Siva Prasad
Sep 05, 2024
2,151
15 mins
Table of Contents:
DevOps has fast emerged as a valuable bridge that connects the development and production team. It enables them to deliver projects efficiently and quickly. This growth is shown through money. The DevOp market was valued at USD 10.4 billion in 2023. But it is expected to gallop to USD 25.5 billion by 2028. This automatically means that the demand for DevOps engineers is rising as well.
Are you wondering about what a DevOps engineer is and what they do? Then do not worry. In this article, I am going to share everything about DevOps engineers. I will let you know more about the skills they have and the responsibilities they take on. We will also go through the qualifications needed.
A DevOps Engineer is a competent specialist. They act as a connector between software development and IT operations. With their expertise, the team can collaborate for success and ensure quicker product roll-outs. The term DevOps fuses ‘Development’ and ‘Operations.’ This reflects the mix of skills the DevOps engineer role needs.
DevOps Engineers work to break down old silos existing between these two departments. A core area of focus for them is to use Agile best practices and tools that enable faster and more dependable software delivery. With an engineer’s skillset, the company is able to automate processes and improve system stability. All this ensures seamless integration between different stages of software development and deployment.
These experts play a key role in implementing DevOps culture within the company. For this, they pay attention to continuous integration, continuous delivery, and continuous deployment(CI/CD). By doing so, they help companies reduce time-to-market for new features or version upgrades. Their competencies come in handy to fortify product quality and enhance overall operational efficiency.
In my experience, the technical skills required by a DevOps engineer will vary depending on quite a few variables. These include collaboration skills and communication. It is important to know that DevOps engineers should have a good grasp of all components of a delivery pipeline. They should be aware of the cons and pros of available services and DevOps tools.
What is DevOps engineer? They should have expertise in system administration. This includes provisioning and managing servers. It also includes deploying databases and monitoring security. A key responsibility is to manage both internal and external network connectivity.
As a DevOps expert, you would be entrusted with high-impact collaboration with teams and stakeholders. These are often undervalued ‘soft skills.’ But they go a long way in long-term DevOps success. With this skill, the engineer facilitates high-quality and consistent feedback throughout the entire value stream.
DevOps engineers are expected to be skilled with tools. These include solutions like Puppet and Ansible. They use these tools to automate tasks and gain a higher degree of efficiency. Another essential activity is to help with deploying new systems. Lastly, they apply security patches as per the business need.
Continuous delivery and continuous integration (CI/CD) are key components of DevOps. They are crucial in software development. It is supported by a variety of tools. The primary role of any CI/CD toolset is to automate the building/testing and deployment of software.
DevOps engineers typically require experience in configuring and deploying one or more CI/CD tools. They often collaborate closely with the wider development team. They do this to ensure these tools are used well.
DevOps experts are adept at containerization due to tools like Docker. It bundles the application code and its runtime in a single image. This reduces the need for traditional configuration management tools. However, managing containers introduces its own set of challenges. They eliminate this issue using “container orchestrators” like Docker Swarm or Kubernetes.
Many traditional system administrators are skilled in writing shell scripts. They use them to automate routine and repetitive tasks. However, a DevOps engineer should advance beyond scripting automation. They should develop a deep understanding of advanced software development practices. This includes using agile methods via steps like carrying out code reviews and using source control systems well.
A DevOps engineer must have the skills to design and manage computing environments, both on-premise and in the cloud. Mastery of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is crucial. It blends DevOps into managing cloud resources. A DevOps engineer must model system infrastructure in the cloud. They use tools like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Terraform.
Working across teams is essential for DevOps success. This is true no matter the organizational structure. The DevOps engineer should act as both a coach and co-worker. They should engage with various team members.
The responsibilities of a DevOps engineer, in my opinion, are diverse and adaptable. They are customized to meet the unique needs of each organization. These accomplished experts typically engage in a dynamic blend of activities. These include orchestrating software releases and expertly managing/provisioning infrastructure. They also oversee system administration tasks and implement robust security measures.
This role has many parts. It lets DevOps engineers drive efficiency and innovation. They do this across many parts of the software lifecycle.
Release engineering involves building and deploying application code as per the distinct business needs. It also depends on automation level and infrastructure location. It may include managing CI/CD tools or creating custom build/deploy scripts.
Infrastructure provisioning and system administration involve deploying and maintaining servers. They also cover storage and network resources for applications. This can involve managing physical hardware in data centres or virtual resources in a cloud setup.
Advocating for DevOps is important but frequently overlooked. Organizations may encounter difficulties as they adopt this culture. As a subject matter expert, the DevOps engineer takes the lead and advocates for DevOps practices throughout the organization.
If you want to make a mark as a DevOps Engineer, you need to follow DevOps roadmap with a blend of education and practical experience. Let me help you explore each of these aspects in detail-
Certifications can greatly boost a DevOps Engineer’s credibility. They show expertise in specific areas. Some popular certifications include:
While certifications are not always mandatory, they can give a jobseeker a competitive advantage in a competitive market.
To be a DevOps engineer, you usually need a computer science degree or a related one. Plus, you need to have relevant job experience and certifications. If you work toward imbibing strong soft skills, then this point will be an added bonus. They enable engineers to work well with diverse teams. With this skill, the expert is able to convey their message clearly with customers and colleagues in the business side of the organization.
We hope you now understand what a DevOps engineer is. In my opinion, the future of DevOps is very bright. But this is not something everyone can do. This is because there is involvement with both operations and development. It is a complex job where you adorn many hats.
DevOps engineers require a wide range of knowledge and a level of industry experience. This is rewarding as well as an opportunity to learn and evolve. If you love everything you read above, go for a DevOps Certification course now!
A DevOps engineer works to simplify and automate the software development and deployment process. They implement and manage CI/CD pipelines and design and maintain infrastructure. They collaborate with development teams and automate manual processes. The engineers manage cloud resources and implement monitoring systems as well. They also ensure system security and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
For More Details: What Does a DevOps Engineer Do?
Yes, in my experience, DevOps engineers need coding skills. While they may not write application code like software developers, they need to be proficient in scripting languages. It is for automation tasks, infrastructure as code, and developing custom tools. Understanding code is also crucial for collaborating effectively with development teams. This will help troubleshoot issues in the software delivery pipeline.
In my opinion, DevOps is generally considered an excellent career choice. It offers high demand and competitive salaries. It gives you a chance of continuous growth and learning. We see more and more firms adopting DevOps practices. The need for proficient experts in this field is rising. DevOps engineers often enjoy challenging work and are compensated well for their innovative thinking and winning strategies.
Like many roles in IT, DevOps can be stressful at times. DevOps engineers often deal with critical systems and tight deadlines. They may need to be on-call to address urgent issues. However, the level of stress can differ depending on the organization and individual coping mechanisms. Also, if you have received the right head start in the form of a DevOps Certification course, then you can safely eliminate the stress and carry out your role optimally.
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