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How to Get Started
as a DevOps Engineer

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DevOps engineers are essential to development processes in tech. They ensure that there are fewer software failures with products and shorten the time between fixes. These experts are the link between developers and IT staff. Do you want to pursue a career in DevOps engineering?

This guide will cover how to become a DevOps engineer. It will also highlight the roles of a DevOps engineer and the important skills and certifications you need to become an expert in the field. It will also highlight what to expect on the DevOps career path.

What Is a DevOps Engineer?

DevOps engineers are IT professionals with knowledge of operations and development. They work on infrastructure management, coding, systems administration, DevOps toolchains, and other crucial roles. These experts work across the company to promote a collaborative DevOps environment.

They also have a solid understanding of system architecture, administration, and provisioning. Also, DevOps engineers have development experience to enable them to work with source control. They are proficient at code review collection and Agile principles.

How Do DevOps Engineers Relate to Data Science?

DevOps engineers support data scientists as they create environments for data visualization and exploration. Data scientists explore data to find correlations and insights. Using different tools, they are also able to visualize data.

How Long Does It Take to Become a DevOps Engineer?

It can take around six months or less to learn both basic and advanced principles of DevOps, but the length of time depends on your learning method. You might be able to master the skills in less time if you attend a coding bootcamp.

It can take up to four years to become a DevOps engineer if you choose to get a degree first. You can get a degree in computer science or any related discipline. Also, you may need some extra training to master the DevOps process before getting a job in the field.

Where to Study DevOps Engineering

The best place to study DevOps engineering depends on your needs and choices. If you want to get a degree, then you need to decide if it will be a bachelor’s degree or an associate degree. You may also need to study computer science or other related disciplines. Another option is a coding bootcamp.

If you want a shorter program that gives you flexibility and is more affordable than a degree, then a coding bootcamp is your best bet. A bootcamp covers in-demand skills and offers hands-on knowledge to launch you into your tech career. Deciding between a degree and a bootcamp is tricky, but the right path depends on your resources and career goals.

DevOps Engineer Community Colleges

Community colleges offer DevOps training for people who want to pursue a career immediately upon graduation. The training teaches DevOps fundamentals and also includes guidance for how to use tools for deployment processes and configurations.

Students can earn an associate degree and may also learn about monitoring, testing, operations, security, and Google Cloud Platform features. Classes will cover scripting languages such as Linux and UNIX.

DevOps Engineer Universities

Universities offer DevOps training as well. Students in these four-year programs often explore different ranges of hardware and software and how to troubleshoot and operate small networks. The curriculum also involves the operation of routers, IP data networks, switching technologies, IP services, IP routing technologies, and basic troubleshooting.

A Bachelor’s Degree in Software Development can be good preparation for DevOps Engineer positions and will provide you with many of the necessary technical skills. Additionally, a four-year degree can provide you with career opportunities as many potential employers like seeing them on applicant resumes.

DevOps Engineer Coding Bootcamps

Coding bootcamps offer short training programs for people who want to pursue a career in DevOps engineering. A bootcamp program is short and offers hands-on training so students can build their portfolios while learning.

DevOps Engineer Online Courses

There are also online courses for DevOps engineering training if you wish to study on your own. You can enroll and learn about the design, maintenance, and deployment of the software development automation process. It also covers Agile creation and DevOps testing and security fundamentals.

Man sitting outside a building working on a laptop. How to Become a DevOps Engineer

How to Become a DevOps Engineer: A Step-by-Step Guide

There are so many ways to become a DevOps engineer. Some people are self-taught, while others attend a coding bootcamp to learn all they need to thrive in the field. However, some employers may require a bachelor’s degree. Follow this step-by-step guide to get started in DevOps engineering today.

Get a Bachelor’s Degree

The first step is to get a Bachelor’s Degree in Data Science, math, computer science, or electronics engineering. The degree will teach you all the essential skills needed to work in DevOps. Graduates can apply the skills to improve the business operations of various organizations.

Get a Master’s Degree

You can also get a master’s degree to increase your chances of getting hired, or if you wish to access upper-level jobs. This graduate degree can be in software development and it can teach you new skills to apply to the job.

Build your skills

Getting educated is the first step, but it also requires skill-building to thrive as a DevOps engineer. Employers prefer candidates that have both soft and hard skills. You need to develop organizational and interpersonal skills to be able to juggle responsibilities that come with the job.

Get certified

Certification is an important step because it serves as a portfolio for people without enough experience. It is not a requirement in most cases, but it can help to elevate you above other candidates.

Apply for jobs

With your knowledge and certification, you can begin to apply for entry-level roles. Build a resume that shows your education and skills, then search for open positions and job listings on reputable job sites.

Entry-Level DevOps Engineer Job Requirements

To get an entry-level role as a DevOps engineer, you may need to have a degree. Some employers require a STEM degree and others may even require a master’s degree in similar fields. However, not all employers require a degree. With coding bootcamp training, you can secure a job on a DevOps team.

DevOps Engineer Salary and Job Outlook

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, DevOps engineers earn a median salary of $110,140 per year. This job title is grouped with software developers and other similar fields. They also have a great job outlook. The employment of DevOps engineers and software developers is expected to grow by 22 percent from 2020 to 2020.

Example DevOps Engineer Job Interview Questions

  • Why is configuration management important in DevOps?
  • What is configuration management?
  • What are the different phases in DevOps?
  • Why do you need continuous integration?

What Does a DevOps Engineer Do?

DevOps engineers use several tools and methods to take care of different needs throughout the software development lifecycle. DevOps engineers also work with other IT developers to test functions and promote better coordination among development and operations teams.

They are also responsible for streamlining and automating the deployment and integration processes related to software. Read below to learn more about the main roles of a DevOps engineer.

Maintaining Cloud Infrastructure

DevOps engineers maintain cloud infrastructure. Cloud computing is developed on shared resource pools. DevOps engineers set up computing configurations efficiently and quickly to ensure the smooth running of the development process.

In large industries, cloud infrastructure includes virtual private clouds, security components, load balancers, and databases or data services. DevOps engineers maintain these services and come up with solutions to potential problems.

Monitoring

DevOps engineers also monitor the development process to reduce bugs and errors for customers. They also ensure high reliability for the production environment. These experts identify potential problems in the production cycle quickly and solve them.

To be able to anticipate these problems, they need to monitor the entire process of software development. Monitoring is crucial to ensure the development process goes smoothly. This is why people in DevOps roles need strong problem-solving skills.

Liaising Between Operations and Development Teams

DevOps engineers are responsible for bridging the gap between the IT operations and software development teams. The name is literally development and operations shortened into DevOps.
This is where the DevOps engineer comes in. The expert liaises between the two departments.

Essential DevOps Engineer Skills and Certifications

Essential DevOps Engineer Skills and Certifications

There are so many essential skills you need to thrive as a DevOps engineer. These skills help you to achieve your goals and maintain both operations and IT departments. They include both hard and soft skills. A great way of showing a potential employer you have mastered the necessary skills is by earning a certification.

DevOps Engineer Skills

Coding

Advanced programming language skills may not be essential for a DevOps engineering role. However, the skills are important because they only make things easier. It is ideal for a DevOps engineer to know programming languages like Java and Python as they are mostly used in enterprise environments.

Also, coding skills can save you and the organization time if you can analyze code, debug and fix deployment errors. It hastens the development process as well and makes DevOps tools easier to use.

Communication Skills

Communication skills come in handy as a DevOps engineer because they need to speak to internal management teams that are a part of the DevOps process. They keep them informed about roadmaps, objectives, and blocking issues. Aside from their colleagues, DevOps engineers need to communicate with customers.

This skill is critical because DevOps engineers need to be team players. They support members of both IT and operations teams and voice their concerns to upper management. They also mentor team members on better ways to deliver code as well as the tools to use while coding.

Collaboration Skills

DevOps engineers need collaboration skills. They need to be in constant communication with the QA team. They must also collaborate with other members of the team to ensure that the organization meets the goals for outcomes and release dates.

DevOps engineers determine the necessary steps towards optimization and deployment of company products. All of this is done to see if frameworks, QA activities, and tools can be reused for tasks in the future.

DevOps Engineer Certifications

DevOps engineers also need certifications to stand out in their field. Certifications aren’t compulsory but they can replace work experience in some cases during the hiring process. They also prove to employers that the candidate is qualified for the job.

This CKA program checks the knowledge, skills, and proficiency required for a Kubernetes administrator. It involves an online exam that consists of performance-based problems. Candidates need to solve these problems within three hours. It mainly demonstrates the candidate’s competence in a command line environment.

You also have the option of taking the AWS professional exam. It requires candidates to understand the methodologies and processes of operations and development. Also, candidates are required to have significant experience in building automated infrastructures and administering operating systems.

This is one of the most important Aure certifications. It validates the expertise and skills of DevOps professionals. The required candidates are ideally people who are already working as DevOps engineers and have experience with implementing and designing DevOps practices for building, releasing, testing, compliance, and infrastructure.

Reasons to Become a DevOps Engineer in 2022

DevOps is an interesting field because it gives you the best of both worlds. You can work on an operations team or an IT team. The role also lets you automate and integrate both operations and development processes. Organizations are tilting towards automation to maximize productivity.

This means that the experts will be in high demand. More IT firms are looking for professionals to fill these roles to improve workflow processes. The salary of DevOps engineers is another reason to consider this career path. They are mostly well paid regardless of the level of education or experience.

DevOps Engineer FAQ

What does a DevOps engineer do?

DevOps engineers introduce tools, processes, and methodologies to ensure that the software development cycle runs smoothly from coding to deployment. They also perform updates and maintenance and serve as the link between the operations team and the development team.

What skills does a DevOps engineer need?

There are a lot of important skills one must have to become a DevOps engineer. However, some are more important than others. For instance, DevOps engineers need communication skills to pass information to team members. They also need coding skills to excel in the role.

Do DevOps require coding?

Yes, coding is an important part of a DevOps career. The experts in this field need to handle some coding responsibilities. DevOps engineers do not specialize in one scripting language but learn the basics of JavaScript, Java, Python, Ruby, Bash, and PHP.

Are DevOps engineers in demand?

Yes, DevOps engineers are in high demand today as more employers opt to use computer systems to conduct business. The experts also earn a high average salary since they fulfill unique roles in organizations.

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