Your career is too important to be left solely to you. You need help, and a network of trusted peers can provide the cheat code for success. Tap into the power of the Cloud Crowd.

This market is moving too fast — with accelerating changes in technology, the economy and employers — for any individual to determine the best path forward. However, if experience is the best educator, what if you could access the cumulative experience of a virtual army of your colleagues?

What if you as a Cloud professional:

• knew exactly what you should be paid?

• could recognize the best (and worst) companies for your skills?

• understood the best certification for the next step in your career?

• had peers paving your way with mentoring and referrals?

• could future-proof your skills?

• worked for a company you loved?

Detailed answers to these questions exist, but don’t reside with any individual or web site. So stop asking your HR department, college friends or well-intended (yet naive) Mom. Instead, leverage the power of your professional peers by allying yourself with your “guild”.

The Modern Guild: The source of newfound power for today’s tech professional

What’s old is new again: Guilds are defined as an association of people for mutual aid or the pursuit of a common goal. These collectives existed in Assyria four thousand years ago and were prominent in the Roman Empire through the Middle Ages (think silversmiths or stonemasons).

Guilds are forming again in tech, with professionals focused on leading technologies like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow, Adobe, SAP and Oracle. The loyalty of these members to their peers and their craft — once properly activated — is far stronger than loyalty to any individual employer.

Why do guilds keep forming? For four key reasons:

1. Economics: Transparency on compensation and working conditions. Which firms pay best and have work policies (e.g., WFH) that fit best with you? As they say, “mileage may vary,” and in the Cloud world we’re finding salaries really vary.

2. Mentorship: What is state of the art, and how do you reach your full potential? Whether it’s determining what skills to develop, what certification to get next, or how to progress in your career, tapping into a network of peers can help you chart your path.

3. Job Placement: Democratized recruiting, where your peers know of every job available to you. Note that 70% of job openings are not posted publicly, and 85% of jobs are filled through networking. Your guild can act as your personal network of recruiters, ensuring you always know what’s available and find the best fit.

4. Community: Being a craftsperson in a village could be lonely–quite like being a technical specialist in a large company today. However, a guild provides a natural community of peers who understand your journey and can provide inspiration, camaraderie, and support.

Take our Survey and begin to tap into the Power of Your Guild

At TalentGenius we’re currently running a market survey for Cloud professionals. Please take a few minutes to provide your insight. Once you complete the survey, you will gain access to a detailed view on the questions above. Note we will not publish our findings or sell them to any third party, and results will be fully anonymized. In the true spirit of the guild, the results belong only to the members of the community who participate in the survey.

Our plan is to segment the results by AWS, Azure and GCP guilds, as well as by regions around the globe. Once we have statistically-valid samples, you should have detailed insight on the best (and worst) employers in the space, the value of specific certifications, and what you should be paid.