Skills to learn first
Learn IP addressing, DNS, Linux, Windows, and basic scripting. Practise documenting your work. You can learn these skills before taking a certification exam.
Start with one cloud provider
Learn user access, networking, compute, storage, monitoring, and costs. Start with one provider and practise using its main services.
Possible roles include cloud support technician, cloud engineer, cloud administrator, and cloud architect. Later, you can specialise in platform engineering, networking, or security.
Cloud certification options
Choose between the certifications marked “or” based on your target role. Beginner exams are optional unless the provider requires them.
A route into cloud operations and architecture
AWS
Foundation
Cloud Practitioner (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Learn cloud concepts, identity, billing, and shared responsibility.
Associate
Solutions Architect – Associate or CloudOps Engineer – Associate (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Choose architecture or day-to-day operations. Build and observe a small workload.
Professional
Solutions Architect – Professional or DevOps Engineer – Professional (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Develop depth in design or reliable, automated delivery.
Specialise
Security – Specialty (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Consider this when security responsibilities are part of your work.
A route through administration into architecture
Microsoft Azure
Foundation
Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Understand core Azure services and the management model.
Associate
Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Build skill in identity, compute, storage, networking, and monitoring.
Expert
Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305) (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Azure Administrator Associate is a required certification prerequisite, alongside AZ-305.
Specialise
Azure Network Engineer Associate (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Consider network-focused depth when hybrid connectivity is your goal.
A route from cloud concepts to engineering
Google Cloud
Foundation
Cloud Digital Leader (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Optional orientation to cloud concepts and business use cases.
Associate
Associate Cloud Engineer (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Practise deploying, securing, and operating a project.
Professional
Professional Cloud Architect or Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Choose architecture or delivery and operational reliability.
Specialise
Professional Cloud Network Engineer or Professional Cloud Security Engineer (official provider, opens in a new tab)
Focus on the networking or security work your role needs.
Suggested practice project
Design a small web workload with a public entry point and a private data layer. Document the network boundaries, least-privilege access, monitoring, backup, and a cost estimate. Set budget alerts and remove resources after the exercise.
Then explain one failure: an unavailable service, a denied connection, or a failed deployment. Show how you detected it, restored service, and verified the result.
Official certification information
Reviewed on 25 October 2026. The study order and projects are suggestions. Check the provider’s website for required exams, eligibility, fees, and renewal rules. Choose the certifications relevant to your goal.