In this guide
- Why are there so few junior cloud engineer jobs?
- Which entry level cloud jobs can you actually get?
- What do entry level cloud jobs pay?
- Can you become a cloud engineer with no experience?
- How do you compete when every advert asks for experience?
- Should you take a non-cloud job first?
- What skills do entry level cloud adverts ask for?
- How Experiencely can help
Entry level cloud computing jobs in the UK do exist, but most of them aren't called "cloud engineer". The usual first rungs are cloud support engineer, service desk or IT support analyst with Azure duties, junior infrastructure engineer and cloud operations analyst. Target those, not senior-sounding titles, and you'll get interviews much sooner.
Why are there so few junior cloud engineer jobs?
Look at the numbers and it makes sense. ITJobsWatch counted 1,343 permanent UK cloud engineer adverts in the six months to November 2026. Over the same period, only 15 adverts were titled junior cloud engineer.
That gap is the whole problem. Employers put cloud engineers in charge of systems that cost real money when they break. They want someone who's already broken a few things somewhere else first.
Robert Half's 2027 UK Salary Guide puts the median cloud engineer at £68,000. Nobody pays that for someone they need to train from scratch. So the market quietly expects you to come in through a side door.
Which entry level cloud jobs can you actually get?
These are the roles that genuinely hire beginners and lead into cloud work.
Cloud support engineer or cloud support associate. You handle tickets about cloud services, troubleshoot access issues, check logs and escalate the hard stuff. It's the most direct route in. Our cloud support engineer guide covers the day-to-day in more detail.
Service desk or IT support analyst. Not glamorous. Still one of the best starts, if the employer runs Microsoft 365, Entra ID and some Azure. You'll reset passwords, yes, but you'll also manage users, licences and permissions, which is cloud admin work under a different name.
Junior infrastructure or systems engineer. Often a mix of on-premises servers and cloud. Hybrid roles like this are where a lot of UK cloud engineers learned their trade.
Cloud operations or NOC analyst. Monitoring dashboards, responding to alerts, following runbooks. It teaches you how real environments fail.
Junior cloud engineer. Rare, as the numbers above show, but worth applying for when you see one. Expect a long list of applicants.
Graduate schemes and apprenticeships. Consultancies, banks and the public sector run them. They're competitive and tied to intake dates, so treat them as one option, not the plan.
What do entry level cloud jobs pay?
The median for junior cloud engineer adverts on ITJobsWatch was £35,000 over the six months to November 2026, with the 90th percentile at £41,000. That's based on a small sample, so use it as a rough marker.
Support roles that lead into cloud usually start a little lower. The jump comes later. Once you're doing engineering work, the gap to the £56,500 that Robert Half lists at the 25th percentile for cloud engineers is a couple of years, not a decade.
Can you become a cloud engineer with no experience?
Straight into a cloud engineer job with no experience? Almost never. Into a cloud-adjacent job that turns into cloud engineering within 12 to 24 months? Very possible.
When people search for "cloud engineer no experience", they usually mean no professional experience. That's a different problem from no knowledge, and it has a different fix.
Hiring managers screening junior cloud CVs look for three things. Can you do the basics without hand-holding? Have you done them somewhere real? And will someone vouch for you? Certifications answer the first question. They don't answer the other two.
That's why a CV with AZ-900, AZ-104 and a home lab still gets ignored. The skills might be there. The evidence isn't.
How do you compete when every advert asks for experience?
Build evidence that looks like work, because that's what the screener is scanning for.
- Get the right certifications in the right order. AZ-900 first if you're brand new, then AZ-104. Azure appeared in 10,269 permanent UK adverts on ITJobsWatch over six months, so it's the sensible first platform.
- Work on something real. A live project for a real organisation beats any number of tutorials. Volunteering for a charity, helping a small business move to Microsoft 365, or a structured placement all count.
- Write it down. Keep a short log of what you built, what broke and how you fixed it. You'll use it in every interview.
- Get a reference. One named person who saw you work is worth more than another certificate.
- Rewrite your CV around outcomes. "Configured Azure backup for 40 user devices" lands better than "familiar with Azure Backup".
Skip the urge to learn five platforms at once. Pick Azure, go deep, get real work on your CV, then branch out.
Should you take a non-cloud job first?
If the alternative is waiting six months for the perfect junior cloud role, yes. A service desk or IT support job at a company that uses Azure puts you near the work. Ask to shadow the infrastructure team. Volunteer for migration projects. Offer to write documentation nobody else wants to write.
The people who make this move fastest usually aren't the most qualified on paper. They're the ones who keep putting their hand up.
If you're weighing up which junior titles to search for, our junior cloud engineer page lists the common ones and what each expects.
What skills do entry level cloud adverts ask for?
Read twenty junior adverts and the same list comes up. Windows Server and Active Directory. Microsoft 365 and Entra ID. Basic networking: IP addressing, DNS, DHCP, firewalls. Some Azure, usually virtual machines, storage, backup and identity. A bit of PowerShell.
Notice what's missing. Hardly any junior adverts ask for Kubernetes, multi-cloud architecture or advanced Terraform. Those turn up later. Beginners often waste months on them because they look impressive on YouTube.
Soft skills matter more than people admit, too. Writing a clear ticket update, explaining a fix to a non-technical user and knowing when to escalate are things interviewers probe for, because juniors who can't do them create work for everyone else.
What should you avoid?
Don't pay for a course that promises a job without real project work attached. Don't stack fundamentals certificates from three different providers. And don't apply only to roles with "cloud engineer" in the title. You'll wait a very long time.
Also, don't undersell support experience. If you've already worked on a help desk, you've got more relevant experience than you think. Reframe it around identity, access, endpoints and incident handling.
How Experiencely can help
Experiencely's cloud engineering programme is built for people who need experience on their CV, not another course. Training covers Cloud Essentials+, Network+, Security+, Cloud+, AZ-900 and AZ-104. You're also placed on a live remote cloud project within 48 hours, working about an hour a day for three months, so it fits around a current job and gives you real work to talk about in interviews. The programme costs £2,495. If you aren't hired within 60 days of finishing, and you've met the conditions, you get your money back.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best entry level cloud computing jobs in the UK?
The realistic first roles are cloud support engineer, service desk or IT support analyst with Azure or Microsoft 365 duties, junior cloud or infrastructure engineer, and cloud operations analyst. Graduate schemes and apprenticeships exist too, but they're competitive and often have age or timing restrictions.
Can I become a cloud engineer with no experience?
Not usually straight away. Very few UK adverts are aimed at juniors, so most people start in support or infrastructure and move across. You can shorten that wait by building evidence of real work, such as a live project, documented builds and a reference from someone who saw you work.
How much do entry level cloud jobs pay in the UK?
Junior cloud engineer adverts tracked by ITJobsWatch had a median salary of £35,000 in the six months to November 2026, based on a small sample. Support roles that lead into cloud often start a little lower, with pay rising once you take on engineering work.
Do I need a degree for an entry level cloud job?
No. Plenty of UK employers hire junior cloud and support staff without degrees if you can show certifications, hands-on skills and some evidence of real work. A degree can help with graduate schemes, but it isn't a requirement for most support or junior engineering roles.
Sources
Figures are taken from the sources below. Salary ranges are indicative and individual offers vary. Last checked 9 November 2026.