DevOps Career Path: Your 2025 Career Guide

Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on

Discover how to elevate your DevOps career path by pursuing entry-level roles and leveling up to management positions.

[Featured Image] Three members of a DevOps team look at a computer screen and discuss software development operations.

DevOps is a combination of software development and operations used to increase collaboration and teamwork among working professionals. Instead of keeping labor operations separate, under a DevOps model, all team members communicate and work together to achieve end goals and create high-quality systems and applications.

DevOps is a growing career field. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers has an expected growth rate of 17 percent between 2023 and 2033, much faster than the average of all jobs in the US [1].

Learn more about pursuing a career in DevOps, including the different paths you may take to grow in the field. 

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Who embarks on a DevOps career path?

Software developers and information technology (IT) professionals typically embark on a DevOps career path. You might be interested in a DevOps role if you're currently or thinking of becoming a:

  • Computer network architect

  • Computer hardware engineer

  • Computer technician

  • IT project manager

  • Programmer

  • System administrator

  • Quality assurance analyst

  • Cloud administrator

  • Cloud developer

  • Cloud architect

  • Software engineer

These are just a few roles that can be involved in DevOps. The process is typically utilized by companies containing programmers and developers to improve efficiency and promote collaboration among the workforce.

Getting started: Entry-level DevOps jobs.

To get an entry-level role in DevOps, you’ll typically need at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or engineering. You’ll also need skills in communication, collaboration, and code.

Discover examples of entry-level DevOps roles:

DevOps engineer

Average annual US salary: $109,723 [2]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in computer science or information technology

DevOps engineers help integrate different units within the same organization through collaborative methods. When you work as a DevOps engineer, your responsibilities may include improving software security, updating and maintaining software to ensure it functions correctly, and taking feedback from users and other team members to generate new ideas for software enhancement.

DevOps system administrator

Average annual US salary: $109,806 [3]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in engineering or computer science

As a system administrator, you must know programming languages like Python or JavaScript to perform your daily duties. Your routine tasks may include administering and troubleshooting application performance and cloud infrastructure. 

Leveling up: 4 career paths with DevOps

Once you gain experience in the field or within your particular career, you may advance to higher-paying DevOps jobs. These jobs typically pay more and require some experience or knowledge of working with DevOps:

Automation architect

Average annual US salary: $146,464 [4]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree

Automation architects help organizations promote efficiency through improved automation processes. As an automation architect, some of your responsibilities may include assuring the quality of automation within an organization, setting and reaching new goals, and continuously monitoring systems to find areas to improve upon.

Infrastructure automation engineer

Average annual US salary: $112,327 [5]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in computer science or information technology

As an infrastructure automation engineer, you determine an infrastructure’s requirements and capabilities before deploying new automation strategies and processes. Your other responsibilities and tasks may include making upgrades and improvements to infrastructure after testing its functionality.

Cloud infrastructure engineer

Average annual US salary: $132,907 [6]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related major

As a cloud infrastructure engineer, or a cloud engineer, your responsibilities typically involve creating and maintaining the performance of applications and networks. You may also troubleshoot any problems that arise, make necessary client adjustments, and continuously support users and companies that depend on your cloud-based application.

DevOps coach

Average annual US salary: $116,572 [7]

Requirements: DevOps coach certification

A DevOps coach helps customers, users, and other DevOps professionals understand DevOps processes and answer any questions they may have. In this career, you must have an advanced knowledge of DevOps and the ability to communicate and work well alongside others.

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Advanced roles and leadership in DevOps

After working your way up and having many years of professional experience, you may be eligible for an advanced or leadership role in DevOps: 

Senior DevOps engineer

Average annual US salary: $144,357 [8]

Requirements: Bachelor’s or master’s degree; professional experience

As a senior DevOps engineer, many of your responsibilities may match those of an entry-level or mid-level DevOps engineer. However, you have more experience and take on a leadership role within the company. You may help implement DevOps culture and new practices and work alongside other company leadership team members.

DevOps manager

Average annual US salary: $161,994 [9]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in business or a related major; professional experience

When you work as a DevOps manager, you act as a leader in developing organizational practices. You work with a team of others to ensure they meet deadlines, communicate effectively, and feel motivated. 

Pros and cons of a DevOps career

Embarking on a DevOps career may have its benefits and challenges. For example, many careers in DevOps require a formal degree, so if you choose this career path, you must commit to at least an undergraduate degree and the continuous learning that comes with advancement in the field.

The advantages of a career in DevOps include the high-paying roles, with salaries that continue to increase as you level up and grow as a working professional. DevOps is also becoming more widely used by companies. According to a 2022 survey by Statista, DevOps was the most used software development methodology practiced worldwide, as stated by 47 percent of the more than 4,000 respondents [10]. This may result in professionals gaining a sense of job security as this practice becomes increasingly popular.

Build your DevOps career on Coursera.

When you pursue a career in DevOps, you have many opportunities for continuing education and professional advancement. 

Begin your journey on a DevOps career path today by pursuing Professional Certificates and courses on Coursera. Consider Introduction to DevOps, a course offered by IBM that explores the foundations of software engineering. You may also explore Google Cloud’s Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Cloud DevOps Engineer Professional Certificate to gain DevOps techniques that you may apply toward earning a professional credential.

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Article sources

1

US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers: Job Outlook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm#tab-6.” Accessed February 25, 2025.

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Coursera Staff

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