Azure is one of the fastest growing, cloud computing platform out there. Many companies are moving to the cloud and are hiring Azure professionals in many areas, you can pick an area which interests you. It makes sense, to Get an Azure Job! Read this article to get to know how to go about getting an Azure job.
Why Azure?
- $250 billion industry – cloud computing in 5 yrs.
- $3 billion revenue in 2017. (Azure)
- Over 100 Azure data centers world over (tip - data center means more jobs at that establishment).
- Success driven by Office 365, Power BI, and AI tools on cloud.
- Strong in IaaS and Paas services.
- Largest number of cloud based services
- In the top companies among 60 plus cloud services world leaders
Jobs in Azure:
- Azure Administrator - (Azure resources and tools are provided to each employee or department or a team working on a project. Administrator is responsible for these resources and tools)
- Azure Stack Operator - (Azure stack - extension of Azure, runs on on premise. Azure stack operator is responsible for working with the on premise Azure services)
- Azure Solution Architect - (responsible cloud strategy and, development of apps, deployment and working - oversees all the other)
- Devopps - (responsible for scripting and developing apps, should know scripting language - powershell, c#, chef, puppet)
- Node.js Developer on Azure
- .NET Developer on Azure
- AI Developer on Azure
- Azure for AWS Professionals
To get a job in Azure or AWS, one of the first thing you have to do is to know what you will be doing after getting the job.
Let me explain.
Suppose, you are appearing for an interview for the post of ‘Azure Developer Job’.
It helps, to find out what you will be doing as an Azure developer and prepare accordingly. By doing this, you increase your chances of acing an interview by 150%. And, Azure jobs will chase you.
One thing which plays on interviewer’s mind is how long it will be, before you become productive. So, if you are able demonstrate clearly that you are productive from day one; you stand a good chance of getting an offer letter.
This article broadly outlines how you should prepare yourselves for an Azure job, where the opportunities are and how to increase your chances of getting that coveted job.
Before going further, let me outline few important aspects of Azure which are relevant to the topic of this article.
Unlike other jobs, Azure jobs are far wider in scope. For instance, a PHP developer can get a job in Azure and so a Node.js developer. This is because companies develop applications using php, deploy and maintain them on Azure.
So, being employed in an Azure computing environment is highly desirable for technical professionals.
Azure is a sophisticated platform and all encompassing. Azure comes with many services for performing various tasks, from a developer perspective; services form the crux of Azure application development. And, services come with a price. Calculating compute power, storage requirement, number of instances, features availed, and many other factors form basis for arriving at pricing. This is a challenging task and at the same time a gold mine for job seekers.
See here for : a comprehensive list of Azure services.
So, to get an Azure job, one should be very well versed with the services and the pricing aspect. Further, in the article I have listed various resources which will help you to learn Azure quickly with a solid example.
Job Scenarios
Before going further, you should be aware of the scenario’s of Azure usage. This will help you discuss with your interviewer, about how you can work in the Azure team.
To help you out, I have listed possible company scenario’s where Azure and its services are used. Each one refers to a particular type of company.
Brick and mortar company
Let us consider a brick and mortar company. Along with traditional marketing, online digital marketing is required to promote products. A combination of Analytics, IoT, AI, Digital display of products is required for digital marketing and traditional marketing. Using a combination of Azure services a successful and efficient marketing campaign can be built. You as a new recruit should be able to convince your potential employer of your knowledge of Analytics services, IoT, and how you can use the services to develop solutions.
Shopping mall
Large malls and establishments have expensive assets, which are lent out to shop owners and other establishments. Asset tracking and management requires using sensors and software. Companies need to build real time tracking of location and usage solutions for optimum use of expensive assets. Software developed using Azure services enable this to happen. You as a potential Azure developer should be aware of sensors, IoT hub, Gateways, Windows Core, etc.
Typical Company
Traditional computing systems have restrictive working processes. When you have an Azure based cloud and on premises (also referred to as on prem) computing system, you can offer extensive flexibility and reliability to users. Imagine you are joining a company whose staff uses computers and other devices intensely. They have decided to move to Azure and you will be a part of the team to do the migration. To bag the job, you should know what it means to have software such as Office 365, ERP and other such office productivity software on the cloud.
NGO
NGOs which allow vocal expression of injustice, oppression and other ills of society require a medium which is secure, professional and continuous. Azure service based applications can provide all of the above, as they are secure, scalable, with high response time. Azure services fit the requirements perfectly. Using a combination of storage, developer services solutions are built and it is a challenging job.
Company A
Productivity is a key issue in an office used to traditional systems. Ensuring freedom and flexibility is a key challenge for employees. Azure based notification and workflow automation systems enables employees stay more connected and updated. Existing stretched resources suddenly become abundant resulting in more capacity to process and meet customer needs. If you are not a hard core developer then this position might be for you, where you train people to use Azure based solutions.
SAAS provider
Many companies need to handle hundreds if not thousands of software objects. By creating these objects as services, companies can serve their customers better as these services are available on demand, and globally. These services eliminate the need to create and manage virtual machines, offer trusted services, and a pay as you use subscription model. Working for such a project, requires knowledge of web services and creation of web services. Developers who have experience in this area are much in demand.
Service establishments
Medical hospitals, Govt. departments, insurance companies need to maintain a large number of records. The number of these records increase over time and the databases accordingly grow in size. However, customers would like to pay only for the disk size they use. With cloud computing, as storage is scalable you can pay only for the disk size in use. Storage consultants are much demand. For a job in this domain, you will have to gain specialized experience in storage and databases.
Hospitals are using mobile health care units to cater to their patients. Videos are used extensively to provide remote healthcare, and integration with hand held devices is also necessary. Hospitals use cloud based solutions to provide such services.
Government organizations
Some organizations work with strict hierarchies. Meaning they have clerks, field officers, managers, commissioners and directors. In a day to day work scenario, officials need a software application which will allow them to seek approvals, access documents, collaborate in a seamless fashion. Cloud based applications enable such an environment with minimum possible cost.
Printer manufacturer
Printers are a requirement in every office. Remote management of printers, the toner and ink requirements at customer locations, is a key aspect for printer manufacturers. A good record of satisfied customers is essential for profits and repeat orders. Azure based IoT solutions, offer a sophisticated, comprehensive system for printer manufacturers.
Machine tool company
IoT is being implemented world over, across many industries. Companies install IoT devices at customer locations spread over a wide area. Many a times firmware (software embedded into ROM devices) have to be updated in the IoT devices, which require opening of ports (to access ROM). This can raise a potential security issue. Using Azure cloud such high security updates can be done.
News channels
News channels have the responsibility of reporting everyday events to the public at large. For this to happen they need to know which resource is at which place and reporting which news. On one side, they need to keep prioritizing the newsworthiness and at the same time they need to manage their physical assets for optimum use. This is possible using Azure cloud computing, and Kaizala a mobile app which facilitates communication and co-ordination between the staff of an organization.
Drone manufacturer
Drones are everywhere, delivering goods to customers for surveillance, reconnaissance, and disaster assistance. Using drones has a flip side, public safety has to be ensured. For this, companies use IoT solutions hosted on Azure to monitor the health of the drone and use machine learning technologies for predictive maintenance.
Gaming company
Companies delivering games to multiple devices need the games app to be lightweight, play as you go, and auto updated. Installation also has to be smooth. Azure Cloud based Game solution is an ideal answer to these requirements.
College
Most colleges are offering new modern training solutions. One of them is blended training, which is a combination of online training courses and classroom training. Online training also known as Azure Learning Management Solutions, when integrated with Azure Office 365, provides centralized management of all student participants, evaluation, and examinations.
Company using ERP system
Most companies have an ERP system in place. They are installed on a local server accessed by clients and used. Moving these solutions to Azure cloud – is a common occurrence given the immense benefits of cost reduction straightaway. The process of moving existing applications to the cloud is referred to as migration.
In the above list, I have covered examples of businesses which use Azure cloud computing. The business can be a regular brick and mortar company, medical hospital, education institutions, malls, gaming companies, govt., and drone service companies. Every company has some benefits to gain from Azure cloud computing.
Now, with Azure data centers in Australia, Japan, and India, does it increase job potential for Azure jobs? Yes, certainly. Check the job portals and you will see regular posting of job requirements in Azure.
This page will give you a clear idea of the jobs at Microsoft.
Advice to Fresh CS graduates
As a fresher, you will have come across many companies which are willing to provide you training after recruitment. Not many in number.
Most companies want ready engineers.
To offset this, you have to do some ground work (in fact, a lot of it). By doing so, you encourage your interviewer to offer a job to you rather than anyone else.
Do the following while still in college or while you are searching for an Azure job.
- Get yourselves a free Microsoft Azure subscription.
- Download SDK (depends on the language you are using to develop the app)
- Get a basic knowledge of Cloud Computing (Intro)
- Cloud computing, Software as a Service (saas), Data Center, Scalability, SLA (service license agreement), Storage, Virtual machines, Hypervisor, On premise computing vs cloud computing, computing services
- Study the below services thoroughly
- Compute services
- Data management services
- Network services
- Developer services
- Messaging and integration services
- Backup services
- Media services
Before, you start the next step of creating an application, go through this set of 100 Questions and Answers Azure.
- It is free
- Logically organized
- Ideal for memorizing
- Ideal for beginners and intermediate levels
- Ideal for quick learning
These simple steps make your Azure learning easy
- Create Virtual Machines
- Understanding Azure IaaS Cloud Services
- Create a Virtual Machine running Windows Server, SQL server, Linux server, Biztalk and Sharepoint Server
- How to set up load-balancing across two VMs within Azure
- Understanding and Configuring Availability Set for Virtual Machines
- Combine Load Balancer with Availability Sets
- Auto-Scaling in Virtual Machines - Design and Implement Cloud Services
- Create a Cloud Service Application using Web roles and Worker roles and deploy to Cloud Service in Azure
- Configure the roles of an Azure Cloud Service using the Role Designer - Endpoints, VM Size, Instances Count and Caching options - Windows Azure Storage
- Develop Azure application using Azure storage services designed to store non-relational data.
- Use three storage services, Blob storage, Table storage and Queue storage in a cloud service application - Windows Azure SQL Database
Develop Azure web application which connects to Azure SQL Database using Data access technologies like Entity Framework and ADO.Net
Develop Azure application using Azure SQL Database along with storage services - Azure Service Bus
Develop the three-tier application and use Service Bus Queues and topics to communicate between these tiers
Prepare and get your MTA and MCSA certification
- Locate the relevant curriculum for every certification examination, from the MICROSOFT certification website.
- For every topic you will find a detailed documentation
- Study this documentation well
- For every service do the hands on exercise in detail
- click on products- to see the list of service. These are the list of services you work with to create and run your Azure application
And, the next task is doing a hands-on exercise. For this, there are multiple options:
-
You can check out our book, source code on Azure wherein we teach you how to develop a Sales order management app using Azure services.
This book will help you to sail through Azure service based application development, guiding you step by step, whenever you a question - show you the right way forward.
After you are done reading you will have learnt to develop your own Azure application.
- Create a simple Azure application
- Try out whichever option is suitable to you. Remember, Azure subscription lasts for one month. So, you will have to complete your exercises within that period. However, you could always take a second subscription with a second email id.
- It is important that you master creating a complete Azure application, even if it is a simple application. The reason is, if you know end to end app development, you will be able learn new services quickly as you can visualize and understand where every service may and finally fits in an application.
How to get a job without experience?
- This is a common question everyone asks. How can we even attempt to apply when experience is a must, is a often repeated question.
- There are a couple of points to note here.
- First, technologies keep changing. So, everyone knows, even your interviewer, that you can’t find many developers in the latest technologies.
- Next, some core technologies are carried over. For instance, if you are good in Windows Server 2012, this knowledge is useful in Azure too. It is not that every technology is brand new.
- Always gain knowledge in one particular stream. If you are good in server management, learn windows, apache, and linux servers. After you acquire specialized knowledge in Servers, start learning other programming domains. This is because, out there, there are many professionals who are experienced, and for you to even start working with them you have to have intermediate level knowledge in a particular domain.
Get a certification, it has multiple advantages. With a certification, you are preferred over others. Reputed companies prefer developers with certifications. Next, even if you are a fresher, a MTA or MCSA tag will enable employers bypass the ‘experience’ requirement or relax it. While preparing for a certification, you learn the technologies the way the creators want you to learn and every certification. Every certification test is proctored.
Most employers expect prospective employees to have a basic knowledge of the current hot technologies. I have listed Azure specific and other hot technologies you should be familiar with for a Azure Developer and Solution Architect jobs.
- Owin and katana
- UI/UX
- ASP .Net Core
- Azure services
- Ajax
- Javascript
- Angular JS
- Razor
- SOAP XML based services
- Web API
- C#
- MVC
Companies which aggressively recruit Azure Developers worldwide:
- Accenture - Consulting (Software and other)
- Infosys - Consulting (Mostly Software)
- Microsoft - Software Products
- Cisco - Networking
- Ricoh - Digital technologies
- Axelarate - IoT across industries
- Mosaic - Fertilizers
- Daimler - Auto
- Citrix - Software Cloud Computing
- Geekwire - News agency
Observe that, companies are from varied sectors.
In summary, I have given you an overview of potential job scenario’s, importance of certifications, azure specific technologies, a sample list of companies which will recruit you if you have the certification.
So, keep an open mind, get an Azure subscription, master the free basic questions and answers on Azure given above, learn to develop a complete azure application using services, get a MTA or MCSA certification, and watch jobs chasing you!
To know how Azure has grown in the last three years see this report:
Azure growth in the last few years.
See here for an idea on dynamics of Azure jobs.
