How to become a Cloud Developer [Step-by-Step] Cloud Software Engineer Guide

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The very first thing I wish to explain before proceeding with this informative article “How to become a Cloud Developer” further, this guide is much more valuable for skilled candidates that have some expertise in application and software development.

However, if you are in college or just passed and have some programming & coding knowledge and you are tempted towards cloud technology this article also be helpful. Here you will get the complete information to get enter into cloud computing technology as a Cloud Developer.

In my article Cloud Computing Career Path, I have explained how a college graduate without any prior experience can make their career in cloud computing, so if you are just beginning your journey, must read this article.

What is meant by Cloud Developer? 

In general terms, a developer is a person who designs and builds something useful to attain a particular task from scratch or by using some resources.

A developer from the IT industry might be an Application/ Software Developer, Web Developer, or Video Game Developer.

Software Developer: Design and build computer programs and applications according to the system requirements by using various resources.

Web Developer: A Computer programmer (An IT professional) who specializes in developing a website (World Wide Web applications)

So what is meant by cloud developers and how a cloud developer is different from other types of developers?

A Cloud Developer is also an IT professional just like others, but the process they follow to develop computer software and applications is different.

A cloud developer might also use the very same tools and software as other IT developers do, but the resources (tools and software) they are using to build any type of computer application and software are from a cloud platform.

Who is more suitable to become a Cloud Software Engineer?

Any individual who is proficient at programming can make a profession in cloud development. It doesn’t matter which programming language you understand, the most important thing is you have to be a specialist in any of the programming languages (you do not need to become a rock star programmer)

So whether you are a Software Developer/ Software Engineer or a Web Developer you can get started learning cloud platforms and can become a part of this fantastic technology.

The majority of cloud developers (98%) have a minimum of two years of work experience in developing software and website before moving into the cloud platform. Therefore if you are planning to learn cloud computing development platforms, you should also have to gain some experience in the IT industry as a developer.

Can I get into cloud development without having any experience? Just after passing college.

As I mentioned at first, this article is more valuable for the experience. But, nothing is impossible to achieve.

Yes, you can, but that is not an easy task you must have to develop the same skill sets or perhaps better.

So to compete with 98% of candidates, you must have to be good at developing apps and writing codes.

Education required to become a Cloud Software Developer

Bachelor’s degree in computer science is prevalent for those who want to enter into the cloud computing career path.

If you have been studying subjects other than Computer Science, it’s okay. There is nothing to worry you can also become a Cloud Developer.

The important thing is, you must have the required skills set, which we will get to know further in this article.

If you are a non-technical person but still interested in this career path, you should read this article. Cloud Computing for Non-Technical (Bachelor of Arts) graduates

Master’s Degree

If you have done your bachelor’s in Computer Science, then you don’t have to worry about doing a master’s.

To become a cloud developer bachelor’s degree is more than sufficient.

Those candidates who have done their graduation in another technical field could go for Computer Science Master’s degree program; this is not mandatory though.

Prerequisites to become a Cloud Developer Engineer

  • Must know at least one programming language and should be proficient in that.
  • familiar with software development concepts and databases
  • Hypervisor and Virtualization techniques
  • Fundamental knowledge of cloud computing
  • Basic Networking skills

[1] Cisco R&S  [2] CompTIA Network+

Consider these two networking certifications to develop some basic skills in networking and know about the devices which are used to build network infrastructure.

The Top 3 Cloud Computing Certifications for Developers

Nowadays many cloud service providers in the markets offer cloud solutions to businesses. But here I am only going to tell you about those cloud vendors who affect most of the market and currently leading the cloud computing industry.

Each vendor has their self-build technology, but the concepts remain the same to some extent.

So to understand the cloud services you have to connect with a specific cloud service provider of your choice and use their tools and software, which they provide to develop an application over to the cloud.

Each cloud service provider provides a certification. You can consider any one of the following certifications.

These exams check your skills proficiency and ability to design, program, implement and monitor cloud-related applications and services.

Certification ensures that you are mastered in a particular cloud service (PaaS- Platform as a Service) and so you are apt to be hired.

Note: Certification is not mandatory to get a job in a Cloud Computing field. Even without certification, you can become a Cloud Software Developer.

Recommended online courses to learn Cloud Development

These online courses give you appropriate technical knowledge which eventually helps you to achieve your goal of becoming a cloud software engineer.

These online classes also help you to pass the certification exam, if you go for it.

  1. AWS Certified Developer – Associate
  2. Developing Applications with Google Cloud Platform Specialization
  3. Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure Exam
  4. Salesforce Platform App Builder Certification Course
  5. Cloud Computing Development Essentials

Some of the above-listed courses have 30 days money-back guarantee. If you don’t like the course you can get back your money without any question ask.

What will you learn as a Cloud Software Engineer/ Cloud Developer?

  • You will learn about the core cloud services and how to use those services
  • Basics of cloud solution architect and designing of cloud environment in an efficient way.
  • You will learn how to install and configure the SDK (software development kit) and command line toolkit
  • How to develop a cloud-based app by using a cloud development platform.
  • Monitoring tools to watch over your application and how to configure the monitoring tools to get a better analyzing report.
  • The basic concept of network security and various types of security policies.

How to become a Cloud Developer [Step-by-Step] Cloud Software Engineer Guide

[Step 1] to become a Cloud Developer: Education

Get the primary education which is mentioned above in this article.

[Step 2] to become a Cloud Developer: Programming Languages

how to become a Cloud Software EngineerTo get into the software development field you must have command over at least one programming language.

The most common programming languages used to develop a cloud-based application are Python, Java, C++, Ruby, PHP, JavaScript, SQL, etc.

Whichever programming language you are going to choose, make sure you must be good at that language.

[Step 3] to become a Cloud Developer: Experience

After passing your bachelor’s degree, your next step would be getting a job in a software development company. To get into the cloud computing industry as a cloud developer, you must have at least 1 to 2 years of experience in developing software and applications.

[Step 4] to become a Cloud Developer: Cloud Architecture

Before start learning how to develop a cloud-based application, you need to know the following things…

  • What the cloud is and how it works
  • Features and the benefit of using the cloud in an organization.
  • Understanding of different types of services provided by a cloud service provider and how to use it effectively to create the right development environment.

To learn all these things you can also go for the Cloud Solution Architect Certification. Although, this is not necessary for a person coming from a software development background.

Must, read this article: How to become a Cloud Solution Architect (No prior experience required)

[Step 5] Practical exposure to cloud development platform

To learn something new, there is no better way to learn than getting real-time experience in the very same field. By doing this, you can get practical exposure to the technology, which you want to learn, in a more understandable way.

For the developers who want to get into cloud computing and want to learn how to develop an application on a cloud platform; many cloud service platforms provide a 1-year subscription free of cost.

You need to complete their signup process, and then you can start developing your application and start learning other cloud tools.

  • AWS (Amazon Web Service):  Click Here to get complete details about the free offer from the AWS
  • Salesforce lightning platform: Click Here to sign up for the free developer account
  • Microsoft Azure: Click Here to know about the free usage of Azure

[Step 6] to become a Cloud Developer: Certification

After getting some hands-on experience in developing applications on a cloud platform, you can apply for the certification exam (choose any of the cloud platforms, that I listed above in this article, to get certified).

Getting certified means, you know this individual cloud platform very well, and you are capable of developing an application by using cloud platform services and tools.

And the most important thing you will get a better salary hike (almost double) than a non-certified cloud developer.

So if you are planning to get into this cloud computing domain, you should think to obtain certification.

Must Check>> Best Online Courses for Cloud Developer You Should Go For If  you are thinking about getting certification

Career scope in Cloud Development and why you should learn cloud computing platform

To get a clear and better understanding of the cloud computing career scope, let’s take an example, based on the working scenario within a software development organization.

Suppose you are a software developer in your company and you are struck with an amazing idea that nobody has. So now you want this new application to develop. But before going to start developing the application you have to set up many different things, let’s have a look one by one.

  • You have to outline your all application requirements
  • Build a perfect IDE (Integrated Development Environment) and install all the required software, such as servers and framework (if needed).
  • Install and build database and management software for your application
  • Proper sync your application with the database, so they can communicate with each other

After setup above mentioned application requirement, now you can implement your great idea and shape the application into a realistic form.

The process is not completed yet; you have reached only halfway as the application is not running in real-time, i.e. nobody knows your amazing idea (so what’s the point). So to make your application publically you have to send it for production after consulting your boss.

The further procedure involving running your application in real-time is as follows:

  • Set up servers and other necessary hardware to handle the maximum workload.
  • If the required equipment is not available (perhaps in most of the cases you have to face this problem, especially in the small and medium level organization) then placed an order for it
  • Install and configure the same development environment on servers

So now you can develop your application to make it publically and to run in real-time. But your problem is not over yet. As a developer you have to test your application frequently, to ensure your application is working fine in this new environment.

And if not then you have to go through the painstaking process of modifying the application.

So after taking all the setup and procedures successfully you can finally launch your application in a real-time environment so the users can see your amazing app.

To follow up on all the procedures is a hectic process and also time-consuming. It will easily take 3 to 4 months to set up the complete application running environment.

And in that considerable time gap of developing a new application. It could also be possible some other person can acquire the same idea as yours.

So now what is the solution, Yes you are thinking right the most feasible and reliable solution is “cloud computing”.

If your organization was connected to the cloud environment, then this whole scenario would be completely different. You don’t have to worry about the above seven mentioned procedures and no need to wait for 3 to 4 months to implement the idea. You can start implementing your great view from the very moment when you are stuck with the idea.

So because of all these problems in regular application building, every company wants to build their application and software on a cloud platform.  Accordingly, they need someone to develop their application on the cloud, so they need a cloud developer. That means you have a great opportunity ahead.

I hope this article “How to become a Cloud Developer” gives you an exact reason to become a cloud software engineer and why you should follow cloud computing career path. And finally, you get your answer on How to become a Cloud Developer.