5 Popular DevOps Certifications in 2025

DevOps combines the efforts of development (dev) and operations (ops) teams to create software that runs faster, more efficiently, and with greater security. A DevOps certification could enhance your resume, boost your salary potential, validate your expertise in development cycles, and provide hands-on experience to prepare you for more advanced DevOps positions. In this article, we'll cover five popular DevOps certifications to consider and the potential benefits of getting certified. 

If you're ready to start earning a DevOps certification from an industry leader now, consider enrolling to earn the IBM Applied DevOps Engineering Professional Certificate. Designed for those who are already proficient in a programming language, this intermediate-level program takes your DevOps expertise to the next level with skill-building in areas like cloud computing, CI/CD, and sprint planning.

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IBM Applied DevOps Engineering

Advance your career to high demand field of DevOps. Build on your software development skills with the latest DevOps concepts, tools, and technologies to get job ready in less than 3 months.

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Average time: 3 month(s)

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Skills you'll build:

Representational State Transfer (REST), Cloud Applications, Openshift, Microservices, serverless, Software Testing, Test-Driven Development, Behavior-Driven Development, Test Case, Automated Testing, CI/CD, agile, Devops, TDD/BDD, Cloud Native, Continuous Integration, Continuous Development, Infrastructure As Code, Automation, Observability, Telemetry, Monitoring, logging, Tracing, Docker, Kubernetes, Containers, Kanban, Zenhub, Scrum Methodology, Agile Software Development, Sprint Planning, Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), security, Cloud Computing

5 In-demand DevOps certifications

You'll find numerous DevOps certifications on the market, and the best for you will depend on your industry, current market trends, and experience level. Here are five respected and commonly requested DevOps certifications from employers:

1. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional Certificate

This certification from Amazon Web Services shows employers you can test and deploy AWS applications and infrastructure. It also validates your expertise in cloud platforms in general, including implementing and automating compliance validation, governance processes, and security controls. 

AWS is considered the leading cloud computing platform. AWS certification is one of the most in-demand credentials, with Indeed advertising over 3,000 AWS DevOps engineer jobs in the United States in February 2025.    

Who it's for: DevOps engineers who work with cloud technology, especially in an Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment

Recommended experience: Two or more years working in AWS environments and the ability to code in a high-level programming language

Start building DevOps skills and methodologies with the AWS professional certificate:

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DevOps on AWS

Launch your career in DevOps. Master DevOps methodologies and AWS services to deliver faster and more reliable updates to your customers

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Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, Microservices, Monitoring and Logging, Devops, AWS Identity and Access Management, Networking on AWS, Cloud Computing, AWS Management Console, aws security, aws, CI/CD, Test Automation, AWS cloud

2. Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

Kubernetes is a popular container-based open-source platform used to manage workloads and services. Earning CKA certification demonstrates you can manage and configure production-grade Kubernetes clusters and perform a basic installation. You'll be tested on your skills in Kubernetes troubleshooting; cluster architecture, installation, and configuration; services and networking; workloads and scheduling; and storage.

Who it's for: IT professionals who manage Kubernetes instances, including Kubernetes administrators and cloud administrators

Recommended experience: Foundational understanding of Kubernetes 

Need to build foundational Kubernetes knowledge? Consider setting aside 12 hours to complete this Kubernetes crash course for beginners:

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Kubernetes for the Absolute Beginners with Hands-on Labs

Why You Need To Learn Kubernetes? Learning Kubernetes is essential for any DevOps professional. DevOps engineers are always in demand. The average Silicon ...

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3. Docker Certified Associate (DCA)

Docker is a tool that simplifies the development and deployment of software and programming projects using containers. It's considered one of the leading container runtime platforms, so having Docker certification is advantageous. 

It will validate your skills with Docker and containers in general, including orchestration; image creation, management, and registry; installation and configuration; networking; security; and storage and volumes.

Who it's for: DevOps engineers, software engineers, and others who work with Docker

Recommended experience: Six to 12 months using Docker and a good understanding of Linux

4. Puppet Certified Professional

DevOps professionals use Puppet to automate processes to deliver infrastructure changes more quickly and create better software. Puppet software is a system management tool that helps automate and manage server configuration. 

Passing the Puppet Certified Professional exam validates that you can use Puppet IT automation software as it tests both your technical skills and real-world experience. You'll be expected to understand and use concepts related to classification strategies, troubleshooting Puppet code, module authoring, orchestration and tasks, environments, administration, language, and concepts.

Who it's for: DevOps engineers and IT professionals

Recommended experience: Foundational understanding and use of Puppet

5. Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert

Formerly called Azure DevOps Engineer Expert, this certification demonstrates your expertise in DevOps processes, specifically "working with people, processes, and technologies to continuously deliver business value" [1]. 

Some of your skills that will be assessed include developing instrumentation strategies, site reliability engineering strategies, and security and compliance plans. You'll also show your skill level for managing source control, facilitating communication and collaboration, and implementing continuous integration and management strategies.

Who it's for: DevOps engineers

Recommended experience: Expert in Azure administration or development and familiarity with both. Either Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate or Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate Certification required as a prerequisite.

Read more: Microsoft Certification Path Guide: How to Create a Roadmap

How to choose a DevOps certification 

Choosing a DevOps certification depends on your career goals, background knowledge, and personal interests. DevOps certifications come from several sources, including Red Hat, HashiCorp, DevOps Institute, MIT, Linux, Jenkins, and more.

Automation is a huge part of DevOps, and many of these certifications deal with the knowledge of cloud concepts, configuration management, and networking. Deciding which certification to explore all depends on where in the development cycle you prefer and what systems you are familiar with. 

Benefits of getting DevOps certified

As a current or aspiring DevOps professional, you might choose to pursue certification for many reasons. Here are a few to consider:

• Potential salary increase: With DevOps skills and expertise increasingly in demand over the past few years, getting certified in many DevOps architectures is a valuable way to supplement your resume. 

• Recognition: When you achieve your DevOps certification, you demonstrate expert knowledge in DevOps and understand the processes of producing code, managing versions, testing, integration, and deployment. Your certification could lead to opportunities for you to stand out and take on more advanced leadership roles within your company. 

• Develop skills: If you’re a developer, engineer, or working with the deployment team, strong DevOps skills can give you a better understanding of all stages of deployment and working to deploy software as a cohesive unit rather than siloed teams. 

• New career path: DevOps is widely considered the future of software development. Make yourself more marketable and valuable in the market and adjust to current trends in development with a certification in DevOps. 

Read more: DevOps Career Path: Your 2025 Career Guide

Job outlook and salary range for DevOps career pathway 

The average pay for a DevOps engineer in the United States is $142,000 and salaries range from $118,000 to $175,000 [2]. Demand is high for DevOps engineers. Given the rise of AIOps (artificial intelligence operations) and MLOps (machine learning operations), the demand for DevOps professionals is expected to continue growing over time.

Read more: DevOps Engineer Salary 2025: How Much Can You Make?

Take the next step in your DevOps career with Coursera 

Completely new to DevOps? With the IBM DevOps and Software Engineering Professional Certificate, you'll gain experience with Agile and Scrum methodologies as you learn to build and deploy applications using containers and serverless technologies. It's suitable for beginners and can be completed in as little as six months.

Looking to advance your existing DevOps expertise? You can learn to create and execute sprint plans as well as build applications using in-demand cloud computing technology and CI/CD tools in as little as three months with IBM's Applied DevOps Engineering Professional Certificate program.

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IBM DevOps and Software Engineering

Launch your DevOps and Software Engineering Career. Master DevOps, Agile, Scrum, CI/CD and Cloud Native with hands-on job-ready skills.

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Software Engineering, Python Programming, Application development, Web Application, Flask, Artificial Intelligence (AI), CI/CD, Continuous Integration, Continuous Development, Infrastructure As Code, Automation, Software Testing, Test-Driven Development, Behavior-Driven Development, Test Case, Automated Testing, Kanban, Zenhub, Scrum Methodology, Agile Software Development, Sprint Planning, Software Architecture, Agile and Scrum, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Openshift, Docker, Kubernetes, Containers, Cloud Native, agile, Devops, TDD/BDD, Observability, Telemetry, Monitoring, logging, Tracing, Representational State Transfer (REST), Cloud Applications, Microservices, serverless, Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), security, Cloud Computing, Hybrid Multicloud, Iaas PaaS Saas, Data Science, Data Analysis, Numpy, Pandas, Distributed Version Control Systems (DVCS), Git (Software), Github, open source, Cloning and forking, Shell Script, Bash (Unix Shell), Extract Transform and Load (ETL), Linux, Linux Commands

professional certificate

IBM Applied DevOps Engineering

Advance your career to high demand field of DevOps. Build on your software development skills with the latest DevOps concepts, tools, and technologies to get job ready in less than 3 months.

4.8

(511 ratings)

9,662 already enrolled

Intermediate level

Learn More

Average time: 3 month(s)

Learn at your own pace

Skills you'll build:

Representational State Transfer (REST), Cloud Applications, Openshift, Microservices, serverless, Software Testing, Test-Driven Development, Behavior-Driven Development, Test Case, Automated Testing, CI/CD, agile, Devops, TDD/BDD, Cloud Native, Continuous Integration, Continuous Development, Infrastructure As Code, Automation, Observability, Telemetry, Monitoring, logging, Tracing, Docker, Kubernetes, Containers, Kanban, Zenhub, Scrum Methodology, Agile Software Development, Sprint Planning, Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), security, Cloud Computing