DevOps is slowly becoming one of the most sought out careers in information technology. The demand for DevOps engineers has been ever-increasing with the growing competition in the IT world. A DevOps engineer’s job is considered the 6th best job in America in 2019.
DevOps, in essence, is the automation of processes between the software development and IT teams, hence making the process of building, testing, and releasing software more efficient, reliable, and ultimately faster. A DevOps engineer should have a thorough understanding of the software development cycle and have the expertise to use automation tools to develop CI/CD digital pipelines.
Getting DevOps certified is no easy task. It requires constant learning and testing after which you go through a complex examination and interview. An AWS DevOps engineer certification is the most widely known in the modern IT world.
Top Easiest Ways to Become a DevOps Engineer
The road to getting a DevOps engineer certification is long but worth it, it takes dedication, constant learning, and a strong will.
Understand the Culture
The DevOps community is a growing sub-culture of IT, slowly generating a separate identity. It’s important to understand the roots and potential of the DevOps culture to develop the right will and dedication to move forward.
Learn a Basic Programming Language
The foundation of a DevOps engineer is the programming language. You need to learn the following technologies to develop and strengthen the foundations of your IT understanding.
- Linux
- Python (Further mastered by learning Golang)
- AWS (Further mastered by learning Google Cloud)
Learn the Basics of Server Management
DevOps engineers usually have to manage servers which is why it is imperative to know how servers work, their specifications, and how to adequately manage them. The best way to move forward is to learn their operating system which is Linux.
Have an Understanding of Security and Networks
You need to know how FTP, HTTP, DNS, etc. protocols work and should be able to detect any and all security flaws in the coding. You need to know the basics to configure your infrastructure network and securing your software.
Learn Proper Scripting
You need to learn how to script. While there are auto-scripting tools, it is always better to know how to create your own scripts. The most commonly used scripting language is Python although, other languages like Bash can also be used.
Understand Middlewares
Middlewares are considered software glue because they provide services that are otherwise not provided by operating systems to software applications.
You need to learn how to install and configure SSL, reverse proxies, domain names, virtual hosts, etc. The most commonly used middlewares are Nginx and Apache.
Learn to Deploy Your Software
After understanding middleware, the next step is learning how to deploy your software/application to a specific production server.
Learn DevOps Tools
One of the most important DevOps tools to learn is GIT (a versioning system). You do not need to become an expert, however, you need to have a clear understanding of it as it will be needed throughout your DevOps career.
Other tools that can be learned are Docker, Jenkins, Puppet, Ansible, Kubernetes, Icinga, Sensu, etc.
Learn to Develop and Build Software
Understanding the software lifecycle means you need to know how to build software. You need to be able to develop software that can be run on a production server.
Learn to Automate
Contrary to popular belief, DevOps is not about automation per se. Automation is one part of the DevOps process. The DevOps tool Jenkins helps you automate your software builds. It can automate redundant tasks like connecting your code to the code repository. Understand the concept of continuous delivery and continuous integration.
Learn the Ropes of Configuration Management
Eventually, it will be hard to handle multiple configurations which is why learning a configuration management tool will make your life as a DevOps engineer easy. You can learn a CM tool like Ansible or Puppet through DevOps engineer training online.
Learn IaC
Infrastructure as code is all about eliminating redundancies in the software cycle through automation. The goal is to uphold quality while reducing the time needed. Cloud technologies like AWS help provide online resources to develop your infrastructure.
Furthermore, monitoring the infrastructure and the software is important so that you can stay on top of the software cycle. You can use tools like Icinga, Sensu, etc.
Learn Additional Skills like Containers and Orchestration
You need to learn how to create, build, deploy, and manage containers in different environments. Containers like Docker are a widely recognized skill nowadays, add Kubernetes to the learned skills and you become a maestro!
Learn About Server-less Applications
You need to know how to create, deploy, and manage serverless applications and software. The future is server-less especially with services like AWS, Google Cloud, etc.
Furthermore, you can join different DevOps communities on the web to further enhance your skills as a DevOps engineer who never stops learning.
Becoming an AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
After learning and practicing being a DevOps engineer, the next logical step is to get a DevOps Engineer Certification. You can always showcase your skills to potential job placements or you can show them that you have an AWS DevOps engineer certification.
The AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional tag is the most widely known in the DevOps world. Although, you need at least 2 years of operating and managing experience in the AWS environments. The exam costs $300 and is available in English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese, and is 170 minutes long.
The Recommended Knowledge for the Exam
- You should know how to build automated infrastructures.
- You should know how to deploy and manage operating systems.
- You should have professional code development skills in at least one high-level programming language.
- You should have an understanding of the modern DevOps and AWS processes.
What the Certification Validates
- Your ability to implement and automate software and infrastructural processes and controls.
- Your ability to understand and control the several monitoring, logging, and metric systems on AWS.
- Your ability to manage different methodologies and continuous delivery systems on AWS.
- Your ability to manage the different DevOps tools.
- Your ability to implement scalable and self-healing systems on AWS.
Final Thoughts
If you are wondering where you can get the right DevOps engineer certification or training online, this is the best place to start.
Becoming a DevOps Engineer is a long and hard journey but it is one of the most widely known, respected, and demanded professions in today’s IT-intensive world. Becoming a DevOps engineer is just the start of a long journey where you can grow to become a DevOps manager and eventually manage an entire DevOps team.
