The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired a wave of professional introspection. Many hard-working individuals are seeking upward mobility and lateral movement opportunities within their current companies and even in industries which are new to them. Because DevOps can allow you to utilize your skills in a myriad of professional spaces, it can often lead to more promising pay, enticing perks, and a greater sense of fulfillment, making the niche an almost too obvious place for an up-and-coming software engineer to turn. 

While the term “DevOps” was coined in 2009 and has been trending since, the fundamentals date back further. Aiello Consulting CTO, Bob Aiello points out that many practices which are now considered a part of DevOps culture can be traced back to their origin in Configuration Management.

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To begin a successful career accelerating the delivery of secure and reliable systems, one must first master the basics of DevOps, many of which predate the term itself; scripting languages, software development frameworks, operating systems, and cloud service providers. 

Along with Powershell, Bash, and Ruby, Python is one of the most versatile scripting languages, which engineers use to integrate and automate many tools and technologies. 

Python.org offers visitors Beginner’s Guides thoughtfully written for both programmers and non-programmers, complete with written explanations, video tutorials, practice exercises, and more. 

Amazon sells a number of great books which can help you get ahead, including: Head First Python: A Brain-Friendly Guide, Murach’s Python Programming, and Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional. 

Over time, you’ll also want to become familiar with Docker, Kubernetes (K8s), Ansible, and Terraform. You can begin by exploring Docker, which has become many a developer’s preferred platform for building robust microservices and applications that can easily scale to meet the most demanding production loads. 

While you can technically work within the Microsoft ecosystem alone, you would be severely limiting your abilities (and therefore, marketability) as a DevOps professional if you didn’t also become proficient in the Linux operating system. There are some fabulous free training courses available online and video tutorials on Youtube, like this one which focuses on using Linux on Azure. 

Let’s turn our attention to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, two of the leading cloud service providers. Developers who know how to work in a cloud environment are in hot demand, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re up to speed on those technologies. 

If you want to land a great DevOps job, it’s not enough to learn about the latest tools and technologies; you also need to demonstrate your ability to apply technological skills to knowledge of the methods which managers expect to see. 

GitHub is arguably the largest and most popular repository for software engineers who want to showcase their work. To become known in the field, you’ll want to consistently contribute to the community and get feedback from others. The DevOps culture requires that we all continuously share our knowledge and learn from others.

While connecting with other developers is crucial, it’s not always enough to get your foot in the door. Managers, recruiters, and even executives who you may assume are more business-focused will often play a considerable role in deciding who gets the job. Beefing up your LinkedIn presence by consistently logging in, following companies you’d like to work for and people you’d like to work with, and then engaging with their content is the last, sometimes forgotten piece of the puzzle.

Written by Zohara Aiello