How to Become a Cloud Engineer With No Degree

Key Takeaways

• You don't need a computer science degree to become a cloud engineer. Certifications, hands-on projects, and a portfolio are enough to catch the eye of hiring managers. 
• The proven route to a job runs through five stages: master IT fundamentals, go deep on one cloud provider, get certified, build real projects, and enter through an adjacent role.
• The effort is well worth it, as cloud engineers are in demand. Indeed data shows the average cloud engineer makes $135,000 annually (as of June 2026). 

Cloud engineering has a bit of a reputation problem, but it can work in your favor. 

Because the job title sounds intimidating, it tends to dissuade people who assume it’s gated by a four-year computer science degree. That might have been the case years ago, but not today. And the reason is simple: the work is verifiable. When it comes down to it, you’re either capable of launching a secure, cost-efficient cloud environment or you’re not. A portfolio shows that faster than any transcript could. 

The timing is also on your side (and has been for a while, if we’re being honest). Grand View Research reports that the US cloud computing market was valued at $216.91 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 20.3% from 2024 to 2030. The growth is largely due to the explosion in AI, machine learning, 5G connectivity, and the Internet of Things (IoT). 

In this guide, we walk you through how to become a cloud engineer from a standing start, including the skills, certifications, projects, and a realistic route in.

What are cloud engineers?

Cloud engineers are responsible for building and managing cloud-based infrastructure. That covers everything from software and storage to servers and networking delivered over the internet, as opposed to traditional on-site computer hardware. 

What are the responsibilities of cloud engineers?

“Cloud engineer” is a role often used interchangeably with different IT roles. Broadly speaking, the job involves designing, launching, automating, and managing cloud-based services and infrastructure.

On any given day, the average cloud engineer will be busy with:

• Building and configuring cloud systems: Setting up cloud servers, networks, and databases, and deciding on the best cloud services for their organizations.
• Automation and Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Defining cloud infrastructure in version-controlled code.
• Security and access control: Setting permissions for resources that people can access and mitigating cybersecurity attacks.
• Troubleshooting: While cloud infrastructure is hosted on reliable platforms, engineers still need to monitor for performance issues. 

Do you need a degree to become a cloud engineer?

No, you don’t need a degree to become a cloud computing engineer. Even universities acknowledge that bootcamps, certifications, and hands-on experience can serve as viable entry points to a career in cloud computing. Similarly, Google cofounder Sergey Brin notes that the search giant has “tons” of recently hired engineers without college degrees. 

Given that the nature of the work revolves around project delivery, hiring managers are more than willing to bypass traditional degrees because demand currently exceeds supply. In SoftwareOne's 2023 Cloud Skills Report, 95% of IT decision-makers said the cloud skills gap had negatively affected their teams, and 32% said their organizations had missed financial objectives as a result. 

Simply put, there aren’t enough CS graduates to meet the rapid growth of cloud computing infrastructure. As a result, companies now prioritize proof of skill, which, without a degree, could mean any of the following:

• Recognized certifications from AWS, Microsoft, or Google
• Completion of programs, tech bootcamps, and/or courses
• Documented projects that show you can apply your credentials. 

This is also why a career in cloud engineering is financially rewarding, with the average professional making $135,000 a year as of June 2026. 

However, “no degree required” is by no means the same as “no foundations required.” 

Cloud engineering sits on top of core IT knowledge, so the real trade you're making is swapping four years of tuition for a focused stretch of structured self-study and hands-on practice. Here's how to spend that time.

What are the skills and education requirements for cloud engineers?

So, if you can become a cloud engineer without a degree, what credentials and skills do you need for employers to give you their time? 

Cloud engineer skills

The typical job description for a cloud engineer will often cover these skills:

• Operating systems: 90% of cloud infrastructure runs on Linux. Command-line comfort and basic system administration are baseline skills employers expect. 
• Networking: Knowledge of IP addressing, firewalls, and VPNs is fundamental to the role. 
• Virtualization and containerization: Cloud platforms are built on virtual machines, so you need a working knowledge of hypervisors, plus containers and orchestration with Docker and Kubernetes. 
• Data resilience and recovery: This involves backups, replication, and building disaster recovery plans to ensure data and services survive an outage. 
• IaC and DevOps: You’ll need to be comfortable with Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, and version control (Git).
• Monitoring: You’ll also need to know how to monitor system performance using tools such as Grafana, CloudWatch, and Prometheus. 
• Programming proficiency: You don’t need to be a software developer, but you do need to know how to automate cloud systems using a language like Python. 
• Cloud platform fluency: Most cloud infrastructure runs on the big three platforms of AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. 

Education and credentials

A degree still helps, but employers will also consider recognized certifications such as:

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner 
• Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate.

Keep reading this guide to learn what to expect from cloud engineer certifications. You’ll also need to pair these with a portfolio of real projects to prove you don’t just have the skills — you also know how to apply them. 

How to become a cloud engineer:  A step-by-step guide

Step 1: Master the IT fundamentals every cloud engineer needs

Before you begin engineering anything in the cloud, you’ll first need to grasp the IT foundations on which cloud systems are built. This isn’t “cloud engineering” by any means; it’s more about learning the prerequisites that hold the cloud together. 

Many learners make the mistake of skipping the fundamentals only to regret it later. If you’re already coming from an IT or sysadmin background, a refresher can still be useful, and you can always move faster through it depending on your knowledge level. 

Operating systems

Get comfortable with Linux, especially command-line navigation and basic shell scripting. Most of the world's cloud infrastructure runs on it, and every tutorial from here on assumes you can find your way around a terminal.

Networking

Learn IP addressing and routing, subnets, DNS, firewalls, and VPNs. Strip away the branding, and the cloud is networking at scale, so this knowledge compounds more than anything else you'll study.

Core infrastructure

Understand virtualization and hypervisors (the technology underpinning every cloud virtual machine), relational databases and how they work, and system administration basics. 

Because the cloud is essentially virtualization on a massive scale, it’s a good idea to know the primary hypervisors, or virtual machine monitors (VMMs), by name: VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and open-source KVM. 

The point isn’t to aim for mastery (that’ll come much later). At this stage, you want to develop fluency and get to a point where "subnet" and "virtual machine" aren’t just words but tools. 

Step 2: Pick one cloud computing platform and go deep

Attempting to learn the “Big Three” of AWS, Azure, and GCP at the same time is a rookie mistake. The smarter thing to do is pick one platform, learn it properly, and trust in the transferable concepts. 

Don’t worry, the second platform is always easier to learn than the first. 

• Amazon Web Services (AWS): The market leader, holding 28% of global cloud infrastructure share as of early 2026, and with it the largest share of job openings. If you have no strong reason to pick otherwise, pick AWS.
• Microsoft Azure: Second at roughly 21% market share, and the favorite of large enterprises already living in the Windows and Microsoft ecosystem. A smart choice if you're targeting corporate IT environments.
• Google Cloud Platform (GCP): Around 14% of the market, and strongest in data analytics, machine learning, and Kubernetes.

For most people figuring out how to become a cloud computing engineer from scratch, AWS is the practical default, purely because of the number of jobs asking for it.

Build something before aiming for certification

Before gunning for a certification, consider building something first. You’ll find the concepts easier to grasp through simple trial and error on a project. Things you can do include:

• Launch a virtual server: Think of this as your “Hello world” moment. Spin up an AWS EC2 instance, connect to it over SSH, then install something simple on it. 
• Host a static site: Drop a simple site into an S3 bucket, then serve it publicly. You’ll get a crash course on storage, permissions, and public access settings. 
• Wire up a network: Build a VPC with a public and private subnet, then set the security group rules that determine what can communicate with what. 

These small projects alone will get you started on compute, storage, and networking — core components of any cloud engineer’s job. They also save you from thinking of certification as a process of rote memorization. 

Step 3: Earn cloud engineer certifications

Certifications exist to solve one specific problem: with no degree or prior tech job, you need to give recruiters a fast, trusted signal that you actually know your stuff. 

You can climb the certification ladder in tiers; that way you can build knowledge that makes it easier to complete the next certification on the list. 

• Foundational certifications: Completing AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner or Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) will show that you understand core cloud concepts. Either can be earned within weeks of focused study.
• Associate-level certifications: The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate or Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer are the credentials most entry-level cloud job postings actually list. This is the tier that moves your resume into the interview pile.

Treat certifications as necessary but not sufficient. They prove you know the concepts. The next step is about showing you know how to put them into practice. 

Step 4: Build a hands-on cloud portfolio

Your portfolio is what transforms a certificate into a job offer. Without a degree, your portfolio is the only place a hiring manager can actually see the quality of your work. Here’s how to build a portfolio the right way. 

1. Practice without a bill shock

Provider free tiers and sandbox environments let you build real infrastructure at no cost while you learn. 

• AWS offers a credit-based free account plan, which gives you up to $200 credits ($100 instantly, with the chance to earn the next $100; the free plan runs for up to six months). You also get access to pre-provisioned sandbox environments in AWS Builder Center, with no credit card required. 
• Azure offers new users a start credit and access to always-free services. With Microsoft Learn, you get a browser-based sandbox environment to learn Azure without incurring any fees.
• Finally, Google Cloud provides $300 in trial credits plus an always-free tier with a small persistent VM — great for running a zero-cost project. 

We recommend building and deploying real services on guided sandboxes (Cloud Quest, Microsoft Learn, or a Builder Center workshop) before moving to the real thing. When you’re ready to open your own paid account, set billing alerts before doing anything else. It's a good professional habit from day one to avoid bill shock. 

2. Learn Infrastructure as Code early

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) involves defining, automating, and provisioning computer infrastructure using configuration files rather than manually managing it via a web console.  It’s become a baseline skill, as clicks on a web console are prone to human error and difficult to audit. Start with:

• Terraform: This is the industry standard, commanding a 62% market share, thanks in large part to its compatibility with AWS, Azure, and GCP (so you have transferable skills). 
• AWS CloudFormation: This is another service worth learning, but note that it only works on AWS, so pick it up after Terraform. 

3. Document three to five projects on GitHub

Make sure each project has a clear README covering:

• The problem
• Your architecture decisions
• What you'd change with hindsight. 

Writing up those decisions on LinkedIn or a blog is a strong bonus signal, since sharing your cloud portfolio is as much a marketing job as it is a technical one.

Step 5: Become a cloud engineer through a structured program

Steps 1 to 4 assume that you’re teaching yourself. That approach can work; lots of cloud engineers are self-taught, with users on r/Cloud on Reddit saying it can take over a year of grinding through projects and certification.

But this path also assumes you have the discipline to be consistent, not to mention have the time and energy to figure out which projects are worthwhile and whether or not they meet a professional bar.

A structured, project-based program removes that guesswork with a carefully constructed curriculum, projects reviewed by working cloud engineers, and career support toward your first job offer. Your exact starting point depends on how far along you are in your tech journey. For instance, the steps above will take you from beginner to an adjacent cloud role. But to take the next step requires a level-up program.

This is where TripleTen’s AI Systems  Engineering program comes in. It’s aimed at IT professionals who already have solid experience and need an expedited path to move into a cloud engineering role that demands system-level skills. That skill set is what separates a senior hire from an entry-level one. 

A quick note for beginners: Think of this level-up program as the destination you’re working toward as you work through steps 1 to 4 and land your first cloud-adjacent role. 

Bonus step: Make AI part of your workflow now

Modern cloud roles are increasingly integrated with AI tools. Gartner estimates that over 80% of enterprises will have used GenAI APIs or deployed GenAI-enabled applications by the end of 2026, and most of that deployment will occur on cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. 

Tools like Claude or ChatGPT can accelerate writing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and drafting system designs. But as a cloud engineer, the value you bring to an organization is twofold:

• You take ownership of the architectural and potential business risks behind the output
• You know how to deploy and scale AI solutions in cloud environments so prototypes become production systems. 

Candidates who rely on AI without understanding the decisions are almost always found out in interviews. Candidates who use it to move faster while owning the reasoning are exactly what employers now want.

Where a cloud engineering role can take you

Think of a role in cloud computing as a base camp rather than the summit. Once you're in, the field branches quickly, and TripleTen has a program mapped to each stage of the climb:

• Cloud security engineer: The specialist path focused on securing cloud infrastructure, where demand keeps climbing as threats scale with adoption. TripleTen's Cybersecurity Bootcamp can help you build the defensive foundations in 7 months part-time, with CompTIA Security+ prep and cloud security as potential specialization routes after graduation. 
• Machine learning engineering: Deploying and running ML models in production, which is cloud work at its core. TripleTen's AI & Machine Learning Bootcamp covers the full arc, with a dedicated module on cloud and production systems and Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS in the curriculum.
• AI systems engineering: Every AI workload runs on cloud infrastructure, and engineers who can design the production systems it runs on are among the most sought-after in tech. TripleTen's AI Systems Engineering program is built for exactly that step up, covering Kubernetes, Terraform, distributed systems, and CI/CD. 

Whatever route you choose, the first move is the same one this whole guide has been about: pick your lane and start building.

Frequently asked questions

How hard is it to become a cloud engineer?

Challenging but very learnable. The difficulty is breadth rather than depth: you're combining knowledge of networking, operating systems, security, and cloud providers, then applying it together in live working systems. Learners who follow a logical sequence and build real projects as they go generally find it manageable. The ones who struggle are those who skip the fundamentals or collect certificates without building anything.

Do I need to know how to code to become a cloud engineer?

You don't need to be a software developer, but you do need scripting. Comfort with the Linux command line, plus a scripting language like Python or Bash, covers most day-to-day needs, and Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform are now nearly essential. 

A practical goal is to know how to automate and reliably configure infrastructure, not so much to build applications from scratch.

What's the difference between a cloud engineer and a cloud architect?

A cloud engineer builds, deploys, and maintains the infrastructure day to day. 

A cloud architect works at a higher level, designing the overall strategy and selecting the platforms and services that best serve a company's goals for cost, security, and scalability. 

In practice, becoming a cloud architect usually follows several years of hands-on cloud engineering, making it a career progression rather than an alternative entry point.

What qualifications do you need to be a cloud engineer?

No formal qualifications are legally required, and a degree is good to have, but not mission-critical.

The credentials employers actually look for are cloud certifications. Start with a foundational credential like AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner or Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900), then progress to an associate-level credential such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate or Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer. Pair those with a portfolio of documented projects, and you have the qualification profile that gets interviews.

Is a cloud engineer job  high-paying?

Yes, comfortably. Indeed puts the average US cloud engineer salary at around $135,000 a year, based on 4,500+ salaries from job postings, and entry-level roles typically start in the $80,000 to $110,000 range. 

Specializations push it higher: cloud security engineers consistently command a premium, and pay climbs further in finance, tech hubs, and roles that combine cloud with AI infrastructure.

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