Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Cloud software developer to cloud engineer

A cloud software developer already meets 39% of what the cloud engineer role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From cloud software developer
39 % overlap
Distant match
To cloud engineer
15 You already bring
19 Still to learn
45 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

70/ 100

1 How much of what a cloud engineer 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 engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A cloud engineer role treats 14 of its required skills as things a cloud software developer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • ICT system programming
  • automate cloud tasks
  • cloud monitoring and reporting
  • cloud security and compliance
  • cloud technologies
  • deploy cloud resource

What stands in the way is 19 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 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A cloud engineer 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 implement cloud security and compliance information skills
  • already held cloud monitoring and reporting information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held develop with cloud services working with computers
  • already held automate cloud tasks communication, collaboration and creativity

All 15 carried skills, including the 14 the cloud engineer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 30 missing skills fall into 7 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 8 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn align software with system architectures required
  • still to learn analyse software specifications required
  • still to learn debug software required
  • still to learn develop software prototype required
  • still to learn do cloud refactoring required
  • still to learn manage keys for data protection required
  • still to learn plan migration to cloud required
  • still to learn solve ICT system problems required
  • optional, not held apply ICT systems theory optional
  • optional, not held design interaction model optional
  • optional, not held use query languages optional
  • optional, not held perform data analysis optional
02 information and communication technologies (icts) 7 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn ICT system integration required
  • still to learn database development tools required
  • still to learn operating systems required
  • still to learn systems theory required
  • still to learn web services required
  • still to learn computer programming required
  • still to learn systems development life-cycle required
  • optional, not held ICT security standards optional
  • optional, not held Python (computer programming) optional
  • optional, not held Ruby (computer programming) optional
  • optional, not held data engineering optional
03 information skills 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn interpret technical texts required
  • still to learn analyse business requirements required
  • optional, not held apply risk management processes optional
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required
  • still to learn respond to incidents in cloud required
05 services 1 required
  • still to learn cyber security required
06 arts and humanities 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held ethics optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a cloud engineer 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 15 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held ICT system programming knowledge
  • already held automate cloud tasks skill
  • already held cloud monitoring and reporting knowledge
  • already held cloud security and compliance knowledge
  • 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 design database in the cloud skill
  • already held design for organisational complexity skill
  • already held develop with cloud services skill
  • already held implement cloud security and compliance skill
  • already held manage cloud data and storage skill
  • already held service-oriented modelling knowledge
  • already held Java (computer programming) knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held security engineering optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held ICT security standards optional
  • optional, not held Python (computer programming) optional
  • optional, not held Ruby (computer programming) optional
  • optional, not held apply ICT systems theory optional
  • optional, not held design interaction model optional
  • optional, not held use query languages optional
  • optional, not held apply risk management processes optional
  • optional, not held data engineering optional
  • optional, not held ethics optional
  • optional, not held perform data analysis optional
  • optional, not held security engineering optional
12 held skills the cloud engineer 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 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 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 integrated development environment software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role monitor system performance skill
  • not needed by the target role software frameworks knowledge
14 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
  • still to learn ICT system integration required
  • still to learn cyber security required
  • still to learn database development tools required
  • still to learn operating systems required
  • still to learn systems theory required
  • still to learn web services required
  • still to learn computer programming required
  • still to learn systems development life-cycle required
  • optional, not held ICT security standards optional
  • optional, not held Python (computer programming) optional
  • optional, not held Ruby (computer programming) optional
  • optional, not held data engineering optional
  • optional, not held ethics optional
  • optional, not held security engineering optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a cloud software developer become a cloud engineer?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A cloud software developer already covers 39% of what a cloud engineer is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 14 of which the cloud engineer role treats as required.

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

19 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with computers. The single most important is ICT system integration.

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

Its learning distance is 70 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.