How to become a DevOps Engineer

Are you interested in becoming a DevOps Engineer? This guide will show you how to turn that desire into reality by discussing the DevOps career path including roles and responsibilities, education and certification, how much money you can make, and much more.

What is DevOps?

devops Is a software engineering methodology whose name comes from the combination of software development (dev) with operations (ops). By combining the work of development and operations teams, DevOps creates an environment of collaboration and shared responsibility that can help build higher-quality and more secure software faster.

Although it may sound similar, it is worth noting DevSecOps Not the same as DevOps. DevSecOps focuses on securing the software development process. It does this by integrating security from the beginning to the end of the software development life cycle. True to its name, DevSecOps combines the efforts of the Development (Dev), Security (Sec), and Operations (Ops) teams.

You can learn more about DevOps by reading our guide: What is DevOps? a cheat sheet.

DevOps Engineer Roles and Responsibilities

A DevOps Engineer is a managerial position that typically fulfills a number of roles and responsibilities, which may include:

• Maintaining an environment that fosters the development of high quality software.
• Carrying out tasks covering multiple areas of IT support and software development.
• Determining the status of the software by obtaining feedback from the developers.
• Troubleshoot and resolve software issues to keep projects on track.
• Creating scripts to test, deploy and debug software.
• Creating reusable code for use within the organization and managerial tools for use in software development projects through multiple scripting and programming languages ​​such as Python, JavaScript, C++, etc.
• Employing agile principles to quickly adopt changes in projects.
• Work with systems engineers, developers, and other professionals in the IT field to complete software projects.
• Ensuring that the network and computer systems are running smoothly.
• Assessing project requirements through software developer requirements.
• Motivating team members to meet project goals.

DevOps Engineer Salary: How much do DevOps Engineers earn?

According to Fact.com, the average base salary for a DevOps Engineer is $124,181. DevOps engineers earn approximately $81,000 on the low end and $189,000 on the high end, with an average cash bonus of $9,000 per year. The salary of a DevOps engineer is usually higher than that of IT professionals and software developers as they often handle the responsibilities associated with both.

In addition to education, experience, and company size, your DevOps salary can vary greatly by location. The city with the highest DevOps salary is San Francisco, California, with an average pay of $151,000 annually. Austin, Texas, meanwhile, has an average DevOps salary about $30,000 lower.

Fact.com found that 72 percent of DevOps engineers are satisfied with their pay. For this reason alone, DevOps careers are in high demand. Beyond that lucrative DevOps salary, engineers in this field receive many additional benefits including 401(k) matching, commuter assistance, health insurance, employee stock purchase plans, relocation assistance, tuition reimbursement, the ability to work from home, and more . perks.

DevOps Engineer Career Path

Notably, achieving a DevOps career as an engineer involves several steps, such as obtaining education and certification, acquiring and sharpening skills, and more. The DevOps career path you take may differ slightly from the following, but you can use these steps as a general outline to see how much work lies ahead:

• Find out what companies are looking for
• Get a suitable degree that translates to DevOps
• Learn DevOps skills and get DevOps certifications
• Build Your DevOps Engineer Resume
• Apply for DevOps Engineer positions and network

Find out what companies are looking for

Rather than jumping straight into education and certification, which will require a significant time and financial investment, you should first look at what companies are looking for in their ideal DevOps engineer candidates. Where can you find such information? By viewing online job postings for DevOps Engineer positions.

From those postings, you should be able to see the education requirements, as well as the skills and experience needed to land a lucrative position as a DevOps engineer. Be sure to research the various job postings and make a list of all the qualifications you are looking for, as they will likely differ from company to company.

Get a degree that translates to DevOps

Now that you know what is required of the ideal DevOps Engineer candidate, it’s time to take a big step towards pursuing a DevOps career by earning your degree. Employers often look for DevOps engineers with bachelor’s degrees in information technology, software design, or something similar. If you want to get specialized, you can aim to get a Bachelor of Science in one of the following:

• computer programming
• software development
• software engineering

Why get a degree in IT administration versus one of those fields? Because learning the nitty-gritty of building software can better prepare you for the challenges you’ll face as a DevOps engineer. In addition to knowing how to build software, having a knowledge of scripting can also be incredibly helpful, so keep that in mind when deciding which degree to get. And, when researching potential schools, try to choose one with a well-known degree program, as this can help you get an edge over the competition when you’re job hunting.

Get DevOps Skills & Certifications

Getting an education is just one part of the DevOps career path, as you’ll need the skills to match, as well as certification, to become a DevOps engineer. When viewing DevOps Engineer job postings, you’ll likely come across the following that are often required by employers:

• technical knowledge: As mentioned, scripting knowledge is often required in addition to a degree related to DevOps. To acquire this knowledge, learn languages ​​such as JavaScript, Ruby, and Python, learn how to work in a Linux environment or shell, use automation frameworks, and DevOps tools such as Chef, Puppet, or other configuration management tools.
• cross training: You can make yourself a more attractive DevOps engineer candidate by cross-training. For example, if you work as a software developer, you can use your programming skills to create tools to help you manage the development process. Or you can work on operations-based tasks with your company’s development team to prepare for a DevOps position.
• DevOps Certifications: You can give your DevOps Engineer a significant boost through certification. Examples of DevOps Engineer certification include Udacity Cloud DevOps Engineer Nanodegree Program, Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS), AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – ProfessionalAnd Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate,
• soft skills: Since DevOps engineers take on managerial roles, it is also essential to strengthen your soft skills, such as leadership, time management, and collaboration. Volunteering for team leadership roles in my current position and creating training materials for systems engineers and software developers are two ways to achieve this goal.

Reading: Jenkins vs GitLab: DevOps Software Comparison

Build Your DevOps Engineer Resume

DevOps Engineer is a high paying position with a lot of competition. Thus, you must ensure that your resume is well written and in the proper format to attract the attention of your prospective employer.

Since you’ve probably never written a DevOps engineer resume before, look for examples online that you can model. Pay special attention to the format and wording of the resume and copy them while preparing your resume.

The work experience section of your resume will be especially important for getting the job because this is where you can demonstrate the hard and soft skills employers look for in DevOps engineers.
If you have software development or operations experience, list responsibilities you’ve had that may be related to the DevOps workflow.

Since no two jobs are alike, you should adjust your resume according to the available positions. You want your resume to match the requirements listed in the DevOps Engineer job posting to make the employer’s decision easier. For example, if you had specific responsibilities or experience required in a previous job, list those that use similar words from the job posting. And, if specific training or certification is required, list those as well.

Don’t forget to proofread your resume for any errors, as something as simple as spelling mistakes can cost you the job.

Apply for DevOps Engineer Posts

Your education, experience, skills and certifications will all play a role in getting hired as a DevOps Engineer. With your resume proofread and ready to go, now is the time to apply for DevOps Engineer positions through online job postings, personal networks, and more. Once hired, don’t stop sharpening your skills and earning new certifications, as they can help you advance on the DevOps career path.

Final Thoughts on How to Become a DevOps Engineer

In this programming tutorial, we looked at the various roles and responsibilities of DevOps engineers, including maintaining the development environment and infrastructure, getting feedback from programmers about the state of the software, troubleshooting software issues, creating test scripts, and more. , Deploying and debugging software, and getting help. To assess project requirements in collaboration with developers and IT support staff.

We also learned about the difference between DevOps and DevSecOps, which was that DevOps focuses on development and operations, while DevSecOps aims its sites at development and operations as well, but includes security as well .

DevOps salary was another topic we covered in this tutorial, and we learned that on average, DevOps engineers earn $124,181 annually. Starting salaries for DevOps engineers start at $81,000 and the higher ranges land at $189,000. Bonuses also play a role in a DevOps engineer’s compensation, with an average annual bonus of $9,000.

Finally, we discussed some of the steps you can take to become a DevOps Engineer, including:

• Find out what companies are looking for
• Get a suitable degree that translates to DevOps
• Learn DevOps skills and get DevOps certifications
• Build Your DevOps Engineer Resume
• Apply for DevOps Engineer positions and network

Want to learn more about DevOps tools and software? Check out our product round-up of the best DevOps tools and solutions.