IT jobs focus: Is DevOps a good career?
As far as IT jobs go, DevOps is a good career for all sorts of reasons:
Do you like flexibility and variety in your work? Do you like to know you are making a real impact in your organisation? Do you want a career that is going to be around for decades?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, it is well worth exploring your possible future in DevOps.
What is DevOps?
DevOps is the combination of development (Dev) and operations (Ops) that hallmarks one of the most hallowed modern methodologies of the software development industry.
The overriding goal of DevOps is to improve the speed and efficiency of software development. This is often done by facilitating better collaboration and integration between the different teams, tools, and processes involved in the development process.
As a DevOps engineer, you may have a whole range of roles depending on the organisation you are a part of. This means you are likely to need a wide range of skills, including things like:
-General software development, such as coding or reviewing code
-System administration knowledge
-Server maintenance and deployment (possibly including virtual servers)
-Soft skills, most especially excellent communication
-Specific DevOps toolchains
DevOps advocacy will also frequently be part of your role. This will involve educating others about the benefits of DevOps and encouraging them to follow its precepts.
Is DevOps a good career?
DevOps can be an excellent career. Particularly if you like the sound of:
1) Having an IT job that makes an impact
DevOps is a methodology that companies use because it can lead to actual measurable improvement in software development outcomes.
Traditionally, lots of development processes are siloed. This means they are walled off from others, leading to problems when development pressures mount.
In your DevOps job, you will be able to track and measure the changes you have wrought in these processes and the impact you have had in improving the way your organisation works.
2) Being in a career with lots of options
On a business level, DevOps take-up is high and growing. The number of trained professionals is falling short though. This leaves organisations across the UK in serious demand of people with DevOps skills.
These roles are available across the Information Technology industry. Everything from startups to tech multinationals have DevOps positions that still need to be filled.
This means you will rarely be stuck for career options if you have DevOps experience.
3) Knowing your career is going to stick around
The acceptance of the power of DevOps methodology is already high in the IT sector. It is by no means universal just yet, but it could be heading that way.
More and more companies every day are coming round to this way of thinking. As they do, they create more and more opportunities for those interested in a DevOps career. As those starters progress, there will be more senior positions created.
If you are looking for a career with job security, the growing, rising demand for these professionals makes DevOps a solid option.
4) Finding there’s always something more to learn
DevOps is an IT job that requires a broad range of expertise in technical fields, soft skills like communication, and business knowledge too.
You will be collaborating with multiple teams in a wide range of fields, encouraging those involved in both development and operations roles to work more closely together. Or potentially introducing automation to smooth these processes.
This is likely to require constantly expanding your knowledge of frameworks and technologies that could be applied.
You are also likely to acquire a deeper understanding of the way your entire organisation works, giving you the ability to provide incredible actionable insight.
5) Enjoying a role with great benefits and flexibility
DevOps jobs are some of the best-remunerated in the IT sector, with average roles often starting around the £55 000 mark and potentially reaching twice that and more with experience.
There is also a high degree of flexibility within the industry, with working from home and remotely often seen as the standard. This leads to the possibility of working for overseas organisations (including US companies that often pay even more).
IT jobs focus: DevOps in summary
With such a wealth of benefits, DevOps is one of the most attractive jobs in IT just now. The flip side is that such roles frequently demand extensive and wide-ranging skills or the willingness to acquire them.
Looking for the IT job that would best match your skills and experience?
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