DevOps might sound extremely technical, like some obscure, new game or technology that’s hit the market. But it’s more approachable than you might think.

Picture this: BTS announces their comeback tour, and I’m racing to buy a ticket before it sells out. I pull up my banking app to transfer some money, and then…disaster. “System is down for scheduled maintenance.” Just like that, I’m a few seconds too late, and the tickets are gone. The world has ended.

Now, rewind. It’s the same scenario, but this time, the app works perfectly. There’s no lag, no errors, and no panic—just money well spent for a spot near the barricade. And that’s all because a skilled DevOps team had everything running like clockwork—scaling resources in real time, automating security updates, and catching issues before they ever became problems.

This is what DevOps is all about. It’s about making sure the apps and services you rely on actually work when you need them. Whether it’s Bank of America, Spotify, or UberEats, DevOps engineers are the ones making sure they’re fast, stable, and secure.

So, how do you become a DevOps engineer? Let’s get into it! I’ll cover what a DevOps engineer is (in some more detail), what they do, and what you can do to become a DevOps engineer in 2025.

Table of Contents

• • What Is a DevOps Engineer?
• • How to Become a DevOps Engineer
• 1. Get a Degree (If Necessary)
• 2. Figure Out Which DevOps Skills You Need
• 3. Get Experience Using DevOps Technology and Tools
• 4. Learn the Skills You Need to Become a DevOps Engineer
• 5. Get Certified
• 6. Gain Practical Experience
• 7. Land a Job as a DevOps Engineer

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What Is a DevOps Engineer?

A DevOps engineer is essentially the link between software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops). If I had to boil the job down into one sentence, it’d be this: DevOps engineers make sure new apps and updates are released quickly, reliably, and efficiently.

Back in the day, developers wrote code and tossed it over to an operations team, who would then manually deploy it—sometimes days or weeks later. DevOps engineers help get rid of that bottleneck by making software development faster and less error-prone by automating processes, integrating testing, and streamlining deployment.

Now, what does that look like in the real world? Let’s say a streaming service wants to roll out a new personalized recommendation feature based on your viewing habits.

Without DevOps, developers write the code and hand it off to operations, who then manually deploy it. If something breaks, troubleshooting tends to be slow and rolling back to a stable version can be a nightmare. The whole process could take days, even weeks, and leaves chronic media consumers like me back in the endless loop of trying to figure out which sitcom or crime drama to watch next.

With DevOps, the process looks completely different, because the DevOps engineer:

• Sets up automated tests to make sure the feature actually works before it’s released.
• Builds a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline to automatically deploy the code without human intervention.
• Uses infrastructure as code (IaC) to manage cloud servers hosting the new feature.
• Implements monitoring and logging tools that immediately detect errors and allow for a quick rollback if needed.

The result? The new feature rolls out seamlessly, with minimal disruption to your streaming experience. That’s the kind of efficiency DevOps brings to apps, software, and your favorite streaming platform.

Note: If you’re new to DevOps and some of the bolded phrases have you scratching your head, don’t worry! We’ll get into these concepts and skills shortly.

What Does a DevOps Engineer Do?

If you want to step your way into a DevOps role, expect to work on a mix of automation, infrastructure management, security, and collaboration. Here’s a look at some of the tasks you might find yourself doing on a day-to-day basis:

• Automating the building, testing, and deployment processes to speed up releases
• Creating and managing cloud resources using tools like Terraform or CloudFormation
• Leveraging tools like Ansible or Puppet to automate server setup
• Working with Docker and Kubernetes to deploy and manage applications
• Deploying and scaling applications across cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
• Setting up tools like Prometheus or Grafana to track system performance and detect issues
• Applying cybersecurity best practices across the development lifecycle
• Working closely with developers, IT teams, and cybersecurity engineers to ensure smooth deployments
• Finding bottlenecks and improving efficiency across infrastructure and applications
• Keeping track of infrastructure setups, deployment processes, and troubleshooting guides

Becoming a DevOps engineer in 2025 means stepping into a field that thrives on three words that I’ve already used and will pop up time and time again—automation, efficiency, and collaboration. If you enjoy problem-solving, love working with both code and infrastructure, and want to be a part of creating a smooth software delivery process, becoming a DevOps engineer might just be the tech job of your dreams.

How to Become a DevOps Engineer

If you asked DevOps engineers on how they became one, you’d probably get a range of answers. Becoming a DevOps engineer isn’t about following a single, rigid path. Some people come from software development, while others start in IT. Some jump in straight from college, while others pivot from a completely unrelated field. There’s no “one way” to do it, but future DevOps engineers should be picking up some of the same things along the way.

If I had to break it down, I’d say the equation for becoming a DevOps engineer might look something like this:

Foundational Knowledge + Technical Skills + Mastering the Right Tools = Job Potential

Notice how I said potential. There are plenty of other rules and tips for landing a tech job, but these three elements should build the foundation you need to get through the door.

We’ll guide you through some of the best options and ways to become a DevOps Engineer in 2025. Will I cover everything you’ll ever need to know? Nope! If that were the case, we’d be here for weeks—likely months. However, we will go through some of the most important skills that will make you a great DevOps engineer and give you a competitive edge over your competition.

Using our equation above, we’re going to get into the foundational knowledge, technical skills, and tools you need for DevOps. But remember—the skills you need today might not be the ones you’ll need tomorrow. DevOps is quite literally about making the software development process better and more efficient. And if a new way to do that pops up or becomes best practice, you’ll need to update your skills the same way you’ll learn to update software.

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1. Get A Degree (If Necessary)

A degree used to be the obvious path into tech, but times have changed. While having a formal degree in computer science, IT, or software engineering can still open doors, the spotlight in DevOps today is on real-world skills and hands-on experience. However, degrees do offer solid foundations in programming, infrastructure, and software development. It was the standard route, but it’s definitely no longer the only (or best) one.

And here’s the thing—DevOps has evolved, too. While most job listings still mention a degree as a preferred qualification, many employers care more about what you can actually do. In the faster-than-you-can-blink world of tech and DevOps, there are now loads of alternatives to a traditional degree. Thanks to online courses, bootcamps, and other self-guided learning resources, you can dive right into DevOps without ever stepping into a traditional classroom.

The beauty of these options is that you can learn at your own pace—from anywhere—and focus on the knowledge, skills, and tools you’ll (actually) use in the field. Many boot camps even give you the chance to build a portfolio of projects, which is critical to show off to potential employers.

What employers really want is someone who can solve problems and make their systems work efficiently. If you’ve got the skills, through online courses, certifications, and personal projects, that can speak louder than any degree.

If you’ve got your heart set on a degree (or you’re already getting one), go for it! But if you don’t have the time or money to invest in a four year program, online courses could be just as effective. Here’s the bottom line—most employers will focus on what you can do, not just where you learned how to do it.

2. Figure Out Which DevOps Skills You Need

Whether you’re just starting out or already learning some DevOps skills, these are some of the foundational ones that’ll help you land a job as a DevOps engineer.

Operating Systems

As a DevOps engineer, you can’t escape the operating system (OS), since you’re essentially a bridge between the application and the hardware it’s running on. And to do that effectively, you need to be pretty familiar with operating systems. The OS is responsible for everything from managing hardware resources (like CPU and memory) to running processes and keeping things secure.

Here’s a breakdown of some concepts you need to get familiar with:

• Operating System Fundamentals:
  • Command-Line: Navigate the file system, manipulating files, and using different commands. Shell scripting (Bash and PowerShell) is a must.
  • File system management: Know your way around file system hierarchies, file permissions, and managing disk space.
  • Process management: Understand process states, how to start/stop processes, and how to monitor resource usage (CPU, memory).
• Networking Concepts:
  • TCP/IP Networking: Get familiar with IP addressing, subnetting, routing, and network protocols (TCP, UDP, ICMP).
  • DNS (Domain Name System): Understand DNS resolution, record types, and configuring DNS servers.
  • Firewall: Configure firewalls and understand network security principles.
  • Network monitoring: Use tools — like ping, traceroute, and netstat — to troubleshoot network connections.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Infrastructure is the hardware and software needed to support development, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is all about managing that infrastructure with code instead of manually setting up servers or hardware. It means writing machine-readable files that describe your environment—not just the physical or virtual components, but also their configurations, interconnections, and dependencies. For example, you’d use IaC to describe things like firewall rules, user accounts and permissions, and security and compliance policies.

In DevOps, this lets you automate setup, make software deployments faster, and reduce errors. You’ll store your infrastructure definitions in version control systems like Git, allowing easy rollbacks and better collaboration between development and operations teams.

Some concepts you should learn and understand include:

• IaC approaches:
  • Declarative: You tell the tool what the result should look like, and it figures out the steps to get there.
  • Imperative: You specify each step the tool should take to configure the infrastructure.
• Idempotency
  An IaC concept where running the same IaC script multiple times results in the same infrastructure setup. This means that if you perform the operation once, or a hundred times, the outcome will always be the same.
• Configuration drift
  How to detect and prevent infrastructure from deviating from its defined state
• Version control
  How to store IaC in Git or similar version control systems
• IaC tools:
  • Terraform
  • AWS CloudFormation
  • Ansible
• Immutable infrastructure
  An IaC concept where instead of modifying existing infrastructure, a new one is created and deployed to replace the old one.

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CI/CD

Pushing code straight to production without testing is a disaster waiting to happen. That’s where CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery) (sometimes called continuous deployment) steps in. Continuous Integration (CI) makes sure every code change is automatically built and tested while Continuous Delivery (CD) takes it further by preparing the code for deployment. And if it passes all of those checks, it goes live automatically.

Some of the most important skills in CI/CD include:

• Code integration and building
  Merging code changes, compiling the application, and creating deployable code. It’s the “CI” part, making sure the code works together.
• Automated testing
  Setting up and running different automated tests (unit, integration, end-to-end, etc.) to verify code quality and functionality.
• Pipeline management and configuration
  Designing, configuring, and maintaining the CI/CD pipeline — the order of automated steps that transforms code changes from development to production.
• Monitoring and feedback
  Setting up monitoring and alerting systems to track app performance and identify issues, and then using that feedback to improve the pipeline and code.

Cloud Computing and Platforms

Gone are the days of stacking servers in a closet and praying they don’t overheat. Cloud platforms let you deploy virtual machines, databases, and entire networks in minutes—no hardware on your end required. Whether you’re scaling an app to handle a traffic surge or automating infrastructure with a tool like Terraform, the cloud makes it easy.

DevOps teams rely on cloud platforms for speed and flexibility. If they need more compute power, they can scale up instantly. Cloud services even integrate directly into CI/CD pipelines so updates roll out without a problem.

Take AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud—three popular cloud providers. Over the internet, each platform offers on-demand computing resources: servers, storage, databases, development tools, software, and more so you don’t have to build everything from scratch.

Containerization and Orchestration

Containers are like portable packages for your apps, bundling everything needed to run them (libraries, settings, etc.) into one small unit. Docker (a containerization tool) makes it easy, letting developers deploy lightweight, consistent apps without worrying about compatibility issues. This makes it possible to run the app anywhere, whether from a developer’s laptop or a cloud server. But containerization alone isn’t enough to handle everything at scale, and that’s what container orchestration is for. Platforms like Kubernetes help manage clusters of containers—deploying, scaling, and monitoring them automatically. For example, if one container crashes, Kubernetes will restart it.

When working with containerization and orchestration, you need to know:

• Container Images and Registries
  Learn how to build, layer, and store container images. Get comfortable with registries like Docker Hub for managing and sharing images, and practice versioning and tagging them properly.
• Kubernetes Pods and Deployments
  Understand how deployments manage pods, including scaling, updates, and rollbacks.
• Kubernetes Services and Networking
  Understand how services expose apps to traffic and the difference between service types like ClusterIP and LoadBalancer. Learn about networking concepts like CNI and inter-pod communication.
• Resource Management and Scaling
  Define resource requests and limits for containers and understand scaling techniques like horizontal pod autoscaling (HPA).

Monitoring and Logging

Monitoring and logging is like your eyes and ears in a DevOps environment. Monitoring involves keeping an eye on real-time data like CPU usage, memory, and response times. It helps you spot issues—like a server running hot or a sudden spike in errors—before they cause trouble. Think of them as the system’s health check, constantly running in the background.

Logging records detailed events and system messages—like application logs and security events, and that’s what you’ll turn to first when troubleshooting. When something goes wrong, logs give you the full story of what happened (and when) so you can fix it.

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Version Control

Version control helps keep everything in check. Every time you make a change to a file, it’s logged, so you can go back to an earlier version if something goes wrong or you need to see an earlier version of whatever you’re working on. It lets you track what’s changed, compare it with what was there before, and make sure you and your team can collaborate without stepping on each other’s work. This is why tools like Git, combined with platforms like GitHub and GitLab, are some of the “it girls” of modern development. They make it easy to manage changes, review code, and keep a clear history of every update. Version control helps DevOps engineers (and frankly, anyone who uses that code) work smarter, not harder.

Cybersecurity

As a DevOps engineer, you’ll also need to protect your systems and data from attacks or unauthorized access. In traditional development, security was usually added at the end of the process. In DevOps, security is built in from the start, thanks to a practice called DevSecOps. This means security checks happen automatically throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

So naturally, you’ll see a lot of other DevOps concepts play into cybersecurity. Automated tools scan for vulnerabilities, run security tests, and check for compliance as code moves through the pipeline. And by integrating security into IaC, CI/CD, and monitoring and logging, DevOps teams can spot security issues before they get worse.

Programming Languages

You don’t have to be the most sophisticated coder in the world to be a good DevOps engineer, but programming and scripting languages should still be on your list of skills. Automating tasks like deployments or infrastructure provisioning requires writing scripts, and that means knowing at least a few programming languages. CI/CD pipelines and many popular DevOps tools run on code, and you’ll need to script and tweak them to fit your needs. So, if you plan to troubleshoot or understand what’s going wrong with an app or system, you need to be able to read and write code.

Essential DevOps Programming Languages:

• Python
• Bash
• PowerShell
• Go (Golang)
• JavaScript

Honorable Mentions:

• PHP
• Ruby
• PERL
• Java
• SQL

Related: What Programming Language Should I Learn First?—The Million Dollar Question

3. Get Experience Using DevOps Technology and Tools

Imagine trying to bake a cake without a mixer, oven, or even a measuring cup. How far would you get? The same logic applies in DevOps. You can’t build a smooth, automated pipeline or manage infrastructure without the right tools.

Remember, it’s all about automation. This means making processes repeatable, reliable, and efficient so that you’re not wasting time doing tedious tasks manually. And that’s why you need the right tools. Without them, automation becomes impossible.

Each tool in your DevOps “toolkit” specializes in a different part of the job. If you want to be a DevOps engineer in 2025, here’s a breakdown of some of the most important tools you’ll need to learn:

• Version Control
  • Git
  • GitHub/GitLab
• Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)
  • Jenkins
  • CircleCl
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  • Terraform
  • AWS CloudFormation
  • Ansible
• Configuration Management
  • Ansible (Also used for IaC)
  • Chef
  • Puppet
• Containerization
  • Docker
• Container Orchestration
  • Kubernetes (K8s)
• Monitoring and Logging
  • Prometheus
  • Grafana
  • ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) Stack
  • Datadog
• Cloud Platforms
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• Testing
  • Selenium
  • JUnit
• Project Management and Collaboration
  • Jira
  • Slack

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4. Learn the Skills You Need to Become a DevOps Engineer

If you’re new to DevOps, there’s a lot of learning ahead, but don’t worry—it’s possible! Forget the idea that one class will magically transform you into the most qualified DevOps engineer. On the other hand, you don’t need to sign up for every course you find. With so many options, you need to be selective. Start with the fundamentals. Taking the time to grasp the basics of DevOps will pay off big time when you’re up to your neck in Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure.

And let’s be honest—degrees can be expensive. If student loans aren’t your thing, online classes and bootcamps are a solid alternative. Whether you choose a degree, online course, or bootcamp, it’s the quality and focus of what you learn, not where you learn it.

The Best Beginner Courses for DevOps

• Microsoft’s Training for DevOps Engineers
• IBM’s Introduction to DevOps
• Codecademy’s Introduction to DevOps
• The University of Chicago’s DevOps Course

Start with courses that cover the essentials of DevOps, like automation, CI/CD, and version control. Once you’re comfortable with that, move on to learning more specialized automation tools like Docker or Kubernetes. The idea is to keep challenging yourself. Grab extra certifications and take on a few projects. Your experience (even without a job) will grow, and you’ll look like a much better candidate for potential employers.

5. Get Certified

Courses are a natural start for any DevOps engineer, but what about certifications? Certifications are like walking around with a stamp on your resume that says, “I mastered DevOps.” Why? A lot of certifications go beyond theory and require hands-on tests that push you to apply what you’ve learned. Plus, specialized certifications usually cover advanced topics that beginner classes might skip.

Think about it: when you’re applying for jobs, a certification can set you apart from someone who took the exact same courses as you. Not only does it show your expertise, but it shows your commitment to DevOps. And if that’s not enough and you’re still not interested in getting certified, certifications can open doors for better opportunities and higher pay. Interested now?

The Best Certifications for DevOps Engineering

• Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert
• Linux Professional Institute DevOps Tools Engineer
• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
• Google Cloud Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer
• Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
• Docker Certified Associate (DCA)

6. Gain Practical Experience

We know—landing that first DevOps job can feel like a chicken-and-egg situation. You need experience to get hired, but you need to get hired to get experience. If you want to get out of that endless loop, you can actually build solid, relevant experience before you even get that job offer.

Start by creating your own DevOps projects. These don’t need to be massive from the beginning—just build as you go, gradually increasing the complexity.

For example, let’s take a simple to-do list app and scale it up step-by-step as you learn more DevOps skills.

As a beginner, you’ll start with a static web app—just some basic HTML/CSS/JavaScript. Upload it to GitHub, and deploy it using something like GitHub Pages. Add a tiny twist with automation by creating a GitHub Actions workflow that pushes updates when you make changes. This is beginner-level DevOps, and will make sure you’re familiar with Git, basic web deployment, and some automation.

As an intermediate, turn that to-do list app into a full API (maybe using Django or Flask) and throw it in a database. Dockerize it to make it portable, then deploy it locally using Kubernetes. Set up a CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions that builds the Docker image and deploys it to Kubernetes. Now, you have a feel for containerization and managing deployments with Kubernetes.

As an expert, you’re ready to go big. Take your app to the cloud. Use Terraform for IaC to provision cloud resources like a Kubernetes cluster and database. Tighten security with tools like Ansible for configuration and integrate monitoring with Prometheus and Grafana. This will help you master cloud infrastructure, security, and real-time monitoring.

Each step of a project like this builds on the last, and by the time you’re done, you’ll have a project that shows a wide variety of DevOps skills.

As you complete your projects, keep track of your progress and document everything. Employers love seeing hands-on experience, even if it’s not from a formal job. Your portfolio will speak for itself, proving that while you might be new to the job market, your skills are that of a seasoned professional.

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You Will Learn:

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☑️ What tech careers fit your strengths

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7. Land a Job as a DevOps Engineer

Landing a DevOps engineering role is the last piece of the puzzle, but don’t overthink it. Plenty of people didn’t start with “DevOps Engineer” on their first business card. What really matters is your skills. Automating infrastructure, scripting, CI/CD pipelines, cloud platforms—these are the things that count.

Titles come and go, but your ability to optimize workflows and keep systems up and running, that’s what sticks. Your first job—maybe as a systems administrator, for example—is a stepping stone. Every time you configure a new server, write a better deployment script, or fix a crazy outage, you’re sharpening the skills that’ll make you a great DevOps engineer.

So keep building and keep learning! Tools change, best practices evolve, and DevOps never stays the same. Stay hands-on and plugged into the DevOps community. One day, you’ll realize you’re not “trying to break into DevOps” anymore—you’re already there.