Postgraduate courses in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is an area that many people rely on but may not understand how these things work. Luckily, there are professionals in this area and you could be one of them. 

If you are looking to advance in your career or get yourself on the path to the perfect career for you, you’re in luck. We’ve gathered some information below that will hopefully help guide you in the right direction. 

Happy researching!

What is cloud computing?

In simple terms, cloud computing is the delivery of computer services. It is the on-demand availability of computer system resources. This includes servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics over the internet. In general, the term ‘cloud computing’ is used to describe data centres that are available online. 

There are three different types of cloud computing. They are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). 

• IaaS: 

This is used for internet based access to storage and computing power. IaaS also lets you rent IT infrastructure. 

• PaaS: 

Gives developers the necessary tools needed to build and host web applications. Users can access required components required to develop and operate web/mobile applications quickly over the internet. 

• SaaS

Used for web based applications. It is a method of delivering software applications over the internet. Providers can host and manage software in order to be able to have the same application on a number of devices. 

Courses

There are many courses on offer in the area across the UK. Some courses offer the opportunity to study either part time or full time. Universities may have certain restrictions in place due to Coivd-19 and may offer courses online. Courses available include:

Cloud Computing

Postgraduate courses in cloud computing aim to produce experts in the area who have the skills and knowledge in order to work in the world of computing. Students will gain much practical experience. The courses are aimed around a mixture of theory and practice and over areas such as advanced object-oriented programming, data mining and big data analytics. 

Advanced Computer Science (Cloud Computing)

Students who take a course in this area will be equipped with specialist knowledge in a fast growing field and will explore a range of different computer science topics. Key focuses in these courses include systems programming, algorithms and advanced distributed systems such as cloud techniques, technologies and applications. Other options of areas you can choose to study include emerging approaches to human interaction with computational systems, data mining, functional planning among others. 

Other courses in this area include Advanced Computer Science, Professional Computing and Financial Computing, to name a few. 

Entry requirements 

Entry requirements may differ from course to course or university to university. Therefore, it is important to research your specific course in detail to ensure you meet the entry requirements. As these courses are postgraduate courses, you will need a bachelor’s degree. Some courses may accept a 2.2 degree while others will require a 2.1. A degree in a relevant area is desired such as computer science, computing systems, information technology. 

Job options 

A few examples of jobs in this area include:

• Software engineer – Build software products through programming languages and engineering principles such as computer games. 

• Software architect – Expert in software development. Creates high-level design choices and efforts to enforce technical standards such as software codes. 

• Cloud engineer – Manage an organization’s cloud-based systems and processes

• Data engineer – Identify trends in data sets and create algorithms in order to help make raw data more useful to an enterprise. 
• Operations engineer – Deal with operations issues within organizations by directing and performing relevant tasks related to solving these issues.

Salary

The salaries within cloud computing will differ depending on your exact role within the area that you have. Salaries may also depend on experience and the company you work for/with. For example, the starting salary for a software engineer may be around £18,000. At senior management level you may earn between £45,000 to £70,000. The average salaries can be anywhere between £25,000 to £50,000. The average salary of a cloud engineer in the UK is believed to be around £55,000. All figures are based on estimates and are intended to be used as a guide only. 

Skills and requirements 

Skills and requirements helpful in this area include:

• Excellent IT skills 
• Time management skills
• Organisational skills
• A critical thinker 
• Ability to solve problems 
• Ability to work well with others
• Perseverance
• Attention to deal 
• A mind for technology 
• Ability to adapt to new roles and technologies
• An understanding of programming/databases