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In the ever evolving landscape of the human era, skills are always essential for homo sapiens. Our ancestors developed new skills for their survival when they did not have enough resources. They discovered hunting, crafting, invented wheels and weapons. Now! When you are living in this modern world where you are surrounded with advanced technology, you still need to develop more skills in order to learn new things.
If we talk about the IT industry, DevOps is the latest methodology that shows the correct pathway to multiple organisations because this approach believes in automation and collaboration of Dev (Development) and Ops (Operations).
To become a professional in this field, there are several DevOps engineer skills like user-oriented approach, interpersonal skills, coding and testing, automation, source code management etc.
So, if you are already a DevOps engineer or wish to become one, keep scrolling this blog till the end to get insights. In this blog, we will explore each aspect in-depth, and unveil the secrets of seamless deployment and continuous integration.
Before you get started with our main context, let’s check out the brief meaning of DevOps to clear your basics about this topic.
What is DevOps?
DevOps is a modern methodology that promotes collaboration between the Dev (Development) and Ops (Operations) teams. This approach aims to streamline the delivery process, break down the traditional silos or foster a cohesive workflow in the software development lifecycle.
Combining the methods of operations and development helps companies deliver software rapidly and more efficiently to meet the demands of business environments.
So, this is all about DevOps, if you are already familiar with the term DevOps Engineering, it’s good for you, but if you are a beginner and wish to accelerate the pedal of career success, it is a must for you to know about the job role before you get information about the DevOps engineer skills set.
Who is a DevOps Engineer?
A DevOps engineer has the job of making a bridge to fill the gap between two domains in a business. This role fosters a culture of automation and collaboration to streamline the lifecycle of software development.
These engineers make sure that the planned software is tested, developed, and delivered effectively or efficiently while maintaining its reliability and stability in the production environment. They enable automation in repetitive tasks, implement CI/CD pipelines or manage infrastructure as code (IaC).
Now, when you get the whole gist about this methodology and about this job role, it’s high time to talk about the DevOps engineer skills required in this profession.
Read More:
All you need to know about DevOps Lifecycle and It’s Phases
Skills Required to Become a DevOps Engineer
There is no doubt that it is one of the highest paying and knowledgeable professions in the software development industry, but there are several skills required for this job role. It is mainly classified into two categories: soft skills and technical skills.
For your better understanding, let’s assume that you have decent knowledge about the DevOps methodology but you are not getting the golden job opportunity because you lack the DevOps engineer skills.
In the below-mentioned Diagram, we have stated all the required skills to become a DevOps Professional.
Technical Skills
If you work as a DevOps engineer in the industry, you must have proficiency in multiple technical skills. Let’s check out those essential skills that help you out in this profession.
1. Coding and Scripting
It is undeniable that scripting and coding are the main pillars of the DevOps approach. You must have proficiency in programming languages like Java, Ruby, and Python to create codes and automate tasks to streamline the deployment and development process. Also, scripting languages such as Bash are essential for drafting automation scripts for administrative tasks.
2. Linux Fundamentals
Linux is the best operating system choice for multiple organisations because of its flexibility, security and stability. It comes under the crucial DevOps engineer skills because it is necessary for you to understand the fundamentals of Linux, which includes file systems, package management, command line utilities and permissions. Mastery of Linux will help you to manage the server environment better.
3. Infrastructure Management
As a DevOps engineer, you must know about infrastructure management, which involves configuring, provisioning, and maintaining network components and servers. Several tools like Puppet, Ansible, and Chef are used to automate infrastructure management tasks, and this is why you must master these tools.
4. System Administration
System Administration helps to manage the servers or ensure stability and troubleshoot bugs or issues. If an organisation wishes to maintain a healthy infrastructure, you should be proficient in software installation, system monitoring and user management.
5. DevOps Toolchains
DevOps toolchains are the set of practices and efficient tools that facilitate the pipeline for software delivery. Thus, you need to implement and understand these toolchains. There are several critical components of this toolchain, including build automation tools like Jenkins, version control systems like Git, and deployment automation tools like Kubernetes and Docker.
6. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is the need of the hour nowadays, and it is said to be the backbone of the modern IT industry. It is beneficial for you to know about these cloud platforms, such as AWS, Azure, or Salesforce. (You can also pursue your career as a Salesforce DevOps engineer after learning the basics about Salesforce .) It also helps in provisioning resources, managing the cloud services, and optimising costs.
7. Database and Network Management
Networking and Databases are integral parts of the infrastructure. You must be skilled enough to manage DBMSs (database management systems) like NoSQL, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. Also, you should know about networking to ensure communication between the services or to check the data reliability.
8. Security, Testing and Monitoring
It is always better to learn more about testing, monitoring, and security because it is vital to maintain integrity and help perform the application. Therefore, you should have expertise in securing the best practices, monitoring the solutions by using tools like Grafana and Prometheus to detect issues proactively and implementing automated testing.
9. Automation
Automation is the core concept of the DevOps methodology, and you have to automate repetitive tasks to reduce manual effort or risks and increase efficiency in multiple environments. Therefore, as an IT engineer in this field, you must learn automation because it helps to create automated deployment pipelines, configuration management, and infrastructure provisioning.
10. Configuration Management
It is one of the best DevOps engineer key skills that can help to get better results in the software development process. You must have knowledge about several tools like Chef, Puppet and Ansible to automate the configuration of applications and servers. Once you know more about these tools, you can enable consistent deployment in the infrastructure.
11. Source Code Management
Source code management is vital for collaboration with the development and operations department and for version control. You are required to become an expert while using tools like Git or Github to merge code, track the changes, and manage the code repositories.
12. Continuous Delivery
It is the primary and essential DevOps practice that helps you to automate the deployment process in the production environment. Therefore, you should know about the principles of CI/CD ( continuous integration and continuous deployment) to create and maintain the pipelines for releasing the software reliably and efficiently.
If you wish to be on the top or want to grab job opportunities in the big MNCs worldwide, you should also work on interpersonal communication. Now, let’s jump to our next section, where we will provide you with the list of soft skills required for this job role.
Soft Skills
It’s true that in this job, you need adequate technical knowledge, but your soft skills are also necessary to work with several teams in an organisation. We are listing some of the required skill sets in the points mentioned below.
1. Organisational Skills
If you are starting your career as a DevOps engineer, you have the role of managing toolsets, configurations and scripts, along with ensuring that the organisation runs smoothly. Also, you should know how to prioritise the tasks according to the project deadlines. Therefore, practical organisational skills are a must to maintain order in the system.
2. Collaboration
Collaboration is one of the primary aspects of DevOps methodology. You must collaborate with the other teams, including operations, developers, and quality assurance, to ensure continuous delivery and seamless software development which leads to reduce bottlenecks, improve continuous integration, and lead to faster deployment.
3. Communication
It is mandatory for you to convey the technical information to the non-technical team members because it will help them to understand the requirements. You should also explain the issue’s complexity and must communicate well with other team members. Here, you will act as a link between operations and development departments, so it is a must for you to polish your communication skills.
4. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are necessary to make meaningful relations and teamwork in an organisation. As a DevOps engineer, you have to work in multidisciplinary teams and interact with operations and development teams, stakeholders, and quality assurance professionals. It is why you should work on your social intelligence to bring better results in an organisation.
5. Decision Making
It is one of the critical DevOps engineer skills that hold several aspects of the DevOps methodology. You have to make crucial decisions related to deployment strategies, system configurations and incident responses. Therefore, you must collect appropriate information to make wise decisions.
6. Agile Methodologies
Agile methodologies are the backbone of this DevOps approach. You should rely on agile principles to iterate frequently, respond to dynamic environments and streamline the development process. It is beneficial to have in-depth knowledge about agile methodologies like Kanban or Scrum, or to ensure that work aligns with the operational strategies.
7. Proactive Problem Solving
If you want to enhance your DevOps engineer resume, you should work on proactive problem-solving skills. Sometimes, you may face unexpected issues and challenges in this job role that require resolution, so possession of these skills will help you in such situations. Instead of waiting for the problems to get worse, you should seek out and address those problems before they get critical.
8. Customer Focused Approach
You may not interact with the end-users directly, but as an DevOps engineer, you are responsible for delivering a product that matches the customer’s expectations. So, you should understand the client’s requirements and priorities to achieve the best results.
Winding Up
In conclusion, mastering these skills is not just about becoming an expert in tools and technologies; it’s about teamwork, promoting collaborative culture, automation and continuous improvement. As a DevOps engineer, you play a significant role in enhancing product quality and improving the software delivery process.
Thus, you must learn these skills to get success in your promising career path. It will also help you to stay at the forefront of industry trends. If you passionately want to become a professional in this methodology, you can get our DevOps engineer training to live your dream life in the future.
