DON'T QUIT YOUR JOB TO LEARN CLOUD SKILLS

I have spoken to a lot of cloud beginners that want to quit their jobs to learn cloud. 

They want to sign up to a bootcamp that requires them to be available for 8 hours a day everyday for 3-6 months. This means that they can’t attend these programs and maintain a full time job, and so they come to me asking if they should quit their jobs to focus on learning the cloud.

I usually give the same response.

This is a horrible idea, don’t quit your job to learn cloud and I’ll tell you why, but first let me tell you a story.

You’re tired of working at your current job. Maybe you want to earn more money or maybe you want  to have remote working. Either way you decide that a job in the cloud industry sounds like a good idea. 

So you do some research and stumble upon a bootcamp that looks good. You reach out to their sales team and they promise you that once you graduate from their 6 month bootcamp, you will easily receive multiple 6 figure job offers as a solution architect with the opportunity of working remotely.

All of this will be really easy! All you need to do is commit to showing up to eight hour live classes every day for 6 months.

Oh by the way this program also costs $15,000. 

You think this sounds a bit expensive but then they assure you that spending $15,000 is really not that bad because again, in 6 months you will be earning $200,000 a year GUARANTEED as a cloud solution architect so it doesn't really matter. If you can spend $15,000 to make $200,000 this seems like the deal of the century.

You tell them that you’re interested in signing up but unfortunately don’t have $15,000 just laying around. They assure you that that isn’t a problem, just put it on a credit card or take out a loan. You’ll be able to pay back the money in no time once you get that 6 figure job anyway so don’t worry about it.

So you take the plunge, quit your job, and sign up

You start showing up to this program week after week, month after month.

You’re living off your savings because you aren’t working anymore. 

But you’re not worried because in 6 months you will be a solution architect earning 6 figures

And so your savings keep going down, week after week, month after month

You realise that you’re learning a lot of cloud theory and maybe working towards some certifications, you still feel good about your progress, but you’re starting to get nervous about your financial situation, because you’re now $15,000 in debt, but don’t worry about it. 

Keep your eye on the prize, that 6 figure job as a solution architect is only a couple of months away!

5 months into the program you stumble on a cloud career mentor video where I tell you that to get your first job in the cloud industry you need to build high quality cloud projects in technologies like Linux, Terraform, CICD, Python and more.

And then you look back at all the learning you’ve done in the bootcamp and realise that you haven’t done any terraform projects. There’s been no real deep dive into CICD, and Python hasn’t even been mentioned.

You realise that all you’ve been learning is a bunch of cloud theory and you haven't gotten your hands dirty with any real projects, you haven't built anything.

You start to get nervous but you keep going, because guess what, you don’t want to be a cloud engineer anyways you want to be a solution architect which means you don’t need to know how to build anything, all you need to know is the cloud theory and be able to draw architecture diagrams and make design decisions.

But then you watch another cloud career mentor video, where I tell you that as a cloud beginner it’s almost impossible to get a job as a solution architect. 

This is because the decisions you make as a solution architect can either make a company millions of dollars or lose a company millions of dollars and because the stakes are so high employers generally don’t give this job to beginners who’ve only done a bootcamp. 

Instead these solution architect jobs are usually given to people who already have years of experience in the cloud industry as cloud engineers or devops engineers because these are the people who understand the nuances of cloud architecture and can spot the opportunities and dangers of certain architectural decisions.

You begin to panic a bit and hope I’m wrong

You graduate from your bootcamp, sure you maybe have one or two cloud certifications, but you haven’t done any terraform projects, you can’t use the linux command line. You can’t even spin up a simple web server on AWS.

But you start sending out applications week after week, month after month;

• The rejections start flowing in
• Your saving dwindle
• Your debts pile up

Eventually you realise that you haven't actually learned the skills that cloud employers are looking for and that you’re never going to get that job in the cloud industry. So you go, cap in hand back to your former employer begging for your old job back

If you’re lucky, they give it to you

Now you’re back where you started, but $15,000 in debt and no savings.

That’s dark innit.

I’ve spoken to so many beginners who have unfortunately had this experience and this is why I created Cloud Career Mentor so I can help you by showing you what you need to do to be successful in the cloud industry

Now I think getting a cloud job is simple and it doesn’t require you to quit your current job. Even if you have ZERO technical experience there is a more sustainable path you can follow that doesn’t waste 6 months of your life and leave you thousands of dollars in debt.

The first thing you need to understand is that getting a cloud job is a marathon and not a sprint. 

This means that learning cloud skills and getting a job will probably take longer than you think, this is why you should always approach your learning methods in a way that is as sustainable as possible. When you do something like quitting your job and going all in on a bootcamp you’re taking on a lot of unnecessary risk and the reality is that this risk is unlikely to pay off which will leave you broke, burnt out and broken.

Here’s what I recommend instead.

Commit to learning cloud skills for one hour a day every day.

For example, I usually prefer to study in the morning before I get ready for work because this is when my brain is the freshest and can take on new concepts.

I find that usually after work I feel tired and my brain finds it harder to focus and take in new information.

But honestly just choose a time that works for you and commit to it every day.

Trust me, just by doing this you will be amazed by the progress you can make

There's this famous quote that says “Most people overestimate what they can do in one month but underestimate what they can do in one year”.

So trust me, commit to an hour of learning a day, everyday, and in 6 months you will have achieved a lot, and the good news is that you can still keep your job and keep earning money while you do this

Another benefit of learning whilst working, is that when you do get a cloud job, guess what, the learning doesn’t stop there. 

You need to continue to improve your skills and knowledge even while employed and if you have developed that habit of self learning then it becomes easy to accelerate your career and get promoted quicker and easier.

Now some of you might be ready to begin your self learning journey but you need a program that will walk you through all the technologies you need to learn and all the high quality projects that will make you more attractive to cloud employers.

If you’re ready to commit to putting in the work then you should check out my cloud career acceleration program.

The reason I created this program is because I’m a senior solutions architect I have deep insight into the industry, I know what employers are looking for when recruiting and I can help build up your skills to help you stand out in a competitive job market

It’s a complete self study program that not only helps you build the skills employers are looking for, but also shows you how to write about your projects in a way that gets recruiters to pay attention. 

You will also learn how to interview in ways to impress hiring managers and convince them that you are the right person for the job.

Even if you have absolutely no technical experience this program is right for you because it’s designed to take you from being a complete beginner to becoming a candidate that receives multiple cloud job offers.

And all of this can be achieved on your own schedule alongside your full time job.

If you’re interested then just go to cloudcareermentor.com to sign up