How to Get Into DevOps

To get into DevOps, or development operations, you should have a background in coding and engineering and a bachelor’s degree or certifications to demonstrate your expertise. Once you’ve gained the necessary knowledge, you can use networking and a strong portfolio to seek a role. Fortunately, if you’re interested in this field, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects this general sector of the job market to grow by 17 percent from 2023 to 2033 [1], which likely means more job opportunities. Another positive aspect of this profession is the pay because DevOps engineers earn a median annual salary of $1109,743, according to Glassdoor [2].

DevOps plays a crucial role in business by enhancing efficiency, which is key to operational success. Maximizing the output of different departments can significantly improve customer satisfaction. One effective way to achieve this is by implementing DevOps, which integrates development and operations to meet goals more quickly and efficiently. Learn more about DevOps, what types of DevOps jobs are available, and how to develop the skills needed through education or DevOps certification. 

Understanding the DevOps landscape

DevOps is part of the Agile project management approach, which prioritizes flexibility and collaboration to ensure that professionals complete complex projects quickly. DevOps combines two departments—development and operations—into one joint team that handles software creation and application.

If you’re interested in software development, DevOps involves many different facets of this process, including practices, cultural philosophies, and tools that help DevOps professionals complete their tasks quickly.

Core principles

Understanding DevOps principles can help you have a stronger framework for decision-making. These principles include:

• Collaboration: At its foundation, DevOps involves the successful integration of development and operational teams. Working together ensures a faster turnaround time because configuration and testing occur simultaneously.

• Data-based decision-making: When deciding what tools or practices to use, DevOps principles recommend gathering data around each option and using it to make the best decision for your goals.

• Centering the customer: When designing software, it is key to always keep the customer and their experience in mind. This principle also includes monitoring for problems to address them before they can negatively affect the customer.

• Automation: DevOps principles recommend implementing automation whenever possible. This reduces the chance of human error, frees the team from time-consuming, menial tasks, and allows them to focus on more important things, such as being creative and writing code.

• Constant improvement: Instead of delaying the software release until it’s flawless, DevOps principles state that it’s more efficient to release a usable version and then consistently employ incremental improvements.

• End-to-end responsibility: Rather than splitting up responsibility for issues based on who handles the software at different points in its development life cycle, DevOps stresses the importance of every team member taking responsibility for every step of the process. This helps encourage collaboration to fix issues.

• Embrace failure: Look at failure as an opportunity to learn and improve. DevOps professionals should seek it out through risks rather than avoid it.

Key practices

DevOps involves key practices that help professionals to create and implement software quickly and efficiently. These include:

• Micro updates: Based on the continuous improvement principle, the practice of micro updates means that the team performs frequent and minor updates. This makes each update’s addition less hazardous.

• Agile planning: Rather than creating a plan for an entire project, Agile planning involves the team working in shorter iterations, known as sprints. This allows for more flexibility in case something doesn’t go to plan.

• Infrastructure as code: When creating a project's computing infrastructure, it’s key to ensure that professionals build it with machine-readable code. This allows for scalability and automation throughout the process.

• Incorporate security early: A practice known as “shift left security” means that professionals integrate security measures from the very beginning rather than at the very end of the development process. This ensures more secure software overall and reduces costs.

Skills and knowledge required

If you’re interested in pursuing a career in DevOps, you’ll want to develop the right skills and knowledge, such as collaborating and securing software, to meet the demands of roles like DevOps engineer successfully. As members of development and operations teams, these professionals play a crucial role in ensuring efficient software delivery and customer satisfaction. 

Technical skills

DevOps engineers typically need to have a working knowledge of both coding and software engineering. Some of these technical skills include:

• Foundational knowledge in an operational system, such as Linux

• Project development

• Coding, scripting, and testing

• Cloud computing

• Understand business goals and strategies

• Configuration management using tools such as Puppet, Ansible, or Chef

Workplace skills

Workplace skills are equally important as technical expertise, as they ensure employees can navigate interpersonal dynamics and foster a productive work environment contributing to the organization's success. These skills include:

• Collaboration and leadership

• Verbal and written skills

• Team building and project organization

• Motivation for continuous education

Gaining personal experience

DevOps engineers typically start their careers in other roles, such as software developer, and move into this particular title after gaining the necessary experience. To move into a DevOps role, consider seeking out opportunities to grow your personal experience. Two strategies to do so include:

Personal projects

A key way to gain the experience needed for a job in the DevOps field is to pursue practical, real-world opportunities. Some ways to do so include internships or designing your projects that showcase your ability to design, implement, and test software. Track your projects on a site like GitHub to create a portfolio.

Open source contributions

Open source projects allow IT professionals to contribute remotely and globally to DevOps projects. They are also a great way to practice your skills and learn how to collaborate with a team.

Education and certification

DevOps professionals typically need a bachelor’s degree in information technology, software engineering, computer science, or a related field. However, what matters to an organization is that you can demonstrate your software development skills alongside your experience working with continuous integration and delivery tools. You need to develop a working knowledge of subjects like systems administration and coding. People tend to find success by consistently pursuing opportunities that build their skills.

Online courses and certifications

One way to develop skills and stand out is through certifications, which showcase your expertise to potential employers. Some of these certifications include:

• CompTIA

• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer

• Google’s Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer

Online courses also provide a great opportunity to learn technical skills like Linux, Python, or JavaScript.

Breaking into the field

Breaking into the DevOps field takes some consideration and careful planning. You’ll need to plan on applying to a lot of jobs. Combine the following strategies to help you stand out in a crowded field:

Networking

Networking is a great way to increase your chances of finding a DevOps job. LinkedIn is a good networking platform, but you can also attend conferences and webinars and visit other professional spaces. Seek professionals with a career you’d like to emulate and connect with them. Ask them about their job and see if they are open to answering your questions. If a connection forms, then they might introduce you to potential employers.

Showcase your skills

It’s strongly recommended that you showcase your skills using GitHub. You will gain experience by working with GitHub’s tools, and your profile will become a portfolio that potential employers can view to see what you know. It’s a great showcase of your skills across a wide range of DevOps skills and knowledge.

Learn about DevOps on Coursera

DevOps is a dynamic field that requires extensive engineering and coding knowledge. Discover more about DevOps fundamentals with courses and certifications on Coursera. With options such as IBM’s Introduction to DevOps or UC Davis’s DevOps Culture and Mindset, you can learn about the key components of DevOps and if this career is the right fit for you. Explore Coursera today.

course

Introduction to DevOps

Get started with your DevOps journey with this beginner-friendly course! DevOps skills are high in demand and expected to be one of the fastest-growing ...

4.8

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Beginner level

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Average time: 9 hour(s)

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Skills you'll build:

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DevOps Culture and Mindset

This course gives you the basic foundational principles of DevOps with a particular focus on culture and the DevOps mindset. We’ll learn about how DevOps is ...

4.7

(576 ratings)

47,438 already enrolled

Intermediate level

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Average time: 14 hour(s)

Learn at your own pace

Skills you'll build:

DevOps