Top 10 DevOps Skills You Need To Get Hired in 2023

While it is a relatively new field within IT – the movement started to form cohesion between 2007 and 2008 – DevOps is an area of enormous growth and opportunity.

According to Global Market Insights, the future of the field is bright. In 2019, the size of the DevOps market exceeded $4 billion, and it is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 20% by 2026, making it worth $8 billion.

Implementing a DevOps strategy pays off for companies, too: In 2021, 83% of IT decision-makers reported implementing DevOps practices to unlock higher business value. And in 2020, 99% said DevOps had a positive impact on their organization, with another 61% saying implementing DevOps helped them produce higher-quality deliverables in the same year. A further 49% of companies reported a reduction in time-to-market software and services.

So what is DevOps? It is a function that sits between and streamlines two traditionally siloed areas: IT operations and software development. 

Using tools and processes such as agile methodologies and continuous integration and delivery, DevOps is across every phase of a development and operations lifecycle, bringing together the skills, processes, and tools from all areas of an engineering and IT organization.

As a result, a DevOps engineer needs a combination of complex technical skills, soft skills – DevOps evangelists are absolutely a thing – and hybrid abilities to do the job. Like all tech roles, the skillset is ever-changing too. Here are the top DevOps skills you’ll need to succeed this year.

Top 10 In-Demand DevOps Skills in 2023

Here are the top 10 skills for DevOps engineer aspirants in 2023:

• Linux fundamentals and scripting skills
• Security skills
• Automation skills
• Coding and scripting
• Cloud skills
• Testing skills
• Configuration and version management
• Learning proactive monitoring
• Communication and collaboration
• Soft Skills

1. Linux Fundamentals and Scripting Skills

Any DevOps skill set must include a strong understanding of the fundamentals of Linux, including system administration, file handling, process management, and text processing. Engineers must also be proficient in operating Linux servers and fluent in scripting languages like Python.

2. Security Skills

Every IT pro should have security skills, and DevOps engineers are no exception. As a professional in this field, you’ll need security skills like change management, code analysis, threat investigation, vulnerability assessment, and more.

3. Automation Skills

Automation is one of the most important skills for DevOps. Engineers must be able to automate full pipelines. They should be able to understand CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure and configurations, app performance monitoring, etc.

DevOps engineers should also know how to use automation tools like SCM (source code management) and Ansible.

4. Coding and Scripting

Although coding and scripting may seem the same, they aren’t. Coding allows professionals to create apps or software, while scripting is a method used in automation.

Both coding and scripting are basic yet crucially important DevOps engineer skills. Without knowing how to script or code, finding employment in the field may be next to impossible.

5. Cloud Skills

Knowing how to work with the cloud is another in-demand DevOps skill. Engineers need to have solid skills in cloud computing, such as network management and database management. They also need a strong grasp of AWS (Amazon Web Services), GPC (Google Cloud Platform), and Microsoft Azure.

6. Testing Skills

Testing skills for dev ops are highly in-demand. Automated testing can help make a DevOps engineer’s life much easier while ensuring quality for end-users. Thus, it only makes sense that a professional should have a strong, working knowledge of automated testing and associated tools. 

7. Configuration and Version Management

Some of DevOps’ required skills are configuration management and version management.

• Through configuration management, businesses can scale software systems and infrastructure without needing to scale staff correspondingly.
• Version management allows DevOps engineers to track and then manage any changes to code. Engineers should know how to use tools like Git, Jenkins, and Maven.

8. Learning Proactive Monitoring

An engineer should understand proactive monitoring as it is one of the top DevOps requirements and skills. They should know how to use tools like Splunk and Nagios and also be able to recognize production system bottlenecks, etc.

9. Communication and Collaboration

DevOps expertise involves communication skills and the ability to collaborate with others. Both are crucial to any DevOps engineer’s success because they help break down shoes in between development and operations teams, and more.

10. Important Soft Skills

Beyond the technical dev ops skills listed above, engineers must also have some soft skills to help them thrive in their work environments. Some of these include:

• Flexibility
• Listening skills
• Self-motivation
• Noble thought

Ready to go ahead and apply for a DevOps job now? We have three below worth a look, as well as plenty more to browse on the Job Board.

IT Services - DevOps Engineer (US Remote), PwC, Tampa

Professional services company PwC is looking for a DevOps Engineer to support core business functions by deploying applications that enable people to work more efficiently and deliver the highest levels of client service. 

You’ll focus on managing the design and implementation of technology infrastructure, developing and enhancing both client- and internal-facing applications, and providing technology tools to create a competitive advantage and drive strategic business growth. 

To apply, you'll need a Bachelor’s degree, ISC2 CCSP Certified Cloud Security Professional, ITIL Certification(s) or CCNA/P and can use tools like Azure DevOps/VSTS, to validate requirements, deploy, and troubleshoot deployments of code and technologies in stage and production environments.Applicants can find out more now.

DevOps Engineer, Sonar Software, Frisco

Sonar is a small, rapidly growing SaaS company and is now looking to hire a DevOps Engineer to continue to build out and manage its software platform. You’ll be responsible for the infrastructure that runs the Sonar platform, mainly deployed on Microsoft Azure, using Kubernetes and various IaaS services. 

You’ll need to monitor, scale, and troubleshoot Kubernetes, ElasticSearch, PostgreSQL, Redis, Snowflake, and TimescaleDB, and you’ll also be responsible for figuring out what is going wrong, and how it can be improved. You’ll also manage, maintain, and improve the existing CI/CD process using CircleCI and Azure DevOps. 

If you have strong scripting/automation abilities, strong knowledge of cloud security and governance, preferably in Azure, and experience working with Docker and Kubernetes, this could be the job for you.

DevOps / Release Specialist - Senior IT Support Analyst (US), TD Bank, Falmouth

One of the 10 largest banks in the U.S, TD Bank provides over 9.8 million customers with a full range of products and services. 

The DevOps / Release Specialist - Senior IT Support Analyst will work independently in a senior/lead role on a diverse range of tasks, acting as a subject matter expert, providing technical guidance and highly complex problem resolution. 

You will lead the support of highly complex and/or comprehensive applications/systems and/or business lines and research industry standards, best practices and new innovations in technology and make recommendations. You will need a Bachelor's degree or Technical Certificate plus five years' experience, and experience with DevOps tools (Jenkins, bitbucket, Git/GitHub working knowledge). Apply for this position now.

View More Jobs on the Hackr.io Job Board

Conclusion

To succeed in this field, you need the appropriate DevOps skills. The ten above are some of the most in-demand DevOps skills in 2023. If you aren’t quite familiar with them yet, it may be a good idea to join courses (or train for a certification) to help you improve your DevOps skills set.

Are you looking to improve your resume and potentially increase your chances of getting hired? Check out the 10 best DevOps certification programs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does DevOps need coding?

Coding is one of the top DevOps skills you’ll need to succeed in the field and is vital to becoming a DevOps engineer. Beyond coding, skilled DevOps engineers should also be comfortable with scripting. In a job interview, the interviewer will likely ask you how proficient you are at both.

Is DevOps an IT job?

The term DevOps is a portmanteau between (IT) DEVelopment and OPerations. You can probably tell from the name that DevOps falls under the IT umbrella. Thus, DevOps is an IT job. If you’re wondering, here’s how to become a DevOps Engineer.