This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Paul Anaekwe
Having spent the last three years of my life navigating this industry and learning the skills necessary to thrive in DevOps, I can attest that it’s a challenging but rewarding career for those who are committed to continuous learning, problem solving, and collaboration. I’ve created these 10 realities to prepare you for the unique demands of the job and set you up for long term success.
1. It’s a Culture Shift, Not Just a Toolset
Many people think DevOps is simply knowing Docker, Kubernetes, and Jenkins. The reality is that these are just tools. The core of DevOps is a cultural philosophy that promotes collaboration, communication, and shared responsibility between development and operations teams. You’ll spend a significant amount of time building bridges and breaking down organizational silos, not just writing code or configuring servers.
2. You Are a Generalist with Deep Specializations
I remember asking my tutor if I was learning full-stack development because I hadn’t signed up for coding, networking, or other such things. I was willing to learn Kubernetes and containers without any coding, but I was wrong.
A DevOps engineer is often a jack of all trades. You’ll need to understand a wide range of topics, including:
Coding and scripting (Python, Bash, Go)
Linux fundamentals and system administration
Networking concepts (DNS, TCP/IP, firewalls)
Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
CI/CD pipelines
Containers and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
While you don’t need to be an expert in everything at once, you’ll be expected to have a solid foundation in these areas and be able to dive deep into specific problems.
3. Continuous Learning is Not an Option, It’s a Requirement
If you’re not trying to learn new tools on a regular basis, then DevOps may not be for you.
The DevOps landscape evolves at a blistering pace. New tools and technologies emerge constantly. What’s popular today (e.g., Kubernetes) might be replaced by something else in a few years. To stay relevant, you must be a proactive and perpetual learner. If you don’t enjoy learning new things, this career path could be a source of constant frustration.
4. You’re Responsible for the Unbreakable Infrastructure
DevOps engineers are often the last line of defense. When a production system goes down at 2 a.m., it’s often a DevOps engineer who gets paged. While the goal is to build automated, self-healing systems, incidents still happen. The stress of being on call and troubleshooting critical issues is a very real part of the job.
5. Troubleshooting and Debugging Will Consume Your Time
This is probably my least appreciated task as a DevOps professional. Even though AI has made it easier to debug, you still need to ask the right questions and sometimes it can take an awful lot of time figuring out the problem.
While building and automating are exciting, a large portion of your day will be spent troubleshooting. You’ll be debugging failed deployments, investigating performance issues, and sifting through logs to pinpoint the root cause of a problem. Strong problem solving skills are more valuable than memorizing every tool command.
6. Business First is the Golden Rule
Lest I forget, you can also be burdened with the responsibility of managing resources and making wise financial decisions, as that can be one of the skills by which you will be judged as a good or bad DevOps professional.
Your technical decisions, no matter how cool they seem, must always align with business goals. You may have to forgo implementing a new, shiny tool because the business needs something simple, cost effective, or reliable right now. The best DevOps engineers understand that their job is to support the business, not just to play with technology.
7. Documentation is as Important as Your Code
In a fast paced environment, it’s easy to rush through a project and forget to document it. However, in DevOps, proper documentation is a lifesaver. Well documented pipelines, configurations, and processes save countless hours for your team and for your future self. You’ll need to cultivate the discipline to document everything from day one.
8. Communication and Collaboration are Your Superpowers
The “Ops” in DevOps stands for operations, but the “Dev” is just as important. You will work closely with developers, security teams, and product managers. Your ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non technical people is essential for success. This is a role built on teamwork.
9. Not Every Company has a True DevOps Culture
Many companies say they’re “doing DevOps,” but in reality, they may just have a team of sysadmins with new titles. They might still have rigid silos, a lack of automation, or a blame first culture. As a DevOps aspirant, you need to be aware of this and ask the right questions during interviews to gauge a company’s true cultural maturity.
10. The Pay and Career Growth are Insane
Despite the challenges, a DevOps career is incredibly rewarding. Due to the high demand for these skills, DevOps engineers are among the highest-paid professionals in the tech industry. The career path is also rich with opportunities, from becoming a Lead DevOps Engineer to specializing as a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) or even transitioning into a management or architect role.
Conclusion
DevOps is a challenging yet fulfilling career that demands a broad skill set and a collaborative mindset. By understanding these realities, you can prepare yourself for the unique demands of the job and embark on a successful journey in this dynamic and rewarding field.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Paul Anaekwe