The number of companies investing in DevOps has increased substantially. A large number of users are leveraging tools like Chef, Docker, and Puppet. As a result, the demand for qualified DevOps Engineers is increasing steadily. Thus, now is the best time for you to acquire DevOps Engineer skills if you are eyeing a lucrative career in this domain.
Let us look at some of the DevOps Engineer skills that are in demand:
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DevOps Engineer Skills Companies Look For in a Candidate
Many firms are implementing DevOps practices. Thus, it seems like it will become more crucial for their competitors to install similar (or better) practices. This, in turn, would push the demand for DevOps professionals forward.
Corporations have a huge interest in DevOps, and it looks like the trend will remain the same in the foreseeable future. There is usually plenty of demand for jobs in the market, along with a drop in the average income. This makes an aspiring DevOps Engineer seek a vast range of skills.
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Linux Fundamentals and Scripting Skills
By learning Linux fundamentals, you will get equipped with skills such as file handling, text processing, system administration, process management, and network.
However, learning Linux fundamentals only covers one aspect of system administration/engineering. You should additionally learn how to operate Linux servers, set up proactive monitoring for the infrastructure/software, and work with web servers/DNS servers. You should know about load balancers like Apache, Nginx, etc., and various networking concepts like IP gateways, TCP/IP, etc.
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It is suggested to become an operations expert before you even think about DevOps. Hence, you must become an expert in system administration and operations, before you go for DevOps Engineer skills.
Scripting skills are one of the most in-demand DevOps Engineer skills. Being proficient in at least one scripting language, such as Shell, Python, etc, is required (however, it is recommended to have Python skills) as scripting languages help you work on automating builds and testing frameworks and applications. So, a basic understanding of programming would improve a DevOps Engineer’s productivity. If you don’t have a programming background, then you would probably end up doing more of ‘Ops’ than ‘DevOps’.
Python is rising as an all-purpose language. GitHub recently crowned Python as its second-most popular programming language. Stack Overflow named it as the invasively-growing major programming language. On top of all, it is also considered the most popular language for Machine Learning. Python is one of the most highly paid skills right now in the market that’s why there is a great demand for Python Certification in the industry.
What can Python do for DevOps? Python helps reduce the maintenance problems that occur during the monitoring and deployment phase in DevOps.
Also, look into our blog on DevOps Engineer Salary.
Understanding of Relevant Tools
DevOps success purely depends on the toolset it involves during different phases of its implementation. It’s hard to even count the number of tools that DevOps brought in. But the significance in making DevOps successful is something to be discussed in detail.
DevOps engineers need to know how to use the following types of tools:
- Version control
- Continuous Integration servers
- Configuration management
- Deployment automation
- Containers
- Infrastructure Orchestration
- Monitoring and analytics
- Testing and Cloud Quality tools
- Network protocols
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Security Skills
The risk rates are mostly proportional to the speed of deployment that DevOps facilitates. Due to this constraint, traditional security measures at the end or as a separate process might not work. This is where DevSecOps serves as an advantage by integrating security with SDLC right from the beginning. So, the DevOps skill set will definitely help towards having a successful DevOps career.
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Automation Skills
Being called a DevOps engineer calls for a good command over automation, which is the heart of DevOps processes. A DevOps engineer should know how to automate an entire DevOps pipeline, including CI/CD cycles, infrastructure and configurations, app performance monitoring, and more. This skill set is closely linked to the knowledge of DevOps tools, coding, and scripting.
Coding and Scripting
The two other important skill sets that a DevOps engineer should possess are coding and scripting. Python, Java, Javascript, Ruby, PHP, Node.js, Shell, and Bash are among the most recommended programming/scripting languages in this career.
Find out which tech career is right for you! Read our in-depth DevOps Engineer vs Cloud Engineer roles!
Cloud Skills
Cloud and DevOps go hand in hand. The efficiency of one is directly dependent on the other. Moving to the cloud became necessary for the smoother functioning of continuous monitoring. The DevOps methodology that drives a process, is enabled by the cloud through the essential platform that enables testing, deployment, and code releases.
Cloud enables DevOps automation with the help of the required CI/CD tools. It also drives a resource monitoring mechanism.
Learning about common cloud providers and their resources is vital for any DevOps Engineer. You have to learn about various cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, and GCP) and Cloud Computing skills that can deploy upgrades and fixes.
Furthermore, you need to gain insights into how to integrate DevOps with the cloud, which is, in fact, one of the most desirable technological combinations in the world today. Consider this as an extra skill to learn along with all the other DevOps Engineer skills.
Preparing for the DevOps job Interview? Check out our Top DevOps Interview questions and Answers prepared by industry professionals!
Testing Skills
Testing is crucial for a successful DevOps operation. DevOps automation pipeline requires tests that are executed without fail. This is crucial for the success of continuous testing, where automated tests are performed, which in turn, make the process quicker ensuring quality delivery to the end-user.
You must have a good understanding of how tools like Chef, Puppet, etc. work. You can utilize Docker containers with the same intent of packing up an application with all the required components, like libraries and dependencies. Thus, Docker helps ship it all out as one package to the Ops guy.
You also need to learn how to integrate Jenkins with the automation testing tools like Selenium (which is known as Continuous Delivery). Hence, this skill is one of the most crucial DevOps Engineer skills.
Configuration and Version Management
The continuous integration tool, Jenkins existed for a prolonged time prior to DevOps growing so popular. This tool gave huge success to the operations team by allowing for a steady build with the help of its automation feature.
Hence, you must learn to automate the code building process and push the recent commit to a specific central repository. Basically, you have to know how Jenkins, the automation server, works. You must additionally know how to merge/combine build tools such as Maven with version control systems tools like Git and make them work. Thus, creating Continuous Integration pipelines is one of the most desired DevOps Engineer skills.
Learning Proactive Monitoring
Continuous Monitoring tools tracklogs, recognize possible bottlenecks in the production system, upgrade system versions, and pave security patches if any. This is done by sending feedback to the developer side to execute the changes. You must find out how to work with these monitoring tools, including Nagios, Splunk, etc.
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Communication and Collaboration
Given its basic nature, communication and collaboration are two very important aspects that break down the siloes between Dev and Ops teams. It aligns both the teams’ goals with the business objectives and implements DevOps culture cross-functionally.
Soft Skills and Noble Thought
Apart from all the other skills, DevOps needs soft skills, flexibility, self-motivation, and learning. DevOps professionals are expected to be the doers as well as listeners. DevOps transformation involves stakeholder discussions, assessment, and identification of improvement areas, awareness about business goals, which are all driven by collaboration.
Conclusion
After a lot of research, the above-listed skills are the key skills that companies look for in a DevOps Engineer. For the analysis details, check out our How to Become a DevOps Engineer blog.
The list might look pretty lengthy and exhausting, but in reality, it is not. As you begin achieving expertise in the above-mentioned DevOps Engineer skills (such as various tools, frameworks, languages, etc.), you’ll gradually be gaining more knowledge of what is going on in the DevOps space. This knowledge will help you start your career as a DevOps Engineer, but you must not forget ‘no efforts, no results!’
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I hope you liked this blog and understood what the key DevOps Engineer skills are. For more such tech-related blogs and tutorials keep visiting us.
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