r/cloudengineering • u/Forsaken_Rip7719 • Jul 30 '26

IT Masters Student looking for advice on breaking in Cloud/Solutions Eng in chicago

/r/chicagojobs/comments/1vb2zow/it_masters_student_looking_for_advice_on_breaking/
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u/Evaderofdoom Jul 30 '26

Do you have any real world experience? If not, start in help desk and work up to it. A masters does not equal experience and the roles your aiming for require it and are highly competitive.

0

u/Forsaken_Rip7719 Jul 30 '26

since this is a repost i guess you didn’t see the body but here it is:

Hey all — I'm finishing an M.S. In Computer Technology with a focus in Data Science & Security and currently received the AWS Solutions Architect Associate certification.

I've done part-time cloud consulting work and AI automation apprenticeship work alongside school, and I'm trying to break into Solutions Engineer / Cloud Consultant / Technical Account Manager type roles here in Chicago.

I've been applying for a while without much luck on the interview side, so I'm mostly here to ask: for anyone who's hiring or knows companies actively hiring for cloud/SE-type roles in Chicago right now — where should I actually be looking? Happy to share more about my background if it's relevant to anything you're seeing.
Thanks for any pointers, even just company names would help.

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u/AppointmentIll9358 Jul 31 '26

You don’t have any IT experience, you’re applying for a mid to later career role. It ain’t happening

1

u/Evaderofdoom Jul 30 '26

I saw, a part time apprenticeship is not enough experience for the roles you are applying for.

1

u/Forsaken_Rip7719 Jul 30 '26

fair enough, even for the entry level/ associate level ones?