Cloud Courses vs. Cloud Bootcamps: Which Track Will Advance Your Cloud Career?
As cloud computing expands across the industry, veterans and novices alike are looking for ways to break in and gain useful skills. Cloud courses and cloud bootcamps are two of the most used ways to learn about the cloud, but they vary a lot in terms of content, structure, and outcomes. Both are great learning experiences, but bootcamps are often the better option with hands-on training, certification preparation and job placement support. In this post, we’ll discuss some of the key distinctions between cloud courses and bootcamps and why a cloud bootcamp could be the right option for career-oriented learners.
Cloud Courses vs Bootcamps: Which to Pick?
If you’re comparing cloud courses with bootcamps, then you need to know that they’re not the same thing. Cloud courses are single-topic courses, typically asynchronous and take place online so students can learn specific cloud computing concepts on their own. In contrast, cloud bootcamps offer an organized, intensive course with a greater number of subjects, often culminating in industry-specific certifications and career support. While cloud courses can be used to refresh certain skills, cloud bootcamps are structured to train students for a fully-fledged career in the cloud.
What Are Cloud Courses?
Cloud courses are typically short, introductory modules that cover a single topic in the field of cloud. Such courses are popular on online courses sites such as Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning, in both beginner and intermediate levels.
- Configuration: Most cloud courses are asynchronous which means that you don’t need to be in the classroom to learn what you’re learning. Courses usually involve video lectures, readings, tests and sometimes laboratory exercises.
- Subject matter: These are courses that typically introduce only a single topic, like “Introducing AWS Services” or “Cloud Networking Fundamentals”. They tend to be individual learning modules.
- Cost: Individual cloud courses are typically less expensive than bootcamps, ranging from $10 to $200 depending on platform and duration.
- Example: A “Azure Security Fundamentals” course might provide security concepts in Azure, but wouldn’t dive into multi-platform security procedures or prepare you for certification.
What Are Cloud Bootcamps?
Cloud bootcamps are intensive, in-depth trainings on a multitude of cloud computing topics, typically geared toward job preparation. These run for weeks or months and aim to provide students with real-world experience, real-world competencies, and industry recognized certifications.
- Design: Bootcamps typically involve live, synchronous instruction where students have direct access to instructors, peers, and support. This structure encourages participation and accountability.
- Scope: Unlike cloud courses, bootcamps address multiple cloud topics such as cloud infrastructure, security, networking, and DevOps, which equips students for a variety of positions.
- Cost: Cloud bootcamps are typically higher cost and range between $5,000-$20,000, but come with tons of content, real labs, certification, and sometimes career support.
For instance, a fully featured bootcamp for “Cloud Architecture and Administration” would equip students with knowledge about various cloud services, experience cloud project management, and prepare them for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect or Azure Administrator certifications.
The Difference Between Cloud Courses and Cloud Bootcamps
- Depth of Content
- Cloud Courses: teaches a single or targeted topic for those students who are interested in understanding one concept such as AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management). But they’re not comprehensive enough to depict the full potential of cloud infrastructure.
- Cloud Bootcamps: Provide a comprehensive curriculum that covers multiple aspects of cloud computing. Bootcamps generally cover a basic level up to a sophisticated level, and provide students with a full-scale expertise.
- Why Bootcamps Work Better: A bootcamp has a more comprehensive focus, which is beneficial for those students looking to get a more in-depth understanding of cloud computing, as it covers important topics that might otherwise be required by multiple courses.
- Learning Structure and Support
- Courses in Cloud: Classes are largely asynchronous, which means that students are taught without live guidance. Such elasticity works well for entrepreneurs but is challenging for those that need structure and direction.
- Cloud Bootcamps: Bootcamps typically have live, synchronous sessions, which gives access to instructors and classmates in real-time. This organized design fosters accountability, keeping students accountable and on track. Most bootcamps also provide office hours, 1:1 coaching, and peer support.
- Why Bootcamps Work Better: Online training and curriculum keeps the students on track and offers immediate assistance when learning complicated subjects — a must-have for newcomers to cloud computing.
- Hands-On Experience
- Cloud Courses: Although some cloud courses do have labs, they tend to be limited in both scope and depth. For instance, a course in AWS might teach you nothing beyond an EC2 instance installation lab, and this isn’t really practical experience for real-world problem solving.
- Cloud Bootcamps: Experiential training is at the heart of most bootcamp programs. Students work on hands-on projects and gain hands-on experience applying their learned knowledge in simulations and labs by completing tasks such as setting up virtual networks, navigating cloud databases, and running applications.
- Why Bootcamps Are Better: Bootcamps are hands-on intensive programs that prepare students for practical job requirements in many cloud environments.
- Certification Preparation
- Cloud Courses: The majority of cloud courses aren’t explicitly about certification, it’s more of a learning curve with no exam focus. Certification preparation, if it exists, is typically minimal and doesn’t cover everything the exam needs.
- Cloud Bootcamps: Bootcamps often incorporate industry-specific certification courses, like AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Azure Administrator, or Google Cloud Associate Engineer. These are career-enhancing certifications that companies often require or prefer for cloud jobs.
- What Bootcamps Are Better For: Certification preparation incorporated into bootcamps allow students an easy pathway to a credential that employers value and makes it more marketable.
- Career Counselling and Placement Assistance
- Cloud Courses: Cloud courses do not generally offer career advice such as resume review, interview guidance or job placement assistance.
- Cloud Bootcamps: Many cloud bootcamps provide strong career support, finding work for their alumni via resume help, mock interviews, networking sessions, and placement assistance. Some bootcamps even have affiliations with tech firms that are hiring bootcamp graduates.
- What’s More Useful About Bootcamps: Career services are crucial for college students who need to enter the workforce, as they will help direct students in the right direction to gain job prospects.
Who Needs a Cloud Course?
Courses in the cloud can be used for:
- Professionals in the Workforce: Individuals seeking specific cloud-related expertise at their current company.
- Self-Teachers: People with strong tech backgrounds who want to learn at their own pace.
- Budget-Proof Students: Individuals who require a quick, cheap start to the cloud concepts without making a career transition.
Example: A data analyst who has experience with Azure may choose a specialty course in Azure Machine Learning to upgrade a skill level without attending a bootcamp.
Who Should Use A Cloud Bootcamp?
Cloud bootcamps are ideal for:
- Career changers: Those interested in moving into the cloud computing space, but who need a structured, job-focused program.
- Certification Holders: Users that want to obtain a cloud certification, for example AWS or Azure, to prove their skills to an employer.
- Practical Learners: Individuals who are averse to classroom teaching, learning and simulation.
Example: An employee new to the cloud ecosystem looking to become a cloud architect would be well served by a bootcamp covering cloud infrastructure, security and certification preparations, as well as career resources.
What Are The Benefits of Using A Cloud Bootcamp?
- Complete Curriculum: Covers a wide variety of topics and prepares students for different roles in cloud computing.
- Instant Learning: Continuous feedback, instruction, and responsibility.
- Practical Projects: Gain hands-on experience which is extremely useful when you go into the workforce.
- Certification Training: Improves employability by training students for industry-standard exams.
- Career Development: Helps students build resumes, connect with employers, and hire a new graduate.
Career Karma writes, “Bootcamps get you into the workforce right away with the work experience employers require.”
Cost Comparison and Value
Cloud bootcamps cost more than a course in their own right, but they are worth the cost for those looking for a pathway to certification and job preparation. Bootcamps offer a more holistic learning curve that can result in more lucrative, sought-after cloud positions.
Conclusion: Cloud Bootcamps Offer an Omnivorous, Career-Driven Solution
For individuals interested in stepping into cloud computing or acquiring skills to pursue a cloud career, cloud bootcamps offer broader, career-driven learning options than standalone cloud courses. Cloud courses can be tailored to a particular skill or topic, but aren’t as deep, structured or job ready as bootcamps.
Cloud bootcamps combine a broad spectrum of cloud concepts, lab exercises, practical projects, certification preparation, and career services so that students can learn everything they need to be successful in a cloud role. Bootcamps might have more upfront costs but they offer structure, responsibility and support that differentiate you in a highly competitive workplace. For the majority of ambitious cloud-careerists, a bootcamp is the quicker, more immediate path to a fulfilling cloud career.