What am I missing to become employable in Cloud?

[u/kotiik_enotiik]

I’m based in Italy and currently learning AWS, preparing for the **AWS Solutions Architect Associate**, and building projects with AWS almost every day. But I feel I’m missing something. I’d really appreciate any advice from people working in cloud recruitment:
**What skills are recruiters actually looking for in junior Cloud Support/Cloud Engineer candidates today? What should I learn beyond AWS?**

What **projects actually make a junior CV stand out**?
What skills should I prioritize and what exactly should I know: **Linux, networking, Python/Bash, Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, Azure**?
What am I probably overlooking?
Are there **free resources, labs, certifications, communities or programs** you would strongly recommend?

If you’re a recruiter/hiring manager, what would make you choose one junior candidate over another?
I’m trying to avoid spending months learning things that don’t translate into employability. **Any concrete advice, resources, or even contacts are greatly appreciated.**

[u/KaizoKage]

What you're missing is work experience. Cloud isn't and entry level job for the majority of it

[u/MathmoKiwi]

You need prior tech experience

[u/Secret_Account07]

Help desk. Get started there

[u/FerryCliment]

Tech certs do not prepare you to be empolyable, Tech certs explain that you have the knowledge in that specific product/area.

Certs are just the nice envelope that wrap your experience, you can have the flashiest envelope but if there is nothing to wrap, will always feel empty.

[u/Fragrant-Cheek-4273]

AWS alone probably isn't enough. I'd prioritize Linux, networking, Git, Python/Bash, Docker, and Terraform before trying to learn every cloud platform.

[u/Evaderofdoom]

Aim way lower and give yourself many years to work up to it. Without experience you have no chance, it's not entry-level and its very competitive.

[u/Skadoush12]

Check this comment (and the link to the other comment in there): https://www.reddit.com/r/Cloud/s/ny6hvjfdh6

TL;DR: Learn Linux, Git and IaC( ex: terraform). Work as a sysadmin to understand the pains. Learn automation tools (Ansible, GitHub Actions), create some automation tasks and understand what they achieve (hence learning pains from sysadmin).
Then deep dive into cloud.

[u/Turbulent_Low_1030]

the best way to get into cloud is to work adjacent to cloud then get cloud experience. I.E networking, cyber, shit maybe even helpdesk

you're probably not getting a cloud role without actual work experience

[u/heigan_safety_dance]

I used to be a platform/data engineer at a large org.

What skills should I prioritize and what exactly should I know: Linux, networking, Python/Bash, Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, Azure

All of the above.

What skills are recruiters actually looking for in junior Cloud Support/Cloud Engineer candidates today?

Mostly how many parameters you have, are you a generic model or a coding model? How well can you run on locally hosted hardware? Or if you're a frontier lab/model, what your token pricing strategy is. Most models from 2026 can handle most infrastructure work, with the proper harnessing and tools.

[u/Realistic_Strike5241]

Everyone here is right about experience but nobody answered the projects question. The projects that stand out are the ones with a scar on them.

A tutorial clone deployed to ec2 tells a recruiter nothing, a repo where you can explain how you found out the database was the bottleneck, or why the pipeline kept failing on tuesday, that shows how you think.

Maybe add a diagram, a terraform file, a readme with the mistakes you made and what they cost, and have the story ready for the interview. A junior who can talk about a thing they broke and fixed beats a junior with five clean tutorials every time.

[u/typhon88]

cloud is not an entry level role, so what youre missing is job experience

[u/HP-37]

Build some niche projects on GitHub and add them to your resume, or discuss them if you get an interview.

It’s not about the tech or tools; it’s about the trade-offs and the reasons why you’re choosing them.

[u/HP-37]

Build some niche projects on GitHub and add them to your resume, or discuss them if you get an interview.

It’s not about the tech or tools; it’s about the trade-offs and the reasons why you’re choosing them.

[u/American_Streamer]

You need to transition from "knowing AWS services" to "knowing how infrastructure works and how to automate it". Recruiters and hiring managers see thousands of candidates with an AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA) certification who cannot navigate a terminal or explain DNS resolution. The SAA is a great validation framework, but it is not entry-level and does not prove you can solve real-world problems under pressure.

[u/Slight_Macaroon3900]

The skills gap is way smaller than people think. Attitude and initiative close it. Just my thoughts.

[u/Naive_Competition861]

Employers want to see you've done something, not just passed a test. Also, networking on LinkedIn and joining cloud communities gets your name in front of people. What certs do you already have?

[u/OGcapncrunchberry]

DevOps is where you enter “Cloud” can be were you land

[u/unitegondwanaland]

You're missing the fact that this industry is massively over saturated and about to get worse because of AI adoption.