Cloud Computing Salary: Where To Get The Most For Your Skills

(Update March 2019) To get a definition of the roles needed to maximize your organization’s investment in cloud, explore the latest skills in demand by job role with Cloud Academy’s Cloud Roster™.

If you’re reading this blog it is safe to assume that you now have, or are hoping for, a job in the Cloud Computing industry. But which country pays the most for trained Cloud Engineers and which area can provide you with the best Cloud Computing salary? I hope to answer some of these questions and tell you how you can realize the greatest benefit from this fast-changing industry.

In the U.S. today, 3.9 million jobs are associated with cloud computing, with 384,478 of them in IT. The median salary for IT professionals with cloud computing experience is $90,950. (Forbes)

Let’s start with a view of the current global Cloud Computing job market. For now, we’ll ignore salary levels.

From the above graph (credit: Forbes) we can see that the top three countries for Cloud Computing Jobs are:

1. China (7.5 Million).
2. USA (4 Million).
3. India (2.2 Million).

Cloud Computing salary rates around the world

Using payscale.com as our resource, here are Cloud Computing salary rates in China:

I guess the bottom line here is that it is hard to get too much data about pay scales in China. However if you have 10-19 years experience, you can apparently expect an average salary of CNY600,000 – roughly equivalent to to US $94,283.
Moving on to the US, here’s the picture:

Lots more data here, and it’s pretty good news, too.
Finally, here are pay scales for Cloud Computing jobs in India:

Interestingly, architecting seems to be where the money is in India, rather than software-related fields.

Cloud Computing salary rates and certifications

It won’t be a surprise that many of the highest-paying Cloud Computing jobs are in the US and, from everything I’ve read, recruiters are increasingly looking for talent of all categories with skills in Amazon Web Services.

Since AWS is the dominant player in the Cloud Computing world, it makes sense that AWS certifications are becoming more popular despite only being introduced in mid-2013. AWS certifications are also expected to reach the list of the top 20 highest-paying IT certifications over the next while, with the mean salary for an AWS Certified Developer and AWS Certified Solutions Architect worldwide topping $115,000.

Of course, statistics don’t always tell the whole story – and they sometimes don’t even tell the truth. There are many things to consider before making a life and career changing decisions. Hopefully, though, the above information gives you some idea of what you can expect to be paid if you are considering a career in Cloud Computing or are thinking of moving into a different Cloud Computing area.

In my opinion, Cloud Computing is a great industry to be involved in as it stands at the forefront of just about all current technical innovation worldwide and will only continue to grow in the years ahead. If you want to deepen your knowledge
After this in-depth intro you might like to watch this short Cloud Academy’s lecture. What about you? Do you have anything to add to this discussion?