UK

United Kingdom · Technology and data · Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Cloud Engineer

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

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Free to start: a plan built for this role, and a Future Fluency module to try first. No card.

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Where should we send it?

One email: what AI is changing in this job, and where to start free. With a link back here. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

Also at another level: the Senior Cloud Engineer job description.

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  • Experience bandMid-Level (2-5 years)
  • Direct reportsNo direct reports
  • Reports toSenior Cloud Consultant
  • UK framework levelUsually a coordinator, or early in a professional job

Also advertised as Mid-Level Cloud Specialist · AWS/Azure/GCP Engineer · Platform Engineer (Cloud)

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in qualifications employers recognise

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Cloud Computing Pearson Education Ltd · Level 4 · covers 6 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in ICT Systems and Principles for IT Professionals City & Guilds Limited · Level 3 · covers 3 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate in ICT Systems and Principles City & Guilds Limited · Level 3 · covers 3 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in ICT Systems Support City & Guilds Limited · Level 3 · covers 2 of 10 standards
Cambridge OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Certificate in IT Cambridge OCR · Level 3 · covers 2 of 10 standards
Cambridge OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma in IT Cambridge OCR · Level 3 · covers 2 of 10 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Security in the Cloud Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Cloud Computing
Implementing and maintaining Cloud technologies and infrastructure City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in ICT Systems and Principles for IT Professionals
Cloud computing in business Cambridge OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Certificate in IT

The future skills this job leans on

Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
AI Governance Fluency using AI responsibly
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Your Plan Illustration

Built for Cloud Engineer

3 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Security in the Cloud Pearson Education Ltd · covers 6 of 10 standards Level 4
  2. Implementing and maintaining Cloud technologies and infrastructure City & Guilds Limited · covers 3 of 10 standards Level 3
  3. Cloud computing in business Cambridge OCR · covers 2 of 10 standards Level 3
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Cloud Engineer?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skills this role is being asked for

  • Serverless-First Design & Optimisation
  • Advanced FinOps Practices
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Cloud Engineer plan as you set up, starting with a Future Fluency module on using AI in your job. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

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3What this role really is

A Cloud Engineer builds and maintains specific parts of a client's cloud environment. It means owning one component rather than the whole system.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) Intermediate

Deploying and managing core services like virtual machines (EC2, Azure VMs, GCE), object storage (S3, Azure Blob, GCS), and networking components (VPCs, VNETs, Cloud VPC) following existing runbooks and designs. You'll be comfortable navigating the consoles and using their CLI tools.

Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) Intermediate

Authoring new Terraform modules for specific cloud components, making minor modifications to existing templates, and implementing state management best practices. You'll be comfortable writing HCL from scratch and integrating it into CI/CD.

Container Orchestration (Kubernetes - EKS, AKS, GKE) Intermediate

Deploying applications to existing Kubernetes clusters using `kubectl` and Helm charts. You'll also troubleshoot basic pod/service issues and manage deployments within the cluster, understanding core Kubernetes concepts like deployments, services, and ingresses.

Observability & Monitoring (Datadog, Prometheus/Grafana) Intermediate

Configuring custom monitors, building advanced dashboards, and instrumenting applications for detailed tracing. You'll use these tools to proactively identify issues, respond to alerts, and lead incident response efforts using the collected data.

Cloud Cost Management (AWS Cost Explorer, CloudHealth) Intermediate

Implementing cost optimisation measures like rightsizing, scheduling, and storage tiering. You'll create and enforce tagging policies and build basic cost allocation reports for business units, often using native cloud tools or 3rd party platforms.

CI/CD Tooling (Jenkins, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps) Intermediate

Designing and building multi-stage, secure CI/CD pipelines. This includes integrating static analysis (SAST), dependency scanning, and automated testing into the pipeline to ensure code quality and security before deployment.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Cloud Resource Provisioning (routine) Follows detailed runbooks; all deployments reviewed by senior. Independently provisions resources based on design; minor deviations require review. Can choose instance types within approved families. Designs and provisions complex, multi-service environments. Defines provisioning standards for the team. Approves non-standard resource requests.
Troubleshooting & Incident Resolution Assists senior engineers, gathers information, executes prescribed fixes. Escalates immediately. Diagnoses and resolves L1/L2 incidents independently within defined SLAs. Escalates L3+ or novel issues. Leads incident response for critical issues. Defines troubleshooting playbooks. Mentors juniors on complex problem-solving.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Changes Executes existing Terraform/CloudFormation templates. Minor variable changes, always code reviewed. Authors new Terraform modules for specific components. All new code requires peer and senior review. Can modify existing modules with review. Designs and architects IaC patterns and modules. Approves major IaC changes and sets coding standards. Leads complex refactoring.
Cloud Cost Optimisation Identifies obvious waste in cost reports. Proposes simple changes to supervisor. Implements rightsizing, scheduling, and storage tiering changes. Proposes more complex optimisations to senior. Tracks impact of changes. Develops cost optimisation strategies. Models complex pricing. Leads FinOps initiatives and reports on cost savings to clients.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Cloud Certification Attainment
Number of relevant associate-level cloud certifications achieved or maintained.
Target · 1-2 new certifications annually (e.g., AWS Solutions Architect Associate, Azure Administrator Associate, GCP Associate Cloud Engineer).

Achieved AWS Solutions Architect Associate in Q2 and passed the Azure Administrator Associate exam in Q4, meeting the target for two certifications.

Deployment Success Rate
Percentage of routine cloud infrastructure deployments that complete successfully without major rollbacks or critical errors.
Target · >98% success rate for routine deployments.

Out of 50 deployments last month, 49 were successful on the first attempt, resulting in a 98% success rate.

Ticket Resolution within SLA
Percentage of assigned technical support tickets (e.g., bug fixes, minor feature requests, operational issues) resolved within the agreed Service Level Agreement.
Target · 95% of assigned tickets closed within SLA.

Closed 19 out of 20 assigned tickets within the 24-hour SLA last week, hitting 95%.

Cloud Cost Optimisation Identification
Number of identified and actionable cost-saving opportunities within client cloud environments.
Target · Identify at least 2-3 significant (e.g., >£500/month) cost optimisation opportunities per quarter.

Identified an underutilised database instance that could be rightsized, saving the client £700 per month, and proposed a storage tiering change for another £600 saving.

Code Quality & Maintainability
The clarity, readability, and adherence to best practices in the infrastructure as code (IaC) you write, making it easy for others to understand and maintain.
  • Positive feedback in code reviews (e.g., 'clear comments', 'follows standards', 'easy to debug'). Low incidence of post-deployment issues related to your code. Your team members can easily pick up and extend your work without constant questions.
Problem-Solving & Troubleshooting
Your ability to diagnose and resolve technical issues independently, especially when faced with unexpected problems or complex system interactions.
  • You're often the first person to spot an issue and propose a solution during stand-ups. You can articulate your troubleshooting steps clearly. You don't just fix the symptom
  • you try to understand and address the root cause, usually with minimal guidance.
Collaboration & Team Contribution
How effectively you work with your project team, share knowledge, and contribute to a positive working environment.
  • Peers frequently mention your helpfulness in code reviews or when they're stuck. You actively participate in team discussions, offering ideas and asking good questions. You're reliable and pull your weight, especially when deadlines loom.
Documentation Quality
The comprehensiveness and accuracy of the technical documentation you create for cloud deployments, configurations, and operational procedures.
  • Other team members can successfully use your documentation to understand a system or perform a task without needing to ask you for clarification. Documentation is kept up-to-date with changes. It's clear, concise, and actually useful.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Building Tangible Things

You'll get a real kick out of seeing your Terraform code deploy a new environment or watching a CI/CD pipeline you built successfully push an application update. There's a satisfaction in creating something concrete that works.

Spending an afternoon troubleshooting a tricky network configuration, then seeing the application finally connect and knowing you made it happen.

Continuous Learning & Growth

The cloud world changes constantly, and you'll love that. You're always picking up new services, finding better ways to do things, and expanding your skill set. This role offers endless opportunities to stay at the forefront of technology.

Taking a new cloud certification or experimenting with a new container orchestration tool in your spare time, just because you're curious.

Solving Real-World Problems

You're not just coding in a vacuum; you're helping businesses solve actual challenges – whether it's making their applications more resilient, reducing their cloud bill, or speeding up their development cycles. Your work has a direct impact.

Optimising a client's database setup to handle peak traffic, preventing an outage during their busiest sales period.

What frustrates people
  • Dealing with poorly documented existing client environments – it's like forensic archaeology sometimes.
  • The constant pressure to optimise costs, even when it feels like you're squeezing blood from a stone.
  • Client change requests that come in late and mess up your carefully planned deployment schedule.
  • Explaining to a non-technical project manager why 'just one more feature' isn't a simple 5-minute job.
  • The internal political battle between being a profit centre that needs to hit utilisation targets and an innovation centre that needs non-billable time for R&D.
What this role does not give you
  • A purely strategic or 'big picture' role – you'll be hands-on with the technical details most of the time.
  • A 9-to-5 job where your phone never rings after hours; on-call rotations are a reality here.
  • The chance to always work on brand-new, cutting-edge projects; maintaining existing systems is a big part of it.
  • A role where you can avoid client interaction; you'll be talking to client engineers and sometimes their business users.

8Who you work with

This role directly impacts our project delivery success and client satisfaction. Your ability to build robust, secure, and efficient cloud components means we can deliver on our promises, keep projects on track, and maintain our reputation as reliable cloud experts. You're essentially the engine room for our cloud solutions; without you, the whole thing grinds to a halt.

Inside the business
  • Senior Cloud Consultants (your direct line)
  • Project Managers (who'll be chasing you for updates)
  • Other Cloud Engineers (your peers for collaboration and code reviews)
  • Sales Team (they'll need your input on what's actually possible)
Outside the business
  • Client Technical Teams (you'll work closely with their engineers)
  • Client Operations Teams (they'll use what you build)
  • Cloud Platform Support (when you need to raise a ticket with AWS/Azure/GCP)

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • At least 2 years of hands-on experience working with one or more major cloud providers (AWS, Azure, or GCP) in a technical role.
  • Demonstrable experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools, specifically Terraform or CloudFormation/ARM templates.
  • A solid grasp of networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, VPNs) and how they apply in a cloud environment.
  • Experience with CI/CD pipelines and version control systems (e.g., Git, GitLab, GitHub).
  • One associate-level cloud certification (e.g., AWS Solutions Architect Associate, Azure Administrator Associate, GCP Associate Cloud Engineer) or equivalent practical experience.

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced Networking & Security in Cloud

As cloud adoption matures, network complexity and security threats increase. You'll need to master advanced networking concepts and security controls to build truly robust and compliant environments.

Hybrid Cloud Connectivity · Network Segmentation & Micro-segmentation · Cloud WAFs & DDoS Protection · Identity & Access Management (Advanced)

  • This month: Review your cloud provider's documentation on advanced networking features (e.g., Transit Gateway, Private Link).
  • Next month: Design a secure hybrid connectivity solution for a hypothetical client scenario.
  • Month 3: Experiment with implementing network segmentation using security groups and network ACLs.
  • Month 4: Take a specialist cloud security certification (e.g., AWS Security Specialty, Azure Security Engineer).

Quick win: Audit your current project's network security groups. Are they overly permissive? Can you tighten them up without breaking anything? Small changes can make a big difference.

Data Engineering Fundamentals in Cloud

Cloud engineers are increasingly involved in building and maintaining the infrastructure for data pipelines. A basic understanding of data storage, processing, and analytics services will become invaluable.

Cloud Data Warehouses/Lakes · ETL/ELT Pipelines · Stream Processing · Data Governance & Security

  • This month: Research the core data services in your primary cloud provider (e.g., S3, RDS, Redshift for AWS).
  • Next month: Build a simple data ingestion pipeline using a cloud-native service (e.g., moving data from S3 to Redshift).
  • Month 3: Explore a managed streaming service like Kinesis or Event Hubs.
  • Month 4: Take an introductory course on data engineering in the cloud.

Quick win: Look at how your current projects handle data. Can you suggest a more efficient or secure way to store or move it using cloud services? Even small improvements here can have a big impact.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Attending cloud-specific conferences (e.g., AWS re:Invent, Microsoft Ignite, Google Cloud Next) or local meetups to stay current with new services and network with peers.
  • Contributing to open-source cloud projects or maintaining a personal GitHub repository with your IaC examples and automation scripts.
  • Participating in online courses or bootcamps on advanced cloud topics, FinOps, or specific cloud services you want to specialise in.
  • Mentoring junior engineers or new team members, which helps solidify your own knowledge and develops your leadership skills.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

Serverless-First Design & Optimisation

More and more applications are moving towards serverless architectures (Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run) for scalability and cost efficiency. Understanding how to design, deploy, and, crucially, optimise these services for performance and cost will be critical.

  • Event-Driven Architectures
  • Cold Starts & Warm Starts
  • Cost Optimisation for Serverless
  • Observability for Serverless

Advanced FinOps Practices

Cloud costs are a constant concern for clients. Moving beyond basic cost reporting to proactive, data-driven financial management will be expected. You'll need to understand how to influence spending behaviour, not just report on it.

  • Cost Allocation & Chargeback
  • Reserved Instances & Savings Plans
  • Unit Economics of Cloud
  • FinOps Culture & Governance

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Cloud Adoption Frameworks (CAF) Application
  • Well-Architected Framework (WAF) Principles
  • FinOps / Cloud Financial Management Basics
  • Solution Architecture & Design Patterns (Basic)
  • DevSecOps Integration (Practical)
  • Service Delivery & Governance Adherence

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    Junior Cloud Engineer / Associate Cloud Engineer

    2-3 years

    Skills to master

    • Mastering core cloud services (compute, storage, networking), basic IaC execution, troubleshooting common issues, and understanding cloud security fundamentals.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully deployed and managed multiple cloud resources following existing designs.
    • Consistently resolved L1/L2 support tickets independently.
    • Obtained at least one associate-level cloud certification.
    • Demonstrated ability to write and modify basic IaC templates.
  2. 2

    Traditional Infrastructure Engineer (with cloud upskilling)

    3-4 years (including upskilling period)

    Skills to master

    • Transitioning from on-premises infrastructure management to cloud-native paradigms, learning IaC, cloud networking, and specific cloud provider services. This often involves self-study and certification.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Completed significant cloud training (e.g., a bootcamp or multiple online courses).
    • Achieved at least one associate-level cloud certification.
    • Built personal cloud projects demonstrating hands-on experience with IaC and core services.
    • Strong foundational knowledge of Linux/Windows administration and networking.
  3. 3

    DevOps Engineer (with cloud focus)

    2-3 years

    Skills to master

    • Deepening cloud platform knowledge, especially around CI/CD, containerisation, and observability, while retaining strong scripting and automation skills.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Extensive experience designing and managing CI/CD pipelines in a cloud context.
    • Strong proficiency with container technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
    • Demonstrated ability to automate infrastructure and application deployments.
    • Good understanding of monitoring and logging best practices in the cloud.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This work can lead to a principal cloud architect role, designing solutions across multiple clouds, or a cloud practice manager role, running a team of engineers.

16Pay and demand

Pay & demand

Typical pay £60,288 a year Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 (provisional), under the Open Government Licence v3.0

The figure is the median for full-time employees in the ONS occupation this job title codes to (IT business analysts, architects and systems designers), from the April 2025 survey, about six months old when published, as ASHE always is. It is that occupation's middle, not this role's. Half earn more.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Cloud Engineer is actually changing.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

The record names a next step, but the catalogue has no page for it yet:

  • Senior Cloud Consultant

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Security in the Cloud, worked against Cloud Engineer.

Security in the Cloud Level 4

Applied to your work in Cloud Engineer

The objective of this unit is to enable learners to understand and apply security principles in a cloud infrastructure. Learners will design and configure secure cloud solutions based on corporate requirements, implement security measures to protect against threats, and develop test plans to improve cloud security and identify vulnerabilities.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

Start my Cloud Engineer plan, free
See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Cloud Engineer
  • Cloud Adoption Frameworks (CAF) Application
  • Well-Architected Framework (WAF) Principles
  • FinOps / Cloud Financial Management Basics
  • Solution Architecture & Design Patterns (Basic)
  • DevSecOps Integration (Practical)
  • Service Delivery & Governance Adherence
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

17The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Cloud Engineer is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Senior Cloud Consultant

    3-5 years from Cloud Engineer

    L3

    • Solution Design Designing complex, multi-service cloud solutions.
    • Well-Architected Reviews Conducting formal WAF reviews and creating remediation plans.
    • Advanced IaC Architecting modular, reusable IaC frameworks.
    • Pre-sales Support Providing technical expertise to help the sales team win new business.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, cloud engineering can involve a lot of repetitive tasks, digging through documentation, and writing boilerplate code. But what if you could offload a good chunk of that to AI? We're talking about freeing up your time to focus on the really interesting, complex problems.

Here at Zavmo, we're not just talking about AI; we're actually using it to make our engineers more productive. For a Cloud Engineer, this means less time on the mundane and more time on high-value work. Imagine having a smart assistant that helps you write code, spot anomalies, and even summarise complex documentation.

IaC Code Generation & Review

Use AI assistants like GitHub Copilot (which we've trained on our internal Terraform modules) to quickly generate initial drafts of infrastructure as code. It'll help you write new resources, add security groups, or even suggest entire modules. Plus, AI can do an initial pass on your code, checking for common security flaws, non-compliance with tagging policies, and suggesting more efficient resource types before a human even looks at it. This means fewer errors and faster reviews.

New Service & Threat Intelligence Briefings

Keeping up with AWS, Azure, and GCP release notes, security bulletins, and best practice updates is a full-time job in itself. We use AI agents to monitor all these sources, then generate a weekly, summarised digest of the most relevant updates for our clients and the team. You'll get a concise briefing on what matters, saving you hours of manual research and ensuring you're always up-to-date on potential impacts.

Smart Troubleshooting Assistant

Stuck on a cryptic error message? Instead of sifting through forums for hours, feed the logs and error messages into an AI assistant. It can often suggest potential causes, relevant documentation links, or even specific commands to try, based on its vast knowledge base of cloud issues. It's like having an experienced colleague available 24/7 to bounce ideas off.

Cloud Cost Anomaly Detection

Manually reviewing cloud cost reports can be tedious. We use AI-powered tools (integrated with our observability platforms) to proactively identify unusual spend patterns. This means you'll get alerted to resource leaks, misconfigurations, or unexpected spikes in usage before they turn into a nasty surprise on the monthly bill. You'll spend less time hunting for waste and more time fixing it.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Cloud Engineer?

Common routes in include Junior Cloud Engineer / Associate Cloud Engineer (2-3 years), Traditional Infrastructure Engineer (with cloud upskilling) (3-4 years (including upskilling period)) and DevOps Engineer (with cloud focus) (2-3 years). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Cloud Engineer progress to?

This role can lead on to Senior Cloud Consultant (3-5 years from Cloud Engineer), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Cloud Engineer?

Increasingly, Serverless-First Design & Optimisation and Advanced FinOps Practices. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

Free tools

Want a read on where you stand?

Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

Read the Zavmo manifesto to understand how you will be taught Meet your tutors

Or try another one

18Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 3

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.
This job at other levels
More jobs in technology and data

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
If you leave this industry

The skills built as a Cloud Engineer transfer across industries. You could move into product development for cloud-native applications, data engineering for cloud analytics, or cloud security advisory work. Cloud expertise is in demand across most sectors.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my Cloud Engineer plan, free What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.