How to Become a DevOps Engineer

DevOps has revolutionized the IT world since it came into the scene in 2009.

The term DevOps is a shortened form of two words: development and operations. Essentially, it bridges the gap between 3 departments which have often been separate: development (dev), operations (ops), and quality assurance (QA).

If you wish to become a DevOps Engineer you can find some online sources like the DevOps Course that will help you gain some knowledge of what exactly the job is, employment opportunities, and other related aspects.

Here’s a useful guide to help you.

Who is a DevOps Engineer?

A DevOps Engineer oversees code releases by working with system operators (SysOps), software developers, and other production IT staff. This means you’ll be required to overcome traditional barriers between operations teams, software development, and testing.

Such professionals can manage the IT infrastructure needed to support software code in multi-tenant, hybrid, or dedicated cloud environments. To fulfill this role, DevOps engineers must provision required resources, select appropriate deployment models, direct testing protocols to validate releases and monitor performance following release.

You’ll be tasked with preparing test data, analyzing the results, troubleshooting problems, and communicating with development. The fact that DevOps Engineer jobs are increasing rapidly means companies have a significant need for such professionals.

DevOps are essential for departments in large companies to rapidly develop and deliver top-quality applications to clients. They are pivotal in eliminating collaboration and communication issues within IT organizations. Through such enhanced communication, large companies become more agile. The company can respond to changes rapidly while increasing revenue, lowering operational costs, and becoming more competitive.

The need to create user-friendly apps has also increased the demand for DevOps. The professionals ensure such apps are regularly updated using feedback from users.

Admittedly, implementing user feedback and collaboration within the IT organization is challenging. The company cannot fulfill that without a dedicated IT professional. No wonder this occupation is growing in the business world.

Companies that have capable DevOps engineers, experience multiple benefits, including:

• Higher-quality app releases
• Faster app releases
• Shorter time between fixes
• Rapid bug fixing
• No downtime

Roles and Responsibilities of a DevOps Engineers:

DevOps engineers fulfill many roles. Hence they need to be well-rounded IT professionals.

Being software developers, they are responsible for building software releases as well as testing the new code. They are also automation experts who use tools to automate software development, testing, and integration. These multi-talented professionals also serve as release managers who are charged with releasing new features and ensuring the releases are stable. They also serve as security officers who continually monitor the health and security of the product (system) after deploying updates.

To achieve all that, a DevOps Engineer executes the following responsibilities:

• Deploying upgrades and fixes by applying cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure…) computing skills.
• Applying user feedback in designing, developing, and implementing software integrations.
• Troubleshooting production issues and coordinating with development teams to streamline code deployment.
• Implementing automation frameworks (CI/ CD pipelines) and tools.
• Analyzing code and communicating detailed reviews to development teams to achieve a marked improvement in applications and timely completion of projects.
• Collaborating with team members to improve engineering tools, procedures, systems, and data security.
• Optimizing the organization’s computing architecture.
• Conducting system tests for performance, security, and availability.
• Developing and maintaining design and troubleshooting documentation.

Recent Trends Related to DevOps Engineers:

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, software developer jobs (DevOps Engineers are classified within this group) are expected to increase by a remarkable 24% from 2016 to 2026.

Apart from experiencing such tremendous growth, this occupation commands a lucrative salary of $92,339.

An increasing number of companies are advertising DevOps Engineer job openings. Besides the limited supply of such professionals, due to the complex nature of the role, such increased demand contributes to high salaries on offer.

As more and more organizations shift to ITSM, the companies must get the services of DevOps professionals for a smooth change. This also means that companies are experiencing a mindset shift in how their employees communicate, collaborate, and work in teams.

Some of the companies that are hiring these professionals include:

• CONEX
• NTT DATA, Inc.
• Fusion IT Inc.
• Continental Resources, Inc.
• Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions
• Louisiana Economic Development
• Solidus Technical Solutions
• Deloitte
• Capgemini Government Solutions
• Solidus Technical Solutions
• Nintendo of America Inc.

You’ll also get the highest salaries in these locations:

• San Francisco, California – 34% above the US national average
• San Jose, California – 25% above the US national average
• Seattle, Washington – 17% above the US national average
• New York, New York – 15% above the US national average
• Austin, Texas – 1% above the US national average
• Boston, Massachusetts – 1% above the US national average

Who Can Become a DevOps Engineer?

To succeed as a DevOps Engineer, you need to be interested in technical infrastructure.

Generally, you should have excellent technical abilities, the capacity to work well under pressure, strong interpersonal skills, flexibility in tasks, and the ability to work independently.

Your entire occupation can be summed up as having to do these 3 things pretty well:

1. coding/ scripting
2. infrastructure and process re-engineering
3. collaborating and communicating with others

Most employers have the following requirements when hiring DevOps Engineers:

• Possessing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• Having experience as a DevOps Engineer or a similar software-engineering role
• Expertise in code deployment tools (like Ansible, Puppet, Chef)
• Maintaining Java web applications
• Experience in server, network, and application-status monitoring
• A strong command of software-automation production systems (like Selenium, Jenkins)
• Expertise in software development methodologies
• Working knowledge of Python or Ruby and known DevOps tools like GitHub and Git
• Working knowledge of SQL (Structured Query Language) and databases
• Having a problem-solving attitude
• Ability to work independently and within a team

Conclusion:

Now you know how lucrative career as DevOps Engineer can be and the existing opportunities in this field. You’re probably eager to jump in. The first step to starting your DevOps Engineer career is getting the necessary technical knowledge and practice, of course. This means undergoing training. Numerous online courses exist that focus on various DevOps skills which can be practiced with the DevOps Practice Exam. They just need commitment and dedication.

Some of the courses you can benefit from including Jenkins (useful in continuous integration efforts), and Docker (used in bundling components together and deploying them on the container on platforms like Linux or Windows). So start your journey in DevOps today.