The role of DevOps Engineers has been gaining steam over the past few years, especially as organizations continue to migrate operations, products, and services online. In fact, DevOps Engineers are one of the most in-demand technology jobs for 2021. So what is this role that is becoming increasingly in-demand? Find out below.
What is DevOps?
The term DevOps stems from the combination of software development and IT operations. This is because part of DevOps’ purpose is to facilitate communication and collaboration between the two teams. Driving collaboration between the software development and IT operations teams enables businesses to increase the frequency of updates for their software. These smaller and more regular updates allow organizations to be more agile and meet consumers’ ever-evolving demands. Additional benefits of DevOps include increasing…
Speed: Grow services/products more quickly while adapting to changes in technology and consumer demands.
Delivery: Release software updates, fix bugs, as well as distribute new products/services on a frequent cadence.
Reliability: Improve the dependability of the products/services by having team members work together and communicate when creating solutions.
Scale: Create a scalable product/service by holding conversations with project team members and determining the best way to create a system so it can easily grow.
Collaboration: Merge workflows and communication to streamline projects and increase transparency.
Security: Bolster security via automated compliance policies, controls, and configuration management techniques.
DevOps Engineering
To put it simply, DevOps Engineers supervise code releases and updates which developers and IT professionals create. Think of it almost as an IT product management role that requires an in-depth understanding of coding and developing software. As for DevOps’ day-to-day responsibilities, these include…
Infrastructure Management: This is essentially making sure the software is operating at its peak performance. This includes leading software tests and deployments, making sure users are not experiencing issues with the product, enabling the software to scale, and overseeing various project lifecycles.
Security Oversight: DevOps Engineers search for, identity, and solve issues in the software to prevent confidential information and data from being leaked.
Automation Management: Automation tools are integral to DevOps, as engineers are continually looking for ways to automate manual tasks to improve efficiencies and accuracy in the software development process.
To master these responsibilities, DevOps Engineers require a mixture of managerial and technical skills, including…
Linux: Organizations largely prefer to host their applications on Linux, a free and open-source operating system.
Understanding key tools: Examples of tools include Git, Jenkins, Ansible, Puppet, Docker, AWS, and Azure. These tools help with everything from source control and continuous integration to deployment automation and working with cloud platforms.
Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD): This is the process of consistently incorporating and testing the developer team’s code, in order to launch the applicable code commercially.
Infrastructure as Code: With the advent of cloud computing, setting up IT infrastructure only takes a matter of seconds. Developers create automated scripts and use configuration management tools to provision IT infrastructure, taking a fraction of the time of what it previously required.
Understanding Methodology: DevOps is considered a methodology, not a science. Every company has different needs; thus, engineers must adapt to an organization’s demands by utilizing a custom combination of skills and tools to complete the tasks.
Soft Skills: DevOps Engineering requires soft skills such as excellent communication, collaborating well with others, a proactive nature, the ability to see big-picture, and more.
Education and Experience
DevOps Engineers usually pursue an undergraduate degree in the realm of computer science or software engineering, as DevOps Engineering degrees do not really exist (yet). However, some IT professionals choose to acquire additional certifications from the likes of Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and the DevOps Agile Skills Association.
Real-world experience is almost always a pre-requisite for becoming a DevOps Engineer. Experience with software development, system management, IT project management, and build-release engineering is common.
Average Salary and Job Growth
According to Indeed, the average salary for a DevOps Engineer in the United States is $123,000. In San Francisco, the average salary rises to $164,000, and in New York City, the average salary is $132,000. Note, these average salaries are indicators but may fluctuate depending factors such as specific requirements, location, and overall compensation package.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not collect research specifically for DevOps Engineers. However, the organization does provide insight into similar roles. For example, demand for software developers is predicted to rise by 22% from 2019-2029. As the demand for software developers increases, the demand will also rise for more managerial and leadership positions, including DevOps Engineers.
Is your company looking to hire a DevOps Engineer, or are you a DevOps Engineer looking for a career move? If so, eNamix would love to talk with you! Contact us today at info@enamix.com to set-up a consultation with one of our senior account managers.