Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Cloud software developer to cloud architect

A cloud software developer already meets 58% of what the cloud architect role asks for. The move turns on 2 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From cloud software developer
58 % overlap
Partial match
To cloud architect
9 You already bring
2 Still to learn
17 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

35.6/ 100

1 How much of what a cloud architect is expected to do is already part of a cloud software developer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the cloud architect role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A cloud architect role treats 4 of its required skills as things a cloud software developer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • cloud technologies
  • deploy cloud resource
  • design cloud architecture
  • design cloud networks

What stands in the way is 2 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A cloud architect role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a cloud software developer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held deploy cloud resource working with computers
  • already held design cloud networks communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held develop with cloud services working with computers
  • already held automate cloud tasks communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held design for organisational complexity communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held design cloud architecture communication, collaboration and creativity

All 9 carried skills, including the 4 the cloud architect role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 8 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 working with computers 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn plan migration to cloud required
  • optional, not held do cloud refactoring optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required
  • still to learn collaborate with engineers required
03 information and communication technologies (icts) 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held Agile development optional
  • optional, not held DevOps optional
  • optional, not held ICT architectural frameworks optional
04 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
05 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held coordinate engineering teams optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 2 entries a cloud architect role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 9 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held cloud technologies knowledge
  • already held deploy cloud resource skill
  • already held design cloud architecture skill
  • already held design cloud networks skill
  • already held automate cloud tasks skill
  • already held cloud security and compliance knowledge
  • already held design database in the cloud skill
  • already held design for organisational complexity skill
  • already held develop with cloud services skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held Agile development optional
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held DevOps optional
  • optional, not held ICT architectural frameworks optional
  • optional, not held do cloud refactoring optional
  • optional, not held coordinate engineering teams optional
18 held skills the cloud architect role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role ASP.NET knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Eclipse (integrated development environment software) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role IBM WebSphere knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT system programming knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Java (computer programming) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role JavaScript knowledge
  • not needed by the target role JavaScript Framework knowledge
  • not needed by the target role application usability knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cloud monitoring and reporting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role computer engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role decentralized application frameworks knowledge
  • not needed by the target role define software architecture skill
  • not needed by the target role implement cloud security and compliance skill
  • not needed by the target role integrated development environment software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role manage cloud data and storage skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor system performance skill
  • not needed by the target role service-oriented modelling knowledge
  • not needed by the target role software frameworks knowledge
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held Agile development optional
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held DevOps optional
  • optional, not held ICT architectural frameworks optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a cloud software developer become a cloud architect?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A cloud software developer already covers 58% of what a cloud architect is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 4 of which the cloud architect role treats as required.

What skills does a cloud software developer need to become a cloud architect?

2 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with computers. The single most important is plan migration to cloud.

How hard is the move from cloud software developer to cloud architect?

Its learning distance is 35.6 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.