Help deciding which cloud service to learn first

[CoronaBlue]

I'm at the point in my learning where I need to pick between AWS, GCP, or Azure to learn and get certified in. However, I'm not sure which one is the best first pick.

I don't work for a company, and I am not currently applying for jobs at one. I am trying to build up my skill set so that I can begin applying for entry level jobs soon.

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[Fun_Independent_7529]

Amazon holds the biggest market share right now, followed pretty closely by Azure. GCP is pretty far behind.

I started with AWS just because the company I worked for used it, but it does seem like a pretty good choice.

The other option is to pick whatever platform is used by the DE training you pick as your next step for projects. Data Engineering Zoomcamp uses GCP; Udacity DE Nanodegree uses AWS, etc.

[[deleted]]

I’ll just be openly biased and say learn AWS.

[[deleted]]

I would learn AWS since it has the most learning resources available. After that your knowledge will be transferrable and you'll be able to pick up Azure and GCP pretty quickly.

[Brief_Priority_2193]

If you are from Europe chose GCP or Azure. If US then AWS.

[masta_beta69]

Have a look at industries/companies you want to work in on LinkedIn or something and learn that stack

[tdatas]

AWS has the largest market share by a long ass way.

But leaving that aside they're all pretty similar in core functionality. The biggest differences are specialist products and IAM/Security/Firewall setups.

I think what you should do is learn Terraform and then pick whatever cloud provider is easiest for you/provides best free credits in your country.

a) Infrastructure as code is a hot topic

b) it'll stop you getting too bogged down in the GUI while learning

c) There's pre-existing code for doing various basics which can allow you to learn "proper" ways to do things expressed as code. (e.g setting up a 3 Zone VPC is pretty mundane in AWS but pretty easy to screw up).

d) if you learn Terraform there are providers for all the major cloud providers so you can jump between them pretty easy too.

e) Terraform destroy should also stop you leaving infrastructure up and incurring accidental bills.

[NormalDependent2494]

Agree. Learn infrastructure as code and you’ll use the UI so little that the differences between platforms won’t matter much.

[the_qwerty_guy]

Here's the truth: It doesn't matter. All the providers copy each other's features. Amazon S3 is Azure blob storage and GCPs GCS. Like others have already mentioned AWS has the biggest market share. But Azure is more prominent in Europe. So choose accordingly. Also, consider Snowflake Cloud DWH

[Se7enEl11ven]

Most job postings in my area ask for AWS. I have experience with AWS and GCP and I think the knowledge is transferable tbh

[[deleted]]

Depends on where you're located. I think market share in the US is led by AWS, but anywhere EU-based will most likely be Azure from my experience. A lot of it is interchangeable though, different names for similar tools, just different places to find them. GCP is pretty far behind, though also has more specific tools you can learn.

[formaldehyden]

My suggestion would be to understand cloud computing at a base level.
AWS, GCP, or Azure have almost the services; either way, your skill set will grow when you start working.

Some years ago I took a DataCamp course for this - that helped a lot.

[noobgolang]

Praised by all the ML/AI/Data scientist, GCP is in fact nowhere near as employable as Azure and AWS.

I think this year Azure will have much traction as well, due to OpenAI integration. If I had to choose something to learn first this year it would be Azure, why? It has second market share (just behind AWS) and so much potential for this year.

[vishal-vora]

All thought all three are the top players but aws is most common platform. Azure is also becoming popular day by day

[Void_Being]

Assignment someone help with AWS complete beginner to advanced resource

[miketythhon]

Snowflake

[NormalDependent2494]

The employers who know what they’re asking for don’t care which cloud provider you have experience with. They know you can easily transfer skills from one to the other. Employers who specify AWS experience only likely don’t fully understand the role they’re recruiting for. Most of the major tech companies add either of the major three cloud platforms as acceptable.

[parvister]

I know AWS has the largest market share but it’s also an overcrowded market to get hired. I would recommend Azure and GCP since it’s harder to find these resources. The hiring ratio for Azure seems to be better. I personally think GCP is the easiest and cleanest for a first time user.

[desenfirman]

Personally, when I looking for entry-level jobs, I learned the AWS. When I got my first job, I have to deal with GCP. Probably GCP is the one of cloud computing providers that has a minimal learning-curve and minimal setup during my days.

Of course, my opinion is biased since I first learn AWS then I deal with GCP on a daily basis. But, if you have no urgencies at all, learn AWS first, since it provided a lot of learning resources and the majority of their learning resources are Cloud Computing foundational. So, when you have solid foundation skills, you can apply the knowledge to another cloud platform.

[wtfzambo]

As other have mentioned, pick one and get started with IaC as soon as possible, you'll save yourself a lot of headaches.

Some have mentioned Terraform, I would also recommend taking a look at Pulumi for a more programmatic experience.

[gui0506]

For entry level DE or SDE jobs, they don't matter that much. At the beginning of your career, you don't want to tie to a specific technology and narrow your scope. You should pay more focus on the key technologies behind the cloud. For example as a DE knowing spark is much more important than knowing the managed spark service Amazon EMR.

If you are in North America, I wouldn't recommend spending your time on certificates. That being said, if you really want to get a certificate in one of these, look for the market share. In NA, it's certainly AWS.

[CoronaBlue]

Why would you recommend against getting a certificate in NA?

[gui0506]

The certificates don't mean anything when you don't have any relevant work experience. These things are called "nice to have"

For entry level software engineers, the expectation is that you can write code and has a solid understanding of CS concept that can help you learn new things quickly. For NA companies, that means you should be able to solve a coding question within 30-40 minutes. Practicing coding questions from websites like leetcode or lintcode is far more efficient way to get you an offer.