💡 Why it matters: Instead of buying their own servers, more banks, hospitals and startups now rent computing power over the internet. They need people who can set it up safely and cheaply.
🌍 Around the world
- Nigeria: More Nigerian banks and startups now rent computing power over the internet instead of buying their own servers.
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦2M – ₦5M
- Mid-career
- ₦6M – ₦14M
- Senior
- ₦14M – ₦32M
≈ ₦500k – ₦1.2M a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Closest National Careers Service profile: Solutions architect. Typical starter to experienced salary. National Careers Service, 2026
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Network and computer systems administrators. Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Set up servers and storage on cloud platforms like AWS, Azure or Google Cloud
- Keep services fast and available
- Control costs so companies do not overspend
- Protect data with strong access rules
- Help developers launch new products
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Networking basics
- Problem solving
- Scripting
- Planning
- Attention to detail
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Cloud certifications such as AWS Cloud Practitioner and Solutions Architect
- Growing from IT support or network roles
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Digital support technician or infrastructure apprenticeships
- Growing from IT support or network roles
🇺🇸 United States
- Starting in help desk or system administrator jobs
- Cloud certificates and a portfolio of practice projects
🇨🇦 Canada
- College co-op programs with paid placements
- Growing from IT support or network roles
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Learn how computers and the internet work
- 2Get a free cloud account and practise small projects
- 3Study a computing degree or take cloud certificates
- 4Join as a junior cloud or IT engineer
- 5Specialise in security, cost or large systems
⏰ A day in the life
A startup's app slows down when thousands of users log in at once. You add more computing power automatically, check the cost, and set up an alert that wakes you if it happens again.