DevOps Skills: You Should Learn
DevOps combines two distinct fields, namely Operations and Development. This allows software to be delivered more quickly and with fast-paced improvements and evolutions compared to traditional software development. It lets the teams innovate and adapt according to the market faster, promotes an increase in releases which helps to identify and fix bugs easily, encourages reliability, security, and scalability with the help of improved collaboration across teams.
As of today’s technical market, DevOps technology is one of the most demanded fields, with an estimated market size of around 10.3 billion dollars. Therefore, there is a requirement of highly skilled DevOps engineers with the most useful skills that will help organizations achieve their goals of rapid delivery of applications.
Let us look at the most desired DevOps skills which you should learn:
Linux Knowledge
Linux is already the primary operating system used by most organizations as a development environment. The majority of the DevOps based operations are core Linux based. The best part about Linux is that it is customizable which gives developers much more freedom to modify it according to their own needs and requirements, thereby ensuring flexibility. Linux is also known for the security and scalability it offers, therefore having a good hands-on experience of this OS is key to mastering DevOps.
Testing Skills
DevOps may speed up delivery of applications, but it leads to the introduction of bugs. Since the quality of the application delivered is of primary focus, testing comes into play to identify and correct them. Hence testing is a crucial part of DevOps and one needs to be proficient in it if applying for the role of a DevOps engineer. The term testing does not just refer to feature verification or functional testing, but also to performance testing, continuous testing, and operations testing. The software code is usually tested in the development environment with automated testing tools.
CI/CD
A thorough understanding of Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery is necessary for DevOps in order to develop and deliver high quality software rapidly to clients. Continuous Integration involves integrating the completed functionality or the new code with the remaining code. This efficiently saves time that would have been spent on the integration of the whole project. After this, Continuous Delivery makes the code ready for deployment with minimal manual intervention.
Software Security
DevOps focuses on shipping code quickly, so there are quite a lot of bugs and vulnerabilities that arise as a result of the faster delivery cycle. Hence, DevOps engineers should have the skills to write secure and reliable code to protect the application from unwanted attacks. Also, the defense mechanisms should ensure that the application is actively monitored and protected.
Automation Skills
DevOps is all about automation. Automating various things in the DevOps pipeline, such as CI/CD, continuous testing, configurations, and performance monitoring, is crucial. Automation is critical in the development of an application through DevOps. This is because, to promote speedy shipment, the repetitive manual processes should take minimal time and should be carried out without any human intervention. Automation not only increases speed, but it also reduces errors, resulting in high-quality products.
Coding and Scripting
Working with a few languages is a requirement to qualify as a DevOps engineer. Some of these languages include Python, Golang, Ruby, JavaScript, Perl, Java, Bash, PHP, etc. These are the most suitable languages which are needed for carrying out automation. A good understanding of coding skills is essential to replace manual processes, as even the slightest error can result in huge issues later on.
Knowledge of Tools
DevOps tools let you accomplish desired tasks with ease, so knowing them is important. There are hundreds of DevOps tools like monitoring tools, testing tools, orchestration tools, version control tools, automation tools, tools for collaboration, package managers, and a lot more. It is very important to choose and use the right toolset to build, manage, and configure the application throughout different stages of implementation.
Cloud Computing Skills
Cloud computing provides a centralized platform for testing, deploying, debugging, and releasing application code. It also provides resource sharing and collaboration so as to refine the process. Therefore, knowledge of different cloud providers, services, and platforms is vital to be a DevOps engineer. Some of the leading cloud providers are Google (GCP), Microsoft (Azure), and Amazon (AWS). Cloud also makes automation easier and it is always possible to recover all data and code if lost or corrupted under any circumstances.
Command on Containers
Container images are a standalone, lightweight unit that packages software code so that the software application runs faster and is more reliable as it is exclusive to other containers that are present in the same environment. In contrast to traditional hardware virtualization, different containers running on the same operating system share the same system resources. Docker and Kubernetes are the top providers of container technology.
Non-technical Skills
DevOps engineers not only have to be skilled in technical knowledge but also have an extremely good collaboration and communication skills. Good listening skills are required since you need to clearly understand and comprehend what the client needs. Taking ownership, having self-control and a positive attitude often add a key value to the team members which eventually determines the success of the application. DevOps requires assertiveness and mindfulness to identify key areas of improvement, understanding what the goals are. Empathy is crucial to perceive and appreciate what others have to say and will help to avoid conflicts within the team. Enabling trust among team members by having active, clear, and effective communication will create a positive work environment which will improve the quality of the product shipped.
These are the most essential skills to learn if you are seeking a role as a DevOps engineer. Developing these skills will not only help you master DevOps, but also help you become a desirable candidate for DevOps positions.
Wrapping Up
The future is uncertain, but DevOps is not. Whatever the future holds for organizations or employees, DevOps will evolve and change the way applications are developed. The current challenges will be transformed into new opportunities, and organizations will push their boundaries with a skilled workforce and cutting-edge technologies.
As a DevOps services provider company, Mpiric Software provides DevOps Consulting Services that help to accelerate the project at hand and adopt DevOps best practices.
