Thinking about a career in Cloud? You’re not alone. With Australian organisations modernising fast - and AI workloads exploding -An Cloud skills are in demand across finance, public sector, startups and everything in between. But is Cloud a good career move right now, and what would you actually do day-to-day?
In this post, we’ll unpack what Cloud roles look like, the skills to focus on, realistic salary ranges, and how to get started without a traditional IT degree.
Why Cloud is booming in Australia
Investment is massive — and growing. AWS plans to invest AU$20B (2025–2029) in Australian data centre infrastructure, and Microsoft announced an A$5B expansion to accelerate cloud & AI capacity. Even state governments are deepening cloud adoption (see Victoria’s whole-of-government AWS agreement). Translation: more platforms, more workloads, more jobs.
What Cloud roles actually do
- Cloud/DevOps Engineer: build and automate infrastructure (IaC), CI/CD, containers, monitoring.
- Cloud Administrator: manage accounts, identity, policies, costs and day-to-day operations.
- Solutions/Cloud Architect: design secure, scalable systems across networking, compute, storage and security.
- Site Reliability Engineer (SRE): reliability, performance, incident response and service-levels.
If you like problem-solving, automation and making systems run smoothly at scale, you’ll probably enjoy Cloud work.
Skills & certifications that matter
Cloud pros blend fundamentals with hands-on tools. A focused pathway can look like this:
- Foundations: Linux, networking (subnets, routing), security basics, scripting (Bash/Python).
- Core Cloud: IAM, VPC/virtual networks, storage, compute (EC2/VMs), databases, monitoring.
- Modern stack: Containers (Docker), orchestration (Kubernetes), Infrastructure as Code (Terraform), CI/CD.
- Certs to target: AWS Cloud Practitioner & Solutions Architect Associate; Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) & Administrator (AZ-104).
For a structured route, see IT Courses Australia’s Cloud programs inspired by industry standards, covering CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ and vendor certs like AWS and Azure (guided, online via Moodle). A helpful reference for topics is Lumify’s overview of Cloud course options.
What you can earn (and why it varies)
Pay depends on city, sector, and stack depth. As a general guide:
- Cloud Engineer (AU): average ~A$152k; entry ~A$106k; senior ~A$189k+ — SalaryExpert.
- Azure Administrator: many live roles across Australia; listings often cite ~A$100k–$140k+ — check trends on SEEK and Jora.
For context, Australia’s median employee earnings sit well below typical Cloud salaries (ABS, Aug 2024), which is why Cloud remains a strong upskill pathway.
How to get started without a degree
- Learn the basics (Linux, networking, IAM) and practice in free tiers (AWS/Azure).
- Build small projects: deploy a web app with Terraform, Dockerise it, add monitoring.
- Add a cert (AWS SAA or Azure AZ-104) to signal verified skills.
- Document everything: GitHub repo, README, and short write-ups of problems you solved.
- Network: join local meetups, contribute in forums, and tailor your CV to Cloud roles.
Where IT Courses Australia fits in
We offer flexible, guided Cloud pathways online via Moodle, with one-on-one mentor support. You can also add our optional Job Placement Program (one-time fee $2,300): once you’ve completed ~85% of your course, you’ll access a supported 12-week internship (remote/hybrid/on-site), plus coaching and interview prep. No employment guarantee; outcomes depend on employer selection and market conditions.
Bottom line
Cloud is a great bet in Australia: strong investment, healthy salaries, and interesting problems to solve. If you like building and automating systems — and you enjoy learning by doing — Cloud offers a clear path from beginner to in-demand professional.
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