I'm a Cloud Engineer. I design and build the cloud infrastructure my company runs on, from deployments and networking to security and scaling. I started on a help desk, so engineering the very systems I once only supported feels like a real arrival for me. I get to build things that matter rather than just keep the lights on. It's challenging, modern work that I genuinely enjoy doing every day.
I have a computer science degree, but I actually started my career on a help desk resetting passwords. My degree gave me strong fundamentals, but it didn't teach me modern cloud platforms or hands-on deployment at all. I'd watch the cloud team build the future while I handled basic tickets, and the contrast stung a little. That gap between my education and the work I wanted is what motivated me. I knew I had the foundation, but I needed the practical skills to match.
I wanted to build systems, not just support them from the outside. The cloud was very clearly where my company and the whole industry were heading, and I wanted to be part of it. My CS background gave me the theory, but I needed the practical cloud skills to actually compete for those roles. The pull toward engineering was honestly impossible to resist. I didn't want to spend my career on the sidelines of something this important.
CertLabz gave me the hands-on cloud practice my degree completely lacked. The cloud labs let me deploy and manage real resources rather than just read about them in the abstract. SkillTracker focused my study squarely on the gaps, and the performance-based questions rehearsed realistic tasks I'd face on the job. It turned my academic foundation into genuinely job-ready capability. The theory I already had finally had something practical to attach to.
"My degree gave me the why, and CertLabz gave me the how. Together they made me a credible engineer."
Lainey Fitzgerald, Cloud EngineerMy degree gave me the why behind everything, and CertLabz gave me the how. Together they made me a credible engineer rather than just a graduate with potential.
For me the turning point was pairing my computer science degree with demonstrable cloud skills. Once I could show real, hands-on work, the help desk label finally stopped defining me to employers. That combination of degree and practical ability is exactly what landed my cloud engineering role. It proved I could do the work, not just understand it conceptually. The mix of theory and practice is what set me apart from other candidates.
What I valued most was finally putting my degree to work in a practical way. For a long time it felt like wasted potential sitting on a help desk. CertLabz gave that education a real outlet through hands-on building. I also appreciated how targeted the study was, so I wasn't relearning things I already knew. It respected the foundation I had and built on it efficiently.
A degree is a strong start, but the cloud rewards hands-on practice above almost everything else. Build and deploy real systems, because that experience is what truly sets you apart from other candidates. You don't always need one specific certification if you can clearly demonstrate genuine skill. Show what you can actually build, and the right role tends to follow. Pair your education with real practice and you'll be hard to ignore.
Next, I'm deepening my infrastructure-as-code skills and exploring multi-cloud environments. I'd love to grow into a cloud architect role and design systems from the ground up. My computer science background means I'm comfortable going as deep technically as I need to. I'm also enjoying being living proof to other help desk technicians that the cloud is genuinely reachable. The field moves fast, and I want to stay right at the front of it. There's always something new to build, and that is exactly what keeps me motivated.
