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Leading LATAM Companies Choose Coursera to Help Prepare for New Digital Economy

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Leading LATAM Companies Choose Coursera to Help Prepare for New Digital Economy

By Renzo Casapía, Head of Enterprise, LATAM Sales

Businesses are innovating at a faster rate than ever before, placing a premium on high-demand digital skills in AI, machine learning, and cloud computing, among others. This is a major challenge for organizations throughout LATAM, with 50% of companies in the region struggling to find workers with the right skills.

Some global companies such as Arcos dorados , BNP Paribas  AT&T, HSBC have signed up for Coursera for Business since the start of this year. Coursera is helping organizations across all industries deliver the job-relevant skills training needed for their employees to succeed in the workforce of the future.

The global telecom and digital services market, for example, is expected to be valued at $2.5 trillion by 2028, and continued investments in deploying 5G wireless networks are a crucial growth driver. Leading telcos such as Claro Colombia, the largest provider of mobile phone services in the country, and Telecom Argentina, the leading company that offers connectivity, entertainment experiences and technological solutions throughout the country., are both partnering with Coursera to help employees develop high-demand digital transformation skills, data science and digital marketing. 

“In Telecom Argentina we are evolving from  being a traditional telco to consolidate ourselves as a digital company, developing new businesses and 100% digital solutions based  on IOT, 5G, Fintech, entertainment and smarthome”, said Valeria Urbina, People Growth Manager of Telecom Argentina. This paradigm shift in our business necessarily implies a change in our culture, our mindset and the skills of our people. The depth and breadth of content on Coursera’s platform enables us to reskill employees in key roles across the organization to help meet the evolving needs of our business and deliver value to our more than 30 million customers in new ways.” 

During the pandemic, pharmaceutical companies like Adium Pharma signed up with Coursera to help its workforce develop the essential skills needed to  quickly develop and deliver diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines at record-breaking speeds. 

In the financial services industry, 14 million new digital jobs are expected to be created globally by 2025. Leading banks across LATAM including Banco de Chile, Bancolombia and BCP Perú are working with Coursera to upskill employees in key areas needed to fill these roles including software development, machine learning, AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.

In addition, rapid adoption of AI, data analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies is widening the skills gap in the oil and gas industry. Furthermore, large segments of an aging workforce will soon take critical skills and experience with them when they retire. Industry leaders such as Petrobras have partnered with Coursera to help upskill employees in these key areas to support digital transformation and carry the business into the future.

Coursera for Business now provides over 3,100 companies across the globe with role-based skills development featuring world-class content, hands-on learning, and the ability to track, measure, and benchmark skills through a single, unified platform. Recent platform innovations including LevelSets are helping employees to quickly determine their proficiency in key skills and identify areas to focus on moving forward, while giving organizations greater visibility and insights into employee skills and the skill gaps that exist. Coursera Clips, which offers over 10,000 bite-sized videos and lessons from the world’s leading companies and universities, are enabling companies to make in-demand skill development content more accessible to employees, allowing them to begin learning new skills in under 10 minutes. In addition, SkillSets are helping employees develop skills for specific jobs. These SkillSets are the building blocks for our portfolio of Academies, which offer a packaged learning experience based on the depth of skill needed for specific roles across an organization.

Between the historic levels of disruption seen over the past year and the resulting shift towards digital jobs, the need to upskill and reskill employees within the enterprise has never been greater. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with these organizations to deliver the skills development programs needed to thrive in the new digital economy.

Learn more about Coursera for Business today.

A Beginner’s Guide To Quantum Computing

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A Beginner’s Guide To Quantum Computing
A Beginner's Guide To Quantum Computing

Quantum computing has become a buzzword in the IT industry. Some people think it’ll change how we do computing forever and give us more processing power than we ever imagined. Some fear this new technology might break all current encryption and security. Others are creating sci-fi shows based on quantum computing, like Devs, which appears in this list of our community’s favorite TV shows.

But most people, even many developers, aren’t quite sure what quantum computing is. Let’s clear up some of the confusion.

Quantum computing terms you need to know

Before we get into how quantum computing works, let’s look at some key terms that you’ll need to know to understand the concept.

Quantum

The quantum in quantum computing refers to quantum mechanics. A quantum in physics is the minimum amount of any physical property that can exist.

For instance, a photon is a single quantum of light. Quantization of energy and how it affects the interactions between matter and energy is part of the fundamental framework for describing the physical world.

Qubit

Qubit is short for quantum bit — the quantum version of the bit we use in classical computing. Standard bits can only be one of two values: 1 or 0. Qubits, on the other hand, hold a superposition of all possible states.

Superposition

Every quantum state can be represented as a sum of two or more other distinct states, and quantum particles combine all possible states. They remain in all of these states at once until they’re actually observed and measured.

Think of a coin flip. Once the coin lands on the ground, it’ll be heads or tails, but while it’s in the air, it still has a chance of being either one. Quantum computers use the concept of superposition to manipulate qubits and affect their probabilities before making a final measurement to get the answer.

Entanglement

Entanglement is a process by which quantum particles can link up so that their states stay linked no matter how far apart they are in space. They share a unified quantum state and can exert an influence on each other.

By entangling qubits in a quantum computer, more information can be represented simultaneously, giving the quantum computer more computing power and the ability to solve more complicated problems.

Quantum interference

In a quantum computer, entanglement is a good thing, but interference is bad. Quantum interference is part of a qubit’s natural behavior that can influence the probability of the final measurement of its superposition. Quantum computers try to reduce interference as much as possible to ensure more accurate results.

How does quantum computing work?

A quantum computer has three main parts.

The first part is the structure that holds the qubits used for computation. These qubits must be stored in a way that minimizes quantum interference. In some quantum computers, superfluids chill the qubit housing to a hundredth of a degree Celsius above absolute zero to keep the qubits stable. Other quantum computers use a vacuum to help with qubit cohesion and minimize interference between them.

The second part is a mechanism for transferring information to the qubits. To use them for computations, their behavior must be controlled so they can hold, change, and read information. There are a few ways to do this. Lasers, microwaves, and voltage are the most common.

The third and final major part of a quantum computer is a standard computer where the code written for the quantum computer is run. It interfaces with the control mechanism, which sends instructions to the qubits.

Where can quantum computing be used?

Quantum computing is still in its early stages, and it’s not quite ready to be used in everyday businesses. Still, some companies are starting to find new uses for the technology.

Most of the work in quantum computing is currently being done by scientists and quantum computing experts who create proof-of-concept applications and test them on a small scale to help identify future uses for the technology. That way, they’ll be ready when quantum hardware develops to the point that it’s practical for more uses.

Also, while a quantum computer can do certain things many magnitudes faster than a classical computer, they don’t do everything quicker and aren’t practical for some computational problems. Here are some of the many industries where quantum computing will have the biggest impact.

Cryptography

The power of quantum computers threatens to make current cryptography techniques obsolete, such as RSA encryption, which is used to secure much of the sensitive data in the digital world. The good news is that there are already companies working on new cryptography techniques that even quantum computers can’t crack.

Machine learning

Machine learning is changing many things about our world, but running machine learning algorithms on traditional computers takes a lot of time and resources. Scientists and Quantum Computing Researchers are looking into new ways to make machine learning faster and more efficient using quantum computers.

Healthcare

Quantum computers have many uses in the healthcare industry. They simulate chemical reactions much faster than standard computers, and they’re also used for protein folding, where they help speed up the creation of new drugs.

Finance

Quantum computing is also used in fintech, where its power makes parsing massive amounts of financial data quicker and model creation more accurate. It can also be used in fraud detection and portfolio risk optimization.

Logistics

Quantum computers are good at optimization. There are many challenges involved in supply chains and international shipping routes that can take a standard computer literally years to solve, but a quantum computer can solve in only minutes.

Programming languages and SDKs used in quantum computing

The programming languages used in quantum computing may have a similar syntax to those used in standard programming, but they were created specifically to handle the quantum computing environment.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t still use standard programming languages. There are high-level SDKs (Software Development Kits) written in languages like Python that allow you to branch into quantum computing without needing to learn a new language.

Here are some of the many programming languages and SDKs used in quantum computing:

  • QCL: QCL (Quantum Computing Language) is one of the first programming languages used for quantum computing. Its syntax resembles the C programming language, and its data types are similar to the primitive data types in C.
  • Q: Q was the second programming language implemented in quantum computers. It was designed as an extension of C++, so C++ developers can start working with it quickly.
  • OpenQASM: OpenQASM (Open Quantum Assembly Language) is a low-level language released by IBM for use with quantum computers.
  • Q#: Q# is an open-source quantum programming language offered by Microsoft. It has some features that developers who know the Python, C#, and F# programming languages will recognize.
  • Silq: Silq is an open-source high-level programming language written in the D programming language. It’s available on Github and is relatively new. The first version was published in 2020.
  • Cirq: Cirq is a Python library created by Google for writing, manipulating, and optimizing quantum circuits. Cirq abstracts away many of the low-level details of quantum hardware in a language familiar to many developers.
  • Qiskit SDK: Qiskit is a software development kit created specifically for working with the OpenQASM programming language and IBM Q quantum processors. It’s written in Python, so developers don’t have to have high-level knowledge of quantum hardware to use it.
  • Braket SDK: The Braket SDK is yet another quantum computing SDK written in Python that works with Amazon’s proprietary Braket quantum computing platform.

How to get started in quantum computing

As we said, quantum computing isn’t yet practical enough to be used in the average business. So you can’t get a job writing code for quantum computers yet, unless the job is with a business currently experimenting with the technology or building their own quantum computers.

Still, you can experiment with quantum computer coding right now. Here are four places you can do that:

  • Amazon Braket: Amazon will give you one free hour per month to experiment with their quantum computing platform, and it provides an SDK written in Python to interact with the Braket platform so you can write quantum code in a familiar programming language.
  • IBM Quantum: You can also sign up for an account with IBM to run experiments on their quantum computing platform. You can write your code in Python here using the Qiskit SDK.
  • Azure Quantum: You can experiment with the quantum computers that Microsoft has access to, and when you sign up, you can get a free $200 credit.
  • DWave Leap: DWave also provides developers with limited free access to their quantum computing platform.

Python is a good choice if you’re ready to jump into quantum computing today since Circ, the Qiskit SDK, and the SDK for Amazon’s Braket are based on the language. Check out our Learn Python 3 course to learn what you need to know to get started. Or, if you’d rather work with some of the low-level languages used for quantum computing, try Learn C++.

Computer Science Courses & Tutorials | Codecademy

Computer Science, often referred to as “CS,” is a broad term that covers many sub-disciplines, including the worlds of software *and* hardware. It can be found in every piece of technology you use, from a smartphone or gaming console to a car or ATM. With so many applications for Computer Science, t…

CARNIVAL IN THE CARIBBEAN

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CARNIVAL IN THE CARIBBEAN

Are you planning a trip to the Caribbean? Then February or March are the best months to do so. With the Christmas season over, the Caribbean comes alive with various carnivals as an excuse to celebrate some more, to paint the cities in different beautiful colors, put on your dancing shoes, and get down to different beautiful rhythms.

 

“Carnival is a Catholic festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typically involves public celebrations, including events such as parades, public street parties, and other entertainments, combining some elements of a circus.”– Wikipedia.

 

Carnival’s origins in the Caribbean can be traced back to their religion (majority Catholics), colonialism, and celebration of their independence. The festival is said to have begun with Italian Catholics in Europe and was later extended to their French and Spanish neighbors, who later carried the festival with them when some of them settled in Trinidad, Haiti, and other Caribbean Islands during the slave trade era. This is why some historians believe the first Carnival in the Caribbean occurred in the 18th century and was introduced by French Settlers during their traditional Fat Tuesday masquerade party.

According to some researchers, the carnival Celebration began a decade before the 18th century. The Caribbean islands were under British control and slavery in 1797, and by 1834, the slave trade had ended, and the island had become a melting pot of different traditions and cultures, giving birth to various forms of Carnival celebrations as a result of the settlements of French immigrants, British nationals, Spanish settlers, and a large number of Trinidad’s original black people. Another reason to celebrate freedom is the abolition of slavery.

 

The Carnival Celebration, which began in Trinidad and Tobago, eventually spread to the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominican Republic, and Martinique.

 

Trinidad holds its carnival party on the large island of Trinidad, and it is usually a two-day affair with partygoers dressed in brightly colored feathered costumes known as “mas.” There is usually no break during those two days, and the hotels in the cities are usually fully occupied with visitors and partygoers from all over Trinidad and Tobago. The Carnival party is said to be the best there is.

 

Caymanians celebrate Carnival in May to honor African history in the Caribbean as well as their current and future successes. Their Carnival is called “Batabano,” and it represents the island’s growth over the years.

 

Calypso music originated in the Dominican Republic, and it is used to celebrate Carnival. Instead of the usual brightly colored costumes associated with carnivals, the Dominican Republicans dress in traditional costumes that represent their African heritage and indigenous Taino roots. Their celebrations take place all over the country, with La Vega being the most popular, and they begin on the first Sunday in February and end on the first Sunday in March, with the final celebration taking place in Santa Domingo.

 

“Haitian Defile Kanaval” is the name given to the Haitian Carnival. The Haitian Shrove Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras, Pancake Day, or Fat Tuesday, is a holiday in Haiti during which all schools and most businesses are closed in order to celebrate with colorful costumes, drinks, music, and feasting. It is usually a large event with many visitors from within and outside the country, and it is celebrated a day before the lent period.

 

The Carnival celebration in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Vincy Mas) is similar to the celebration in Haiti, which is usually held a few days before the beginning of the lent period (Christian Fasting), but it has since become a summer celebration. The celebration includes colorful costumes, loud calypso music, and Mardi Gras street parties, among other things.

 

Martinique’s carnival celebrations follow the same pattern as those in Haiti, as they are held in the days preceding the lent period. The “King Carnival,” as the name implies, is celebrated on Ash Wednesday with bonfires where the King, King Vaval, usually made of reeds, woods, or other flammable materials, is burned in a celebratory mood.

 

“The true Caribbean People are Carnival People, we are Vibrant People, not dead people. We like to be heard and we like to have fun.”- Viv Richards

 

THE HIDDEN BEACH

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THE HIDDEN BEACH

A country known for its beautiful culture, long history, and festivities, located in the southern part of North America, with many beautiful places to visit and beautiful sights to behold. Mexico has many beaches, including Playa Escondida, which translates to “Hidden Beach,” and Playa del Amor, which translates to “Lovers’ Beach.”

Playa Escondida, a sea of crystal clear blue ocean water, is located in Mexico’s Marieta Islands, a few kilometers away from Punta Mita, which is located on Mexico’s west coast, and it is quite a sight to behold but very difficult to access as it is only accessible by swimming through an underwater tunnel. This peculiarity makes the Beach more appealing to tourists. It is always a source of pride to have successfully swum through the tunnel to reach the beach.

 

The Mexican military is said to have used Marieta Island as a target practice training site in the early 1900s. Several bombing exercises were carried out on the island, which was never inhabited by humans, only wildlife. The bombing activities also gave birth to the hidden beach because they created a large circular crater, and the beach was discovered within the created crater over time.

 

The discovery of the beach resulted in a surge of tourists to the area. As the number of visitors to the site increased, so did the amount of pollution caused by human activities. These activities polluted the natural species that live on the beach and jeopardized the tranquility of the Marieta Island environment.

 

By the late 1960s, several efforts had been made to return the island to its natural state and to prevent further harm to the island and its natural species, including the hidden beach. Jacques Cousteau, a scientist and marine conservative, was one of the experts who advocated for the island’s preservation and protection in its natural state.

 

The island became a National Park, Parque Nacional Islas Marietas, in 2005, and a UNESCO MAB (Man and Biosphere) Reserve in 2008. This status also ensures that the scientific relationship between people and the environment on the island is strengthened.

 

Human activities on the beach continued to grow, and by May 2016, the beach was seeing as many as 2, 500 visitors per day. This also means that the protective measures put in place were violated by some as a result of bad tourism, which resulted in the beach being temporarily closed by the officials in charge.

 

To reopen the beach, stricter rules were imposed, which included the following:

 

–      Visitors are not permitted to swim with fins.

–      Only oxybenzone and octinoxate-free screens are permitted.

–      Scuba diving is not permitted.

–      Only about 117 people are permitted on the beach per day, as opposed to 2,500 previously.

–      On certain days of the week, the beach is allowed to be free of human activity.

–      Only five operators are assigned to transport visitors to the island; this act is intended to reduce the number of visitors to the island even further.

–      Interested travelers are expected to book their trip to the Island well in advance.

–      Everyone, including experienced swimmers, is required to wear a life jacket and helmet while swimming through the tunnel to the beach.

 

With all of the above rules in place, the Beach reopened to visitors on August 31, 2016, and remains open to this day, though there has been further improvement in the relationship between humans and the Island environment, which is improving over time.

 

 

Sources 

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/marieta-islands-mexico/index.html

 

Alison Learner Spotlight: Nwachukwu Chibuike

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Alison Learner Spotlight: Nwachukwu Chibuike

Online learning has quickly been adopted as the preferred method of learning for many individuals. A wide range of courses, flexibility, opportunities to advance your career, and discover new hobbies or subjects. These are just a few of the reasons why online learning is gaining popularity. This month, we’re shining our Alison Learner Spotlight on Nwachukwu Chibuike from Nigeria, who has completed over 100 courses on Alison. This is his story.

What is your current role?

I do multiple jobs. First, I am a writer, public speaker, a peer educators trainer and finally a pharmacy technician through Alison’s super platform.

How did you find out about Alison?

I found out about Alison through Google search surfing through the internet to find free online courses.

What made you choose to study with Alison?

Alisons courses are rich in content and free.

What courses did you do?

I did a lot of courses in Alison. To date I have done 103 diploma and certificate courses with Alison. 

Actually,  one of the first courses I did was a certificate  course in Advanced Analytical Chemistry, Diploma in High School Chemistry, Diploma in Applied Chemistry, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, CPR, Diploma in Biology,  Diploma in Mathematics, Diploma in International Convention and Maritime Law, Diploma in Modern Human Resources Management etc.

How much time per week did you spend studying?

Three hours. Sometimes four hours.

How did the courses you completed prepare and help you in your career?

It equipped me to be multifunctional and to better adapt to changing times. I feel confident to face the future.

What skills or knowledge did you learn throughout the programme that you found most useful in your career?

I learnt how to dispense drugs, how to avoid medical and medication errors. I also learnt processes of how to compound drugs.

Did you experience any challenges while completing the course?

Yes. The challenges are internet failures,  low data bundle, power outages. Other times, the challenges are making time to read after work and other family challenges such as doing chores. It’s not really  easy, it is just determination and consistency. Again knowing what you want in life and being self motivated.

Are there any other courses you’d like to study through Alison?

Yes. Principles of Epidemiology and the Diploma in Dental Assistants.

What advice can you give to prospective Alison learners?

Alison provides support to those who lack funds to further their education through the traditional system. My advice  to them is to take Alison  courses seriously as the courses they get here are rich in information and current.

How do you stay motivated during studying?

Alison courses are highly engaging  and very easy to access.

Studying one degree, diploma or course is an achievement. Completing 103, with a desire to complete more is nothing short of inspirational.  Nwachukwu’s fierce determination, hunger for knowledge, passion for learning is something that we can all draw from. What better time to sign up for a few courses and add to your profile? With over 4000 courses available on Alison’s platform, you won’t run out of choices.

If you’d like to share your Alison success story with other students, comment below and who knows, we could shine our learner spotlight on you next.

 

4 Ways To Bounce Back If You’re Passed Over For a Promotion

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4 Ways To Bounce Back If You’re Passed Over For a Promotion
4 Ways To Bounce Back If You’re Passed Over For a Promotion

Finding out that you didn’t get a promotion that you spent time and energy preparing for can be a huge bummer. You might’ve been daydreaming about getting a bump in pay or envisioning all the exciting work you’d get to do with a more senior job title, only to find yourself back at the drawing board.  

So should you dust yourself off and try again or start looking for new jobs? It’s complicated, because everyone has different circumstances to consider after they’re passed over for a promotion. You should definitely talk to your manager, get some answers about why you weren’t promoted, and create a plan, explains Francesca Galbo, Codecademy Talent Director.

It might feel like a daunting conversation to have when your emotions are already raw, but it’s necessary: “Unless you ask and communicate, you will never get what you want,” Francesca says. Here’s an actionable plan that you can use to keep your head up and land that promotion the next time around.

Find out why

In the heat of the moment, it’s easy to feel defensive or jump to conclusions about why you didn’t get a promotion (or agonize over why someone else did). But you won’t know the actual reasoning until you have an honest conversation with your team leader.

You have every right to get feedback on why you weren’t promoted, Francesca says. Keep in mind that you typically need to meet at least 75% of the competencies at the level above your current role in order to get promoted, according to Asif Kumandan, Codecademy’s People Operations Business Partner.

Ask your manager to point out the gaps in your knowledge base: Are there specific programming languages or technical skills that you need to master in order to achieve those higher-level competencies? Is it a matter of honing your leadership skills or spending more time mentoring junior members of your team? Or do you need more experience collaborating with other teams within the organization?

Make a plan (and put it in writing)

Once you have a clear understanding of why you didn’t get the promotion you were vying for, it’s important to chart your path forward. Talk to your manager about the specific steps you need to take and determine a realistic timeframe based on your organization’s performance and compensation review cycle, Francesca says.

Set some SMART (stands for “specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound”) goals and objectives with your manager. If you’re not sure how to broach the subject again, Francesca suggests saying something like: “Can we discuss my potential trajectory and up-leveling if I’m able to accomplish these tasks in 3-6 months?”

Show tangible growth

Make sure to get your plan in writing. That way, you can reference it when it’s time to check in again, Francesca says. “As long as you have specific metrics down on paper, you can point to them and say, ‘Hey, remember when we had this discussion?’” she says.

In the meantime, keep a running list of your contributions and positive feedback you’ve received, so you have tangible points to use as you build a business case for your promotion. This could include everything from establishing a more efficient code review process for your team of devs, to learning a new framework, or becoming the go-to person for debugging code.

Think about what you want from your career

For some folks, getting passed over for a promotion might be the push you need to start exploring opportunities at other organizations or planning a career change. Rather than having a knee-jerk response, take time to reflect on the feedback you’re given, what you want in your career, and whether there’s room for you to grow at your current organization.

Francesca’s advice is to run towards a new job, rather than away from the one you already have. “You shouldn’t be immediately fleeing just because the performance review cycle didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to,” she says. “You have to at least try to have a conversation first before you decide, Okay, this is no longer serving me.”

Feeling motivated to learn something new or add another language to your tech stack? Check out this list of most popular programming languages to learn in 2022, or see what technical chops you need to land in-demand tech positions. Whether you want to learn the fundamentals of UI/UX or need to take your Python skills to the next level, our course catalog has something that will help you achieve the competencies you need for a promotion.

For more job-search tips from tech recruiters, practice projects for your portfolio, and advice for answering interview questions, be sure to visit our career center.

Catalog Home | Codecademy

If you’re not sure where to begin or what to learn next, this is a great place to start. Check out our top coding courses, Skill Paths, and Career Paths.

How Much Is a Cloud Computing Salary?

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How Much Is a Cloud Computing Salary?

Whether you use iCloud to store photos or you put your files into Google Drive, you’ve probably relied on cloud computing in one way or another. Cloud computing refers to storing and accessing data and programs on the internet, instead of on your computer or your computer’s hard drive.

When you think about how ubiquitous the cloud has become in our lives, it’s easy to see why companies hire cloud computing professionals, specifically, to help them efficiently share information and accomplish tasks by accessing information from anywhere.

To that end, salaries for cloud computing professionals tend to be relatively high. ZipRecruiter estimates that the average annual cloud computing salary in the U.S. is around $119,779. Of course, your individual pay can vary. Let’s take a look at the range you might expect to make in the cloud computing field, based on a few variables.

Factors that affect a cloud computing salary

As with any other job, there are a few factors that play into your salary. For starters, the more professional experience you have in the field, the higher pay you can expect. Plus, specific job titles can come with accompanying salary expectations (more on that below).

Educational background can also play a part. You might generally be able to get a higher salary for your first job if you have a bachelor’s degree in cloud computing. That said, a specialized college degree is certainly not a prerequisite, and there are many paths to becoming a cloud computing professional.

For example, online courses can give you the foundational skills you need to get in the door. A big part of cloud computing is being familiar with database work, something that SQL can help you with. Learning other relevant programming languages, like Java and Python, can also give you an edge. Or, you can start by taking our 1-hour beginner-friendly Foundations of Cloud Computing course to get an overview of the field and go from there.

Cloud computing jobs are highly technical, and the task of constantly keeping everything running online can be a feat. The more you know about the infrastructure of the cloud, the more high-level tasks you will be able to perform, which can lead to a higher salary. So staying current and adding new skills to your tool belt can also boost salary prospects.

Cloud computing careers

The cloud computing world is fairly vast, which means that there are lots of opportunities to break into the field. Of course, that means that each role has its own salary range. Keep in mind that salaries often vary from company to company, so there’s no one-size-fits-all in cloud computing. But knowing the average pay for a job title can help you negotiate a salary that feels fair. Here are some roles within cloud computing and the accompanying average pay:

Computer and Information Systems Manager

A Computer and Information Systems Manager is responsible for analyzing a company’s computer needs and making recommendations based on this information. In this role, you’ll help plan, coordinate, and direct cloud systems and recommend the best services. According to Zippia, the average salary for this position is $114,028 a year.

Computer Network Architect

A Computer Network Architect, also referred to as a Cloud Architect, is responsible for designing and building data communication networks, like local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and Intranets. In addition to knowing the foundations of cloud computing, it’s also helpful to know some cybersecurity basics, which you can learn in our Introduction to Cybersecurity course. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that an average annual salary for this position is $120,520.

Computer Systems Analyst

A Computer Systems Analyst studies an organization’s computer systems (including cloud systems) and designs ways to improve their efficiency. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for this position is $103,630 annually.

Cloud Administrator

A solid background in cloud computing is essential for Cloud Administrators, who maintain the functionality of cloud systems. In this role, they tackle transitioning locally hosted infrastructure to the cloud, and customize cloud environments to meet a company’s needs. Glassdoor reports that Cloud Administrators have an average annual salary of about $88,649.

Cloud Engineer

A Cloud Engineer is a Software Engineer who specializes in cloud software, and is responsible for overseeing cloud migration and maintaining the new cloud system. The average salary in the United States, according to Indeed, is $121,118, but can depend on experience and location. As with all software engineering roles, having a large knowledge base of programming languages in your toolkit can boost salary prospects.

Cloud Consultant

A Cloud Consultant helps a company identify and act on their potential cloud needs. Indeed reports that a Cloud Consultant salary is an average of $124,074 per year.

Jump-start your cloud computing career

If all this sounds interesting to you, let’s take a look at some ways you can start your career in cloud computing.

Learn about cloud computing

Like we’ve said, a bachelor’s degree in cloud computing can establish your foundation in this field. But if you aren’t able to access a degree right away — or even if you already have a different degree — you can close the gap with online courses. We have a catalog of courses on networks and cybersecurity, web development, and cloud applications that can help you build your background. Check out all of our cloud computing courses here.

Consider cloud computing certifications

Once you’ve established your foundational programming and cloud computing knowledge, certifications enable you to specialize in particular aspects of the field. Some companies can also have specific certification programs that teach you the technologies and systems they use. For example, MongoDB, AWS, and Azure all offer certifications that can help you specialize in a specific kind of cloud computing. So if you want to work at a particular company, research their requirements and any programs they may offer.

Gain experience

When you’re comfortable with your knowledge base, you can start applying it to real-world examples. If you are new to cloud computing, consider signing up with a cloud server to get some practice. This will give you a chance to try out practical applications of your skills. If you’re already working in IT in a different part of the industry, it might help to take on more cloud-based projects to improve your existing skills while developing new ones.

Create a portfolio

A portfolio is a great way to show all the projects you’ve worked on, and you’ll specifically want to include any cloud-based ones you’ve worked on. You can create a website that includes a bio (here are some tips for writing a bio) and contact info, as well as samples of your previous work.

Gather references

When you’re applying for jobs, you’ll most likely be asked for your references. These can include past or current employers, freelance clients, or course instructors if you have recently earned a degree or become certified.

Network with others in your field

Networking is crucial, whether you are actively searching for a job or simply exploring opportunities. If you want to meet other professionals or network with specific companies that interest you, you can go to conferences and events that focus on cloud computing. You could also join the Codecademy community on our Forums or Discord to chat about cloud-related topics and meet other people interested in the field.

Learning the cloud

Cloud computing is a growing field with a range of sought-after roles. The more you learn, the better informed you are to pick a path that’s right for you.

If you’re looking to take the first steps toward a cloud computing career, take a look at our cloud computing courses, complete with the programming languages you’ll need to know to get started. It can feel daunting to kickstart a new career path, but we’re here to support you on your journey with thorough courses that will get you job-ready and a supportive community of fellow learners to cheer you on along the way.

Summer Reading Contest Winner Week 5: On ‘One Small Step for Democracy in a “Live Free or Die” Town’

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Summer Reading Contest Winner Week 5: On ‘One Small Step for Democracy in a “Live Free or Die” Town’

Daniel Wei, 15, from Marvin Ridge High School in Waxhaw, N.C., chose an article from the U.S. News section headlined “One Small Step for Democracy in a ‘Live Free or Die’ Town” and wrote:

What happened in Croydon, N.H., is happening all over America — people are realizing how little their voices matter. My civic literacy teacher has always urged us to get involved, to encourage our parents to vote, to actively support issues on social media and, eventually, to vote ourselves.

Many of my classmates, however, do not care about politics — but the parallels to Croydon reveal the perils of this approach. Croydonites passively allowed an outspoken political minority to make all decisions for them, leading to a halving of their school’s budget and the slashing of extracurricular activities. Today, we are seeing similar trends unfold on a national scale.

Take the recent Supreme Court decision to curb the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to check emissions for power plants, which goes against the wishes of 80 percent of Pew-surveyed Americans. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that one of the most conservative courts in American history would make a decision pandering only to its billionaire stakeholders rather than considering ordinary citizens.

So, how can we galvanize ourselves to rectify this mistake? Protesting could work, but it may not be enough. Instead, we must emulate the people of Croydon — who, through targeted community activism and patient participation in local government, were able to reverse their school’s budget cuts.

This E.P.A. ruling must be next on our list.

In alphabetical order by the writer’s first name.

Audric Adonteng on “Navigating Fatherhood as a Black Man”

Changrong Qu on “Even the Cactus May Not Be Safe From Climate Change”

Charlotte on “Suspect Is Arrested in Ohio After Rape of 10-Year-Old Girl”

Jonathan on “‘Totally Inhumane’: Child Separations Feed Anger in a Locked-Down Shanghai”

Ryan on “Kendrick Lamar, Mortal Icon”

Annie Liu on “Family Recipes Etched in Stone. Gravestone, That Is.”

Ayliz on “Haleh Afshar, Who Fought for Rights of Muslim Women, Dies at 77”

Employee to Employer – Transferable Skills For Success

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Employee to Employer – Transferable Skills For Success

Leaving a stable environment to open a business requires faith, time, money, energy, and investment to become successful. But you’ve done the research. You’ve studied the market. Put together a viable business plan and have secured funding. Now the time has come for you to make the leap from being an employee to an employer. Thankfully, there are lessons, skills, and experience you gained as an employee that you will be able to utilize as an employer. Below, we discuss going from employee to employer and the top transferable skills for your success.

Employee vs Employer

It’s important to understand how you have switched roles and the responsibilities that come with each position. The relationship between an employee and employer is a transactional one.

The Employee

As an employee, you work under a contract to render a service and perform tasks and services for the employer. There are pros to being an employee:

  • Guaranteed income
  • Set working hours
  • Work-life balance

The Employer

Oversees these tasks and is the entity responsible for paying for these services. They also ensure that the business stays afloat. It has its perks:

  • Independence
  • Full creative freedom
  • Financial growth

However, when you run a business, it’s natural to want to do certain things yourself. But this is not always possible because others have skills you don’t possess, and your focus is on the management of the business, while you entrust them to run the operational side of things. Unless your business is a one-man-army, you need a team to help your business be all you envision it to be.

How to Make an Easy Transition From Employee to Employer

By now, you’ve been working for years and are comfortable as an employee. Life as an employer is different. The last thing you want to do is allow your experience as an employee to dictate how you will run your business and operate as an employer. It’s time to leave the employee mindset and adopt a business owner mindset.

Here are a few tips to help you make the transition:

The transition period will look different if you’re keeping your fulltime job and growing your business on the side. Alternatively, if you decide to go at being an employer full time, you’ll have to plan time and finances fully. Finding this balance is crucial to your success and not burning out before you’re fully into it. Whatever your approach, being fully organised and prepared are key.

As an employer, you’re no longer bound by the 8-4 working hours. You’re in charge of your own schedule. With it, comes a lot of freedom that need self-discipline and proper time management to ensure you get everything done. Luckily, as the employer, you can adjust your schedule to what suits you and meets your daily objectives.

You don’t have a manager or supervisor who assigns you tasks or projects as you would have as an employee. The ball is in your court to decide what needs to be done and when. Decide what’s important, what needs to be done, and the time needed to complete the task. Software tools and to-do lists are handy aids to ensure you are productive.

  • Shoulder the responsibility

The success or failure of your business falls on you as the owner and employer. This reality can be overwhelming if you aren’t psychologically prepared and aware of the responsibility of the position. When things go right, it’s a pat on the back for you. Equally, when things go wrong, it’s on your shoulders. Therefore, it’s essential to know your skills, strengths and be able to carry the differences that come with moving from employee to employer.

What Are Transferable Skills?

Transferable skills, also known as “portable skills,” are the abilities or expertise you have that can be utilised in any role or occupation. These skills are not limited to the workplace. They can be useful in different spheres of life like at school and in your social life.

Jobs have certain requirements and a skillset. You have hard skills, which are easy to quantify. There are also soft skills, which aren’t as quantifiable but are often more important in certain roles than hard skills.

Why Transferable Skills Are Important

Digital technology and automation are the driving forces changing the job market and the ever-growing demand for transferable skills. In the past, people stayed with their employer for long stretches or until retirement. That landscape has changed, and people are changing jobs more often and many others, leaving jobs to start their own businesses.

This breeds a need for continuous learning and skills development and knowledge to not only keep up but stay ahead of the game as an employer. Going from employee to business demands this learning and constant refreshing of skills to succeed.

Top 7 Skills You Need To Succeed

  • Communication
  • Creativity and innovation
  • Problem-solving
  • Teamwork and collaboration
  • Critical thinking
  • Organisation and time management
  • Leadership

Knowing your transferable skills is not just important as an employee, but more so as an employer. As an employer, you not only know what yours are, you also know which to look for in your future employees. Skills that would enrich your company.

How Do I Find My Transferable Skills?

You’ve seen the list of the top critical and transferable skills. But you’re not quite sure if you have any of these nor your strengths and weaker areas for them. Alison has a comprehensive tool that can help you identify your skills and propose free courses on our platform that will develop and enhance these skills.

Employee or an employer, each role has its pros and cons. They require different skills, but when you’re the employer, there’s an extra level of responsibility that is on you to ensure your success. Set yourself for the win by listening to others, taking advice, appreciating the lessons, and continually working on your transferable skills. 

How to Become a Freelance Game Developer

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How to Become a Freelance Game Developer

If you’re thinking about getting into game development, there are different paths you can take — you can try to find a full-time game development role or go freelance. While full-time employment certainly has its benefits, being a Freelance Game Developer can offer flexibilities like setting your own hours, or working fully remotely.

That being said, there are nuances to being a Game Developer and being a Freelance Game Developer, specifically. Let’s take a look at what Game Developers do, the qualifications you’ll need in order to be one, and dive into how to build a career as a Freelance Game Developer.

What do Game Developers do?

Game Developers create concepts and designs for computer and video games played on mobile phones, tablets, desktop computers, and gaming consoles. They may also be involved in the technical side of development, which means they code and program the game as well as test and maintain it.

Developers also need to pay attention to things that fall outside of technical and computing areas, like the mood or feel of the game, the sound effects, who the target audience is, how the game could be marketed, and the artistic look of the characters and environments of the game.

What qualifications do Game Developers need?

The essential qualification of game development is programming. So while you don’t necessarily need a degree to be a Game Developer, you can’t be one unless you are proficient in programming. You’ll need to be familiar with the languages most frequently used to code games, including C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, and HTML5.

Beyond these languages, a Game Developer should have math and physics knowledge to translate their ideas into the game’s experiences. Developers should know how to document their work and communicate with supervisors or teams about the game or their ideas. They should also be versed in gaming engines like Unity and Unreal, which are the frameworks used to build games.

There are a few ways to earn experience as a game developer. You could build your own games and put them into a portfolio to show potential employers — here are some tips for how to create a Game Developer portfolio. You could also gain experience with internships or game-tester roles at a gaming company to get a foot in the door.

Freelance vs. full-time

Generally, there are basic differences between working full-time for a single employer and freelancing for multiple companies or clients for any kind of computing or technology development. The first obvious difference is that Game Developers who work for a single company full-time are solely focused on that company’s product(s). Freelance Game Developers, on the other hand, work on projects independently and likely balance a mix of companies and products over time.

Those who work full-time for a company benefit from a consistent stream of work, which can make them experts in a specific kind of programming for a specific purpose. Freelancers may need to learn new practices, programming, and ways of working, depending on the requirements of the jobs or projects they are given.

Full-time roles generally offer more stability, and if you want to eventually be a freelancer, starting in a full-time role can enable you to get experience, build up a portfolio of work, and gain contacts — all of which make it easier to start freelancing.

Freelancing, on the other hand, has some great perks, like more flexibility and more autonomy in the projects you take on. If you’re the type of person who likes to work on a variety of projects, rather than focusing on just one, freelancing is a good way to diversify your day-to-day. Not to mention, if you’re looking for a full-time job and haven’t gotten one yet, freelance or part-time work may be an opportunity to showcase your skills and pay the bills in the meantime.

How to find work as a Freelance Game Developer

Without a track record, trying to find game development work can be very challenging, Dim Bulb Games founder Johnnemann Nordhagen told Forbes in a 2019 interview. Veteran developers most likely can land work based on their reputation, their portfolio, and their contacts, while developers who are newer to freelance game development might find it useful to browse project boards like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com.

Either way, Freelance Game Developers also need to think about how they are, in effect, operating as a one-person business, so they must also take on sales and finance functions. This means selling clients on their ability to complete projects, administering their income tax, determining how much to charge clients, and setting and enforcing boundaries and contracts with clients concerning payment terms and delivery milestones.

It’s also important to note that a Freelance Game Developer is different than an Independent Game Developer, as game designer David Fried noted to Quora in 2016. A Freelance Developer is working for others, while an independent might just be one person, but they have creative control over whatever projects they do — and a stake in their success or failure. Fried adds that Freelance Game Developers should be prepared for lean times and try to save funds from their earnings to cover these times.

Enhancing your qualifications

A formal college education or degree is not necessarily the key to unlocking a career as a game developer, but targeted courses can definitely give you a leg up. You can get started with our beginner-friendly Skill Path training on how to create video games using Phaser.js, which includes aspects of animation, JavaScript, manipulating sprites, audio effects, and game physics. We also offer courses with certificates in these programming languages related to game development:

These courses will help you show credentials and pick up the knowledge and skills you’ll need as a Game Developer. For example, Caio Aguiar shared in the Codecademy forums that a C# course helped them get unstuck while working on a freelance project as a developer.

A freelancer’s insight

At the end of the day, working as a Freelance Game Developer hinges on your ability to bring in a steady stream of work. Be open to the range of the places you can find freelance work, from freelance job boards to social media.

One way to increase your chances of landing clients and projects? Put yourself in a client’s shoes before reaching out or pitching yourself. As Ehfaz Rezwan, a coder with nine years of experience, shared on our forum: “Most people applying to projects on sites [sites like Upwork and Fiverr] will do so by copy/pasting an existing cover letter. What I do instead is research on what the client wants. I’ll take an average of 3 days to write up a detailed proposal, highlighting intricately EXACTLY what I plan to deliver.”

Moral of the story? When you’re a Freelance Game Developer, it’s not just about your tech skills — you need to prepare to write proposals and sell yourself on a regular basis. So sending a generic, existing cover letter or application for a project doesn’t show what you can do or how you, specifically, would do it. In addition to proactively applying to projects, it’s also a good idea to have a professional website, complete with a programmer bio that explains your particular approach to and passion for the work. This can legitimize you to prospective clients and set you apart from your competition.

Want to get started on your path to becoming a Freelance Game Developer? Check out our catalog of Game Development courses and start building your skills.

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