Which technology jobs demand DevOps skills? That’s a crucial question for any technologist applying for a new position, as knowledge of DevOps methodologies could boost your appeal to recruiters and hiring managers.
Technically, DevOps is a cluster of tools and practices intended to speed up a company’s development of applications and services. DevOps engineers are a growing presence within many company hierarchies. Beyond formal DevOps roles, though, rising numbers of software engineers, project engineers, web developers, and other technologists are all turning to DevOps skills in order to deliver products and services on-time and within budget.
If you’re totally new to DevOps, you should focus your education on three areas:
- DevOps terminology (such as continuous delivery/continuous integration).
- DevOps processes (plan/code/build/test/package/release/operate).
- DevOps tools (get ready to learn Git!)
In addition, DevOps experts suggest you consider these tools and skills often deployed in a DevOps context:
- DevOps (see the three points above)
- Python
- Linux
- Ansible
- Kubernetes
- Java
- Chef Infrastructure Automation
Yes, learning these skills could take quite a bit of time. But according to Burning Glass, which collects and analyzes millions of job postings from across the country, the demand for DevOps skills will increase 38 percent over the next 10 years. Moreover, the median salary for those with DevOps skills is $106,203; it’s clearly something that companies everywhere find valuable.
As you might expect, “DevOps engineer” is a role that virtually always requires DevOps skills. A significant portion of cloud architects, Java developers/engineers, and senior software developers also ask for some kind of DevOps background, which just shows how prevalent this skillset has become. And pay attention to the projected growth for these occupations—they’re all very much on the rise.
If you’re going down the DevOps path, consider earning certifications (especially if you’re focused on major cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Google’s Cloud), prepare for common DevOps questions that pop up during job interviews, and learn a bit about effective DevOps management processes, especially during our new era of remote and hybrid work. Even generalized knowledge of DevOps can help you stand out in a crowded field of candidates.
