Cloud Computing Hiring Demand Surges

Demand for IT professionals with cloud computing skills and experience seems to be surging, with several recent reports highlighting increasing employment opportunities for cloud-savvy job seekers.

A recent study by Wanted Analytics states that more than 5,000 cloud computing-related job advertisements were posted in the U.S. in February 2012, an increase of 92% over February 2011 and a 400% increase over February 2010.

Here's more detail from Wanted Analytics, including areas where the demand for cloud skills was highest:

Performing a keyword trends search for "Cloud Computing" on SimplyHired.com results in the following graph (from SimplyHired job trends):

Performing the same keyword search on Indeed.com results in a similar growth curve (from Indeed.com job trends):

It's important to note that this surge in job postings isn't entirely focused on IT careers, as demand for cloud skills has expanded into sales, marketing, customer support, and other disciplines and job functions as well. 

We've blogged a bit about cloud computing and IT cloud career trends in the past, and I think the same argument still applies: Cloud computing is a transformative technology that will benefit IT pros who can serve as internal cloud strategists that can help their organizations move IT services to the cloud when it makes business and financial sense. Every business and organization has different IT needs and requirements, however, so the cloud will never be a panacea for all IT challenges, and on-premise and private cloud solutions may be a better solution for many. (Quick aside: My colleague Sean Deuby has an excellent take on the subject in his article on cloud computing career development.)

One way to bulk up your resume with some additional cloud mojo is to enroll in and pass some of the cloud security training programs offered by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA). You can obtain a Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge, or enroll in dozens of other training classes offered by the CSA.

So are you considering any cloud computing training or career development? Feel free to add a comment to this blog post or contribute to the discussion on Twitter.