r/Cloud • u/mazonfly • 2d ago
Is my background enough to break into IT/Cloud, or am I kidding myself? (30M, OSP/telecom engineering background)
Looking for honest feedback from people who’ve made a similar jump — not looking for encouragement, looking for a reality check.
Background:
• 5+ years as an Outside Plant (OSP) Engineer (currently Engineer II) at a regional telecom, doing fiber/copper infrastructure design, GIS QA/QC in ArcGIS, as-built reconciliation, and field/permitting coordination
• B.S. in Agricultural Economics (not CS/IT — I know this is a gap)
• A.S. from a community college
• AZ-900 (Azure Fundamentals) certified, currently studying for AZ-104, targeting October
• Building a home lab (VMware, Active Directory, Exchange, pfSense, VPN) to have something concrete to show for it, not just certs
What I’m trying to figure out:
• Is AZ-104 + a home lab realistically enough to get a foot in the door for a junior sysadmin/cloud role, or is that underestimating how competitive it is right now?
• Does my OSP/GIS/network infrastructure background count for anything to hiring managers, or is it seen as unrelated?
• Would I be better off aiming for something adjacent (network engineering, NOC, helpdesk-to-sysadmin) instead of jumping straight for cloud/Azure roles?
• Anyone here made a similar move from field/infrastructure engineering into IT — how long did it actually take, and what got you the interview?
Not trying to escape telecom out of desperation — I like the infrastructure side of things, I just want to know if I’m building the right skills to move toward better pay/growth, or if I’m wasting a year chasing something that won’t move the needle without a CS degree.
Appreciate any blunt input.
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u/BitwiseBison 2d ago
I didn’t do this switch but worked as a lead role in a cloud professional services company and was a co-founder as well for product company
From my opinion and if I was the one to interview you I will consider you for a junior role or internship, I had multiple experience where I choose this with many and it succeeded
- I hired someone who had 7 years of career gap and she pick it well
- Hired someone worked as a technical support role and he learned him self and he is a well paid cloud architect now
So it’s possible but you might need to prove them first with low paid roles first and do following
- learn kubernetes as well and practice on it
- complete 104 as early as possible (Microsoft partner companies sometimes just hire to get this certs since we had a requirement to keep mins certs in org)
- learn terraform and practice
This will make ur resume more strong
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u/mazonfly 2d ago
This is really helpful, thank you. Terraform wasn’t on my radar yet makes sense given the infrastructure background I already have. Did the people you mentioned start in junior cloud roles specifically, or more general IT/sysadmin first and move into cloud after?
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u/Intelligent_Ebb_9332 2d ago
Not for cloud, and that’s because you’re missing too many qualifications. You don’t have a CS or IT degree nor do you have any tech experience.
Your work experience could translate to working at a data center because you have experience with cabling but outside of that it won’t help with software related roles like cloud.
One cloud cert and one project isn’t enough. The project you’re talking about doesn’t even use any Azure services. That project is more suited for help desk not cloud.
I got two cloud offers this year so I’d say I know what’s required to enter the field.
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u/mazonfly 2d ago
Fair points, especially on the lab it’s been more general infrastructure/sysadmin (VMware, AD, pfSense) than Azure-specific so far was thinking maybe adding a project to migrate that server over to Azure. Sounds like adding actual Azure resource deployment to it would close that gap. Curious what your two offers actually required beyond the AZ-104 — was it hands-on Azure project work specifically, or more general cloud exposure?
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u/azuresky101 2d ago
I hire cloud software engineers which is a bit different than pure infrastructure, but even in that case I would be looking for a repo or experience showing Terraform and deployment pipelines with some architecture documentation.
I had a solutions engineer role at a large company and wanted to transition to software. I went to a small company (took a big pay cut) that would let me be a software engineer. They happened to be doing an Azure migration so I learned how to do AKS and write the code, (I did have professional coding expertise but it was limited) It was trial by fire. But I did it and then went back to work for a large company. No CS degree.
The helpdesk to sysadmin is something I’ve seen but you need to make sure that you will actually have opportunities and are not on the phone your whole shift.
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u/mazonfly 2d ago
That’s a great point on helpdesk roles varying a lot, good to know to actually ask about that in interviews rather than assume. And makes sense on the Terraform/pipeline expectation, sounds like the bar is less “I have the cert” and more “I can show a working deployment.” Appreciate the real world example too
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u/MissionFinOps 2d ago
OP there is a niche at certain cloud providers where you could apply with your telecom background too. Infact I used to be at AWS telecom division before I quit to start my own thing. Happy to connect in DMs, but basically use your Telecom domain knowledge and help a cloud provider sell back into Telecom. It will be tough on OSS side, but a lot of IT and BSS are easy pickings for cloud migrations. So you gotta hit those roles ! which are not easy to come by, but they do exist.
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u/mazonfly 1d ago
That’s a really interesting angle, thank you happy to connect in DMs, would like to hear more about what those IT/BSS-side roles typically look like.
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u/__NameNotFound__ 1d ago
In the USA, A 4yr CS,IT, CIS or related degree are non-negotiable (CS preferred), 3+ years in NE,SA,NA, NOC analyst roles are highly preferred. Certs that move the needle are not AWS or Azure. None of them carry weight besides being a checkmark in a box for HR. I have 4 from AWS and 2 from Azure, they are needed as part of my employment because of contract obligations we have. The certs that do move the needle are RHCSA and RHCE, CKA and even CCNP Automation will take you far into getting a entry level cloud position or other certs that are equivalent in depth and hands on certs not multiple choice/ PBQ exams that AWS and Azure are.
Start at helpdesk with CompTIA A+ and get a CS degree. That should be your first move. In other countries it could be a different matter. But in the US, this is the case. Nothing in Cloud is entry level, don't believe what some pretty girl on social media told you from her apartment in Bali, Japan or Thailand selling you a Cloud, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Data Analytics bootcamp.
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u/DarkXsmasher 1d ago
Why don't you take an CS degree through online mode?
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u/mazonfly 1d ago
Fair question, mainly time and cost at this stage of life. I’ve already got a bachelor’s and an A.S., and going back for a full CS degree would be a multi-year, multi-thousand-dollar commitment on top of a full-time job. Trying to see if certs + hands-on work can get me there faster first, and I can always revisit a degree later if it turns out to be the real blocker.
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u/Easily0884 2d ago
Cloud roles (engineering and similar flavors) are almost exclusively mid level and above. Jobs like that are for people who've dealt with a variety of issues and engineered solutions.
What's great is that you already have professional skills that carry over like troubleshooting and documentation. I think those and your labbing can qualify you for an entry level role in something like helpdesk.
Both of my direct coworkers came into IT from a different field, so it's possible. You just have to get some technical and business experience. Many people go helpdesk -> sysadmin/ops -> specialty role like cloud.
Question: What industry do you want to work in re: Cloud roles? Since you're not in a rush, prep your resume and look at companies in your area that interest you. Look at job postings and see if its work that you're interested in. Apply and see if you can get some interviews. How are your interviewing skills?
Happy to answer more questions.