Must Have Skills for an Awesome Career in DevOps

DevOps engineering is undergoing a dynamic change as many enterprises are taking up DevOps for delivering their software and security updates. A DevOps professional is capable of handling any peripheral like deployment pipelines, systems architecture, etc. and is constantly pushed by new limits and challenges so he needa to be highly motivated, curious and definitely intelligent. DevOps engineers help their customers have a perfect digital user experience by helping them meet the rapidly changing needs of the industry.

What is DevOps?

DevOps basically refers to a process of automation which allows safe, fast and high-quality software development and its release. It encourages effective teamwork and communication with the whole team. It does not refer to any particular role or title nor does it makes use of any specific tools or techniques. It has brought together development and operations under one roof. It is a way to deliver software with both shared and increased responsibility thereby leaving little room for mistakes. The adoption of the phrase and the role has created numerous employment opportunities for the engineers.

Essential Skills for Every DevOps Engineer

Containers: These have come to define the core of the DevOps technology and have emerged as the indispensable asset to be possessed by a DevOps engineer. Containers let the DevOps engineer design various applications and station them on various servers with the ease of a laptop. This has completely revolutionized the way the apps are being created, operated and even shipped. Containers can provide a highly controlled environment to build within and hence the most used technological advances in the DevOps technology.

SysAdmin: As a DevOps engineer you will be required to administer servers even in their sleep so the more knowledge you have about the Linux Administrator and Windows, the more likely you will grow to be an asset. Most IT shops are usually faced with problems of automation of server deployments, and thus a sound knowledge about the SysAdmin will definitely act as an advantage.

Web Languages: There are no second thoughts to the fact that the best DevOps candidate will be a Scripting pro and will have fluency in languages like Python, Ruby, Java, and PHP. As a DevOps person, it is essential for you to be able to write code for automating repeatable processes. Writing such codes should not be a challenge but come with ease.

Integration Tools: The DevOps method of operation rests on the fact that it continually merges updates from the source code from all the developers into a specific software build simultaneously notifying the team about any kind of failures in the whole process. It is this real-time window in the process of software development which makes room for constant engagement of all the team members. Thus, it is advisable for you to be well-acquainted with Jenkins, Bamboo, ThoughtWorks, Hudson, and many other such tools if you are pursuing further growth in the same line.

Technical Problem Solving: A good DevOps engineer has to be a great problem solver both in the cloud and even in real life. Usually, many engineers work on a single project, and in case of any technical issue, the solution often lies within the software and also within the team. Thus, having problem-solving skills will help you solve the problems in many different kinds of settings thereby improving your significance and role in the team.

Understanding of Database: Database is the most valuable asset for every firm, and you should be able to fully understand how the database and DBAs fir into the process of DevOps so that database does not become a weak link which becomes a roadblock in the process of application development. Additionally, you should also have ample knowledge about the operations like deployment, scale, etc.

New Technologies: DevOps landscape is continuously experiencing new technologies, and as a good DevOps engineer it is your task to have an understanding of the important areas. A few areas are more pronounced in their significance and thus demand more attention. These are

• Infrastructure Automation like Chef, Ansible, Puppet.
• Orchestration with Mesos, Swarm, Kubernetes.
• Cloud-like Azure, AWS, GoogleCloud, OpenStack.
• Source Code like Bitbucket, VSTS, Svn, Git.
• Deployment Automation like VSTS, Octopus Deploy, Jenkins.

Training in Security: There is no doubt that DevOps help to streamline the development process and code deployment. The whole cycle becomes faster and thus more vulnerable to security threats. Thus, it is imperative for the DevOps engineers to be able to write security code for protection of application from various attacks and defense against the most commonly incurred cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The key lies in building secure software right from the beginning by performing security activities throughout the process of development. Thus, basic security training is a must.

Infrastructure Automation: Automation is the essence of DevOps. Many tasks which were manually performed hitherto have been completely automated with the help of languages like Python, Bash, Shell, etc. This ensures consistent performance by removal of the human component and also allowing the teams to spend the time so saved on broader goals. Thus, the DevOps engineer should have the expertise to implement automation technologies at any level of Infrastructure by making use of tools like PowerShell, Chef, Terraform. If you happen to get an experience on VMWare, Hyper-V, etc. it is a huge advantage.

Testing: Testing is essential as there is no repair to the effect on customers when something breaks apart due to faulty automation or technical issues with feature deployments. Testing ensures that all the functions are performing the tasks they are designed to perform. Tests need to be run at all stages for ensuring there are no compatibility or configuration issues.

Conclusion

DevOps needs the perfect combination of multiple teams and applications. A successful DevOps engineer has to have a perfect sight of the digital transformation of the whole enterprise at every stage. You not only have to be well-versed with the above technical skills but also must demonstrate flexibility, communication, and excellent collaboration skills which will me help you become the most effective team member. Also, you should also have excellent decision-making skills. All these skills would help the DevOps engineer understand the purpose of the whole process, deliver the perfect product and also gain better packages.