How to Become a Cloud Engineer With No Experience

Want to land a six-figure job in cloud computing — but don’t know where to start?

The demand for cloud engineers has exploded. AWS, Azure, and GCP professionals are needed by startups, Fortune 500s, governments, and MSPs. And the good news is: you don’t need prior experience to break in — just the right roadmap.

This guide shows you exactly how to go from zero to cloud engineer using certifications, projects, and job-hunting strategy.

💼 What Does a Cloud Engineer Do?

Cloud engineers design, implement, and maintain infrastructure using cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Typical tasks include:

  • Deploying virtual machines, storage, and networks
  • Writing infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, CloudFormation)
  • Managing IAM permissions and security groups
  • Setting up monitoring, logging, and alerts
  • Building CI/CD pipelines and automation

💵 How Much Do Cloud Engineers Make?

Role Level Avg. Salary (US)
Entry-Level $85,000 – $110,000
Mid-Level $110,000 – $140,000
Senior $140,000 – $180,000+

💡 Many companies now hire junior cloud engineers and train them internally — especially if you show initiative with certifications and projects.

🚀 Your Step-by-Step Launch Plan

✅ Step 1: Choose a Cloud Platform

Pick one to start:

  • AWS – Most popular globally
  • Azure – Dominant in enterprise and government
  • Google Cloud (GCP) – Strong in analytics, ML, and Kubernetes

We recommend AWS if you’re not sure — but Azure is great if you’re coming from a Microsoft background.

✅ Step 2: Get Certified (Even Before You Have a Job)

Start with:

  • AWS Cloud Practitioner (for absolute beginners)
  • AWS Solutions Architect Associate (if you’re ready for real skills)
  • OR Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)

These exams teach:

  • Core services (EC2, S3, IAM, VPC)
  • Pricing and billing models
  • Global infrastructure
  • Security and compliance

🧠 Use free courses on YouTube + practice exams

✅ Step 3: Build Real Projects

Certs are good — but projects are better.

Project Ideas:

  • Host a static website on S3 or Azure Blob
  • Build a VPC with public/private subnets and EC2 instances
  • Deploy a containerized app with ECS or AKS
  • Automate backups with Lambda or Azure Functions

⚠️ Post your code + screenshots on GitHub. Hiring managers love public portfolios.

✅ Step 4: Learn Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Real cloud engineers don’t click buttons — they write code.

Start with:

  • Terraform (cloud-agnostic)
  • AWS CloudFormation or Azure Bicep (vendor-specific)

🧰 Learn how to:

  • Provision EC2/S3/VPC with Terraform
  • Use variables and modules
  • Store state files in S3 or remote backends

✅ Step 5: Use Git and GitHub

Everything in cloud is version-controlled.

  • Learn Git basics (clone, commit, push, branches)
  • Store your projects on GitHub
  • Add README files with documentation and screenshots

✅ Step 6: Network & Apply (Even If You’re “Not Ready”)

Start applying after:

  • 1 certification
  • 2–3 real projects
  • A polished GitHub profile

Look for:

  • Junior cloud engineer
  • Cloud support specialist
  • DevOps trainee
  • Cloud migration assistant

Use LinkedIn and GitHub to get noticed — recruiters will DM you if your profile shows skills.

🔗 Bonus: Free Resources to Learn Cloud

Type Platform
Video Courses FreeCodeCamp, YouTube, ExamPro
Labs A Cloud Guru, Qwiklabs, Cloud Academy
Practice Exams Tutorials Dojo, Whizlabs
Projects Cloud Resume Challenge, GitHub, Reddit r/aws

👇 Sample Resume Projects (For Entry-Level)

  • Built 3-tier web app infrastructure on AWS using Terraform (EC2, RDS, ELB, VPC)
  • Created CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions and AWS CodeDeploy
  • Hosted static site on S3 with CloudFront + Route 53 DNS

These examples stand out on resumes even with zero cloud job history.

🔗 Related Reading

✅ You’re Closer Than You Think

Most cloud engineers aren’t “geniuses.” They just followed a plan, built projects, and put themselves out there. You can too — even if you’ve never touched AWS or Azure before today.

👉 Explore Cloud Labs & Training Tools

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