DevOps Engineer Jobs: Skills, Tools and a Practical Roadmap
By JobKarle Editorial Team · Published · 2 min read
What DevOps actually means, the tools behind it, a step-by-step roadmap from beginner to engineer, and the questions interviewers ask.
The short version
DevOps is a way of working that brings development and operations together so software can be built, tested and released quickly and safely. DevOps engineers build the automated pipelines and platforms that make this possible.
What DevOps engineers do
- Build continuous integration and delivery pipelines
- Automate infrastructure with code
- Containerise applications and run them at scale
- Set up monitoring, alerts and logging
- Improve reliability, security and release speed
- Support developers and respond to production incidents
The toolbox
- Linux, shell scripting and Git
- A scripting language such as Python
- CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions or GitLab CI
- Containers: Docker, and orchestration with Kubernetes
- Infrastructure as code: Terraform, Ansible
- A cloud platform: AWS, Azure or Google Cloud
- Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, and log tools
Roadmap
- Learn Linux, networking basics and Git well.
- Learn a scripting language and automate small tasks.
- Learn a cloud platform and deploy a virtual machine.
- Learn Docker and containerise a simple application.
- Build a CI/CD pipeline that tests and deploys your app automatically.
- Learn infrastructure as code and describe your cloud setup in files.
- Learn Kubernetes basics and monitoring.
- Document the whole project as a portfolio piece.
Interview questions
- What is CI/CD and why does it matter?
- Explain the difference between a container and a virtual machine
- How would you roll back a bad release?
- What is infrastructure as code?
- How do you monitor a production service?
- Describe an incident you handled and what you learned
Entry route
Most DevOps engineers come from system administration, support, development or testing. If you are new, start in one of these and add automation and cloud skills. A strong end-to-end pipeline project is your best proof.
Next step
Build the pipeline project, then register on JobKarle and apply to DevOps, cloud and SRE roles.
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