DEVOPS

What is DevOps?

DevOps is a big word that can be hard to understand. What does it mean?

DevOps Engineers use their skills to deliver software quickly, continuously, and reliably. The goal of DevOps is to shorten the software delivery and feedback cycles. They’re the ones who make sure the system keeps running smoothly, day after day.

DevOps professionals also keep things up to date with the latest changes and security updates. They automate testing, scanning, and deploying. If there’d been DevOps on the Death Star, the rebels never would have blown it up.

Why is DevOps a good career?

Working in DevOps isn’t a bad way to spend your time these days. As a field, DevOps is experiencing job growth. Furthermore, the jobs in DevOps pay more than the average tech or computer science job. There’s some level of upward and horizontal mobility too.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of the three reasons DevOps is a good career.

Massive DevOps job growth

To say that jobs in the DevOps field are growing would be an understatement. While DevOps jobs are only part of that growth, it’s still substantial.

Let’s assume, for example, that DevOps jobs growth is only 5%. With 1.8 million jobs in the field now, that 5% growth means 90,000 new DevOps jobs. And given the popularity of DevOps with employers, 5% is certainly a lowball estimate.

High salary for DevOps jobs

DevOps jobs pay very well, like many jobs in IT. If you’re into being paid comfortably and you have the right qualifications, you’re already looking at salaries for DevOps jobs.

Average base salary for a DevOps Engineer starts at around 30k and can go up to as much as 200k per year. The range is wide, but still, the pay is quite nice for a 9-5 job.

Of course, there’s always some variability in the market depending on location, experience, and the company you end up working for.

Upward mobility

There’s some upward mobility for DevOps Engineers depending on the company. You might find a career path from junior engineer all the way up to DevOps architect. If you have the right stuff, you may even end up managing the department.

It’s also possible to transition to similar roles like Site Reliability Engineer (SRE). Of course, the higher you go, the fewer positions are available. (The corporate pyramid leaves less room near the top.)

DevOps offers plenty of horizontal mobility too since DevOps engineering skills usually translate between industries. Plus, it doesn’t make too much of a difference whether the company makes widgets or life insurance. The work in DevOps is the same.

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