Cloud Engineer vs. DevOps Engineer

Cloud Engineer vs. DevOps Engineer

Cloud engineering and DevOps engineering are some of the most popular and advanced IT career options with distinct roles and responsibilities. If you are planning to kick start your career in any of these IT fields, then you must continue reading this post. In this post, we have given a detailed breakdown of these career titles, job responsibilities, etc.

So, let us get started!

Who is a Cloud Engineer?

A cloud engineer is an IT professional who is responsible for various technical responsibilities under cloud computing. They are responsible for maintenance and support, management and planning, and designing and developing applications on the cloud.

Who is a DevOps Engineer?

A DevOps engineer is a person who understands the lifecycle of software development. They understand several automation tools to develop digital pipelines i.e. CD/CI pipelines. They typically work with the IT staff and developers to manage the code releases. They are either systems admin who are passionate about coding and scripting or developers who are interested in deployment and network operations.

Roles and Responsibilities of Cloud Engineers and DevOps Engineers

Both – cloud engineers and DevOps engineers make the best use of computer languages such as CSS and Java. For instance, a cloud engineer designs remote platforms wherein files and data can easily be saved and accessed. On the other hand, a DevOps engineer is an agile team member who helps facilitate successful yet speedy product release by splitting their time and tasks between software designing and getting it to the targeted customers.

Similarly, a cloud engineer works to design cloud systems mainly on behalf of the companies while a DevOps engineer focuses more on streamlining the development process and releases software products and services along with cloud services of a company. More differences have been mentioned below:

# Cloud Engineers

These professionals create remote networks so that companies can use them to communicate and share data, store back-up data, conduct big data analysis, and develop and test applications. They build cloud architectures to cater to the needs of the diversified customer base and manage massive data sets. The very first step for these professionals is to study the business plan of a company and create a system accordingly. They discuss with their teams to determine the requirements of the system along with the cloud platform needed. More details of this job role have been given below:

• They create brainstorming and creative cloud solutions
• They ensure compatibility of the product across operating systems i.e. iOS, Windows. Linux, etc.
• They protect the information of a company over the cloud
• They develop monitoring strategies that further align to company’s objectives
• They update drivers and firmware as required

In addition to this, they may play the following roles in an organization:

• Cloud Developer
• Cloud Security Engineer
• Cloud Architect
• Systems Engineer (Cloud)
• Network Engineer (Cloud)
• Computer Programmer

# DevOps Engineers

They collaborate with operations and development teams to create reliable and speedy release pipelines for products i.e. software. The work of these professionals generally involves creating custom and automation tools, improving operations efficiency, and standardizing technologies. Since they are key team players, they need to speed up various processes involved in building and delivering software.

This role covers numerous technical responsibilities along with tracking design bugs and automating the debugging for developers. To improve efficiency, they may standardize and document engineering procedures, create and maintain configuration, deploy frameworks, and so on. Some more responsibilities of these professionals  may include the following:

• They find new opportunities to make automation effective
• They utilize automated configuration tools such as Puppet and Chef
• They monitor security issues
• They maintain and deploy web-based applications
• They measure performances against expected business results

These professionals are quite versatile and can serve for multiple job roles including the ones listed here:

• DevOps Evangelist
• Software Engineer
• Software Developer
• Software Tester
• Automation Expert
• Release Manager
• Security Engineer
• Quality Assurance

Cloud Engineers vs. DevOps Engineers

The term ‘cloud’ refers to the internet. So, cloud engineers create platforms that help individuals and businesses store and work with programs and data online. On the other hand, ‘DevOps’ is the term used for ‘Development’ and ‘Operations’. These professionals are an important part of the teams that help with software development, management, and engineering to speed up the software applications’ delivery.

Based on education, job growth, and median salary, some more points have been given in the table below (please note that the data provided was based on the reports of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and PayScale.com):

Job Title	Minimum Educational Requirement	Job Growth between 2016 and 2026	Average Salary per Annum in 2017
Cloud Engineers	Bachelor’s Degree	6%	$93,408
DevOps Engineers	Bachelor’s Degree	24%	$91,230

Conclusion

We hope that now you have a clearer picture of these career options. So, are you interested in one of these IT fields? If yes, then you can get in touch with AEC. Here, we have a team of dedicated career counsellors. They will help you find the best-fit options as per your previous education, interest, skills, and career objectives in the countries like UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, etc.

For further details, call us on +91-8448446609 or 011-43334444 or simply connect with us by writing your queries at [email protected] or book your FREE career counselling session.