Posted by Dan Morrill

Whenever you roll out a new technology, there are always changes to how people perceive that technology, and the ramifications to employment that technology has. Cloud computing is disruptive, allowing fewer people to do stuff that an entire IT Shop used to do.

Gigaom this morning posts the idea that cloud computing is going to have a negative influence on the IT Job market, as much as the computer had on the typewriter market. The idea is sound; the question is how do people learn enough about cloud computing to remain competitive in the market place? There are few viable training programs out there, no degrees, and very few certificates. While Google is taking this a step further by offering education in the clouds, my own experience with Amazon Web Services has shown that even just getting started in running virtual servers in the cloud can be painful at best, or bring you to a dead stand still at worst.

There is no way to get around this, if you are in IT and you stop learning, then you are doomed to be replaced in the near future.

Today’s laid-off systems administrators, however, are not likely landing these newly formed IT 2.0 jobs. They have been too busy applying duct tape and Band-Aids to existing infrastructures to stay on top of the cutting edge. Nearly a year and a half ago, already, I heard a FedEx Corporate Services IT executive bemoan how ill-equipped his team was to deal with the division’s increasingly fabric-like infrastructure. He was neither the first nor the last to express that sentiment. Source: Gigaom

The next big thing to learn is cloud computing. Business and IT budgets are already being framed around the idea of outsourcing many applications and functions to cloud systems. The problem is going to be finding education, but that does not mean you cannot purchase time on Amazon’s Web Service (AWS) and go play around with what you want to work on, and what you think can and cannot be done. There is a large body of very good information on how to connect and how to use these services. Although at times the information might be confusing if not in conflict with each other, there are always opportunities for people to learn how cloud computing works and what you can do with it.

The good part is if you get started now, when the Business office starts picking up and wants to use these services, you already will have hands on practical experience in cloud computing based on your own learning, and as education/training catches up with where business is going, this might just end up being something you can do that could be quite lucrative for you.

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About the Author: Dan Morrill runs Techwag, a site all about his views on social media, education, technology, and some of the more interesting things that happen on the internet. He works at CityU of Seattle as the Program Director for the Computer Science, Information Systems and Information Security educational programs.