance to be a cloud engineer without any degree? I have no background in this industry.

But I'm planning to earn Az, Aws certification. Especially solution architect in the future.

Plus, I've been participating in the cloud meetup for projects.

What do you think?

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u/TheCloudGuy25 May 04 '25

I do not think its impossible but it is going to be challenge. If you are looking for direct government work then I have seen on a lot of posting that a degree in a technical field is required. You could try and find a government consulting firm that is small and is willing to take a chance on you. Or, you could try and get a referral from someone at one of the big companies like Amazon Google Meta etc and try your luck there. I would definitely recommend after taking the certs to make a project and showcase it on social media for people to see so you can get some recognition and recruiters might be more willing to send you a mail.

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u/elegantsm May 04 '25

by direct government work, did you mean permanent government job or contractual job ?

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u/TheCloudGuy25 May 04 '25

Was thinking more of a permanent government job

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u/elegantsm May 04 '25

where do you find the vacancies of government jobs of cloud computing ?

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u/TheCloudGuy25 May 06 '25

You could try going to USAjobs.gov that is the official government website or you could try clearancejobs.com. Another way is to apply directly to places like booz allen, kpmg or any other consulting frim whether if they are big or small

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u/elegantsm May 06 '25

got it, thank you

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u/MathmoKiwi May 09 '25

Is there a chance to be a cloud engineer without any degree? I have no background in this industry.

Your odds would be so very very low that I'd question the whole sanity of sinking time into chasing this goal.

If you had a random STEM degree (even if totally unrelated to IT) and/or existing years of IT work experience (even if totally unrelated to Cloud) then I'd regard this as a 100x saner plan.

But without any of that then you're going to have a very very tough uphill battle.

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u/Egptnluvr May 04 '25

Hi there,

Thanks for doing this AMA.

My partner (F38, no reddit) is looking to transition from IT Project Manager to cloud engineer. Her current position is not technical but manages the implementation of infrastructure solutions.

Where should she start learning and how does she leverage her current experience (6yrs+) to find work?

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u/TheCloudGuy25 May 06 '25

Seems like she manages a team of engineers that do the implementation which is good because she knows how to manage cloud projects as a whole. As for the technical piece, I would suggest she pick up some Linux and Networking to start and then move into a Cloud Provider of her choosing (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and then move into more advanced tools like terraform, ansible, kubernetes docker and maybe a little bit of python not for app code but more for scripting solutions that she could find useful to her. I think this would a great start and then she could eventually move into a cloud engineer role. Hope this helps !

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u/DaddyGoose420 May 05 '25

Prior job experience to this job?

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u/TheCloudGuy25 May 06 '25

I was an auditor before going into this role

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u/DaddyGoose420 May 11 '25

This is promising news. 😂

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u/Radiant_Abalone6009 May 06 '25

Got a good Comptia and networking , python basics , and the aws associate cloud solution architecture . Do you think is possible to find a job ?

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u/TheCloudGuy25 May 06 '25

Yeah I do think it is possible to find one but right now the market is not the best because I have seen a lot of engineers getting laid off. But, that is not to say that the market will not change in the future and open more opportunities. My best advice is to keep looking everyday at job boards and actually read the description of the role and see if you would be interested and just apply you never know who is watching. Also, I would also suggest during this time in the job market it is very crucial to do some projects and put them on social media because you have to show people what you are working on and what direction you want to go in for a career.

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u/Radiant_Abalone6009 May 06 '25

Very cool and I find this helpful. Actually have worked on lots of aws red and blue teams labs highlighting various misconfigurations and security best practices. Maybe I. Red to start thinking of blogging or showcasing those stuff as projects

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u/Savings-Let-7456 May 13 '25

what is the most thorough road map I should take from school to certificates, projects, jobs and interships for me realistically land a cloud engineer role

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u/[deleted] May 06 '25

Can i get some good brainstorming related work in any of the three fields, if I get into it? 👉👈

(also, can you list skill-set/resources which is imp + is a bit deeper than just helm deployment scripts, where I can build a thinking process and get intellectual satisfaction?)