I Have No IT Background. Is it Possible for Me to Make a Career Shift to Cloud Computing? -

Last updated on May 5, 2023

One of the most common questions that we often get from our subscribers is this: “I have no IT background – is it possible for me to make a career shift to Cloud Computing?”

It can be quite hard to enter the job market, especially the cut-throat IT industry, if you don’t have any technical background. However, with the right strategy and steps, you can successfully jump to a new and exciting career in cloud computing. With the abundant information we have today, there is very little that you cannot do. Are you interested in learning an instrument but can’t afford paid lessons? Or perhaps you’ve found a new passion for cooking but you don’t know how to start. Don’t worry, as there is a whole heap of free learning resources that you can find on the Internet to get you going. The point is that anyone can virtually learn any skill nowadays as long as you have the heart and the proper mindset to achieve it.

I understand that switching to a new career is never easy at any age. I was once working in a non-IT job. I was very comfortable at my workplace since I’m friends with most of my colleagues. And although I was doing great at my job, there were times when I felt like I’m reaching a dead end. It was a difficult time in my life. That was when I thought that I had to explore other options. I decided to make a career shift to Cloud Computing because of its high business value. But it was not a smooth ride. As someone without an IT background, I had to spend hours learning different technologies while working full-time. In the process, I had acquired skills that I didn’t know I was capable of having.

Today, most popular cloud service providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud offer a ton of free educational materials that you can use to get started with cloud computing. In my case, I started by creating a free account where I have free access to selected cloud services for 12 months. I used this to explore the platform’s services in terms of their function and how they can be integrated with other services. For your reference here are the links you can go to in order to create a free tier account:

AWS Free Tier

If you’re a total newbie to the general concepts in IT, learning Cloud will expose you to technologies that may seem intimidating and foreign. As for me, I had to learn the basic operations of Linux so I could spin up a web server, or write codes in Python so I could develop simple applications in the Cloud. I was not so sure about what I was doing at first. And I found myself binge-watching free video tutorials on the Internet (YouTube has tons of helpful tutorials that are absolutely free!) I kept moving forward one step at a time and did not stop studying until I could make sense and see how the different cloud services fit together to create a solution.

A famous saying goes, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” It’s in this spirit that I recommend you to lay out a study plan. Take incremental steps and focus on learning a new concept every day. Find time to apply the theories that you’ve learned into practical knowledge by building simple personal projects. This will help you break an entire Cloud service into small pieces. Also, you can take the Cloud Certifications to validate your knowledge and acquire the necessary credentials. These small steps will build your background and reputation in the cloud computing space, helping you make a successful career shift.

The learning curve for learning the Cloud will be different for every person. And it surely is going to be a steep one, especially if you are coming from a non-IT background. Remember that cloud computing is like any other skill, and it can be acquired if you put in the hard work. You do not have to be a genius to start learning it. We are lucky to be living in today’s world, where we have access to a lot of information. Use it to your advantage. If you want to learn cloud computing, perseverance and determination will be the critical factors.

Don’t forget that everyone starts as a beginner. Believe in yourself and trust the process, because it will be a gratifying decision that you’re going to make, and all your effort is going to be worth it in the end.

In the next section, we will give an overview of the top three cloud services providers: AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. We will start with an introduction to AWS, followed by Azure, then GCP.

This article is part of our free Journey to Cloud: A Beginner’s Guide eBook. Click here to get a free copy.

Ready to take your learning to the next level? Become a multi-cloud professional by being skilled in AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. Check out our list of FREE resources here:

Written by: Carlo Acebedo

Carlo is a cloud engineer and a content creator at Tutorials Dojo. He's also a member of the AWS Community builder and holds 5 AWS Certifications. Carlo specializes in building and automating solutions in the Amazon Web Services Cloud.