Fact checked by In this article, we share the top 12 devops skills you need to get hired in 2024. Whether you’d like to land a job as a devops engineer or want to further your career by learning new devops skills, we’ve covered essential devops skills for all levels.
In 2024 and onwards, DevOps continues to be essential for fostering seamless collaboration between traditional development and operations teams, leading to faster development cycles, quicker deployments, and improved efficiency.
And with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting a median salary of nearly $100,000 for traditional systems admins, learning devops skills can be a highly rewarding way to level-up your career and stay ahead of the curve.
So if you’re ready, let’s dive into the 12 most in-demand devops skills you need to know to get hired in 2024.
Top 12 In-Demand DevOps Skills in 2024
Whether you're just starting out in DevOps and you're trying to figure out the skills you need to succeed, or you're an experienced pro that's considering a DevOps certification to level up their career, let's look at the top 12 skills for DevOps engineers in 2024:
- Linux Fundamentals & Scripting Skills
- Security Skills
- Automation Skills
- Programming & Coding Skills
- Cloud Skills
- Testing Skills
- Continuous Integration & Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)
- Configuration & Version Management
- Proactive Monitoring & Logging
- Containerization & Orchestration
- Communication & Collaboration
- Soft Skills
1. Linux Fundamentals & 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 employers also value knowledge of BASH scripting as it’s commonly used in system administration tasks and automation.
2. Security Skills
DevOps engineers need security skills to ensure the protection of systems and data. As a professional in this field, you’ll need security skills like change management, code analysis, threat investigation, vulnerability assessment, and more. These skills will help to address security concerns throughout the development and operations lifecycle.
3. Automation Skills
Automation is one of the most important if you want to become a DevOps Engineer. You need to know how to automate full pipelines, understand CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure and configurations, app performance monitoring, and more.
DevOps engineers should also know how to use automation tools like SCM (source code management) and Ansible, Puppet, and Chef.
4. Programming & Coding Skills
Programming skills play a crucial role in a DevOps engineer’s day-to-day responsibilities. DevOps engineers can develop custom tools and scripts for automation purposes. Not only that, programming and coding skills can come in handy when implementing infrastructure as code practices, maintaining CI/CD pipelines, and troubleshooting and debugging too. Without knowing how to program or code, finding employment in the field may be next to impossible.
5. Cloud Skills
Knowledge of cloud computing is important for DevOps. Engineers need to have solid skills in network management and database management, and you should also learn about Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and how to use tools like Terraform or CloudFormation.
It's also ideal to understand Identity and Access Management (IAM), and you should be familiar with leading cloud platforms such as AWS (Amazon Web Services), GCP (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.
This includes unit testing, deployment testing, performance testing, and integration testing. You should also learn how to use testing tools and frameworks like Selenium, Gatling, Postman, and Cypress. Strong testing skills can help you stand out, as companies are always looking for ways to deliver reliable software solutions to their end users.
7. Continuous Integration & Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)
As a DevOps engineer, you play a vital role in automating the software delivery process. And this includes creating and maintaining efficient CI/CD pipelines. You should be familiar with version control systems like Git and know how to automate the build, test, and deployment process with tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, Circle CI, Travis CI, or Azure DevOps.
8. Configuration & Version Management
Some of the most essential DevOps skills are configuration management and version management. With configuration management, businesses can scale software systems and infrastructure without needing to scale staff correspondingly, and with version management, engineers can track and manage changes to code.
You should take the time to learn to use tools like Git, Jenkins, and Maven.
9. Proactive Monitoring & Logging
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 Nagios and be able to recognize production system bottlenecks and other issues. Another important task is log management via tools like Splunk to collect and analyze logs. You should also know how to create dashboards to visualize logs and troubleshoot issues.
10. Containerization & Orchestration
DevOps engineers use containerization technologies like Docker or Kubernetes to package applications and their dependencies into portable, lightweight containers. These containers offer consistency and also make it easy to scale across different environments. Tools like Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and Amazon ECS help DevOps engineers configure and optimize container clusters in cloud-native environments. And they also help in automating scaling across these environments.
11. 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 barriers between development and operations teams. That said, you should master both synchronous and asynchronous communication tools.
This means being familiar with synchronous tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom for real-time discussions, meetings, and quick problem-solving. Asynchronous tools like Jira, Loom, and Slack are ideal for flexible communication, records of discussions, and or coordinating tasks.
12. Soft Skills
Beyond the technical dev ops skills listed above, engineers must also have soft skills to thrive in their work environments, as well as when answering DevOps interview questions. Some of these include interpersonal skills to collaborate with team members, listening skills, time management, self-motivation, and 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.
DevOps Engineer, SAP, Reston, VA (Hybrid-Remote)
SAP is hiring a DevOps Engineer that's passionate about automation and has an understanding of software development and system administration. You will work closely with their software engineering teams to design, automate, and optimize scalable systems, and will help solve complex system issues.
If you have 3-5 years of experience in a similar role; are proficient in managing cloud infrastructure and services, particularly in environments that use Git, Terraform, and Kubernetes; knowledge in deploying SAP Ariba and familiarity with Kafka, Hadoop, and Cassandra; this role could be for you.
See a full list of requirements for this DevOps Engineer role here, and check out further vacancies at SAP.
Principal DevOps Engineer, Northrop Grumman, Aurora, CO
Northrop Grumman is looking for a Principal DevOps Engineer with an active Top Secret/SCI clearance, a Bachelor’s degree, and 5+ years of software development experience.
If you have knowledge of administration with Linux or related operating systems; experience in an Agile software development framework; familiarity with the Atlassian tool suite (Bitbucket, Jira, and Confluence); this could be an ideal role for you.
If you are passionate about evolving processes and infrastructure to execute programs supporting rapid capability maturation and deployment, check out the full listing for this Principal DevOps Engineer role, or discover other job openings at Northrop Grumman.
DevOps Lead, Deloitte, Dallas, TX
Deloitte is looking for a DevOps Lead with 7+ years of experience to take the helm of a global team of DevOps Engineers responsible for delivering and maintaining multiple applications within their portfolio.
If you have knowledge of containerization and orchestration; experience with Git version control systems; experience in development with scripting languages, preferably PowerShell and/or Bash; experience with Azure cloud IaaS and PaaS solutions; experience working in an agile development team, this could be a great fit for you.
Check out the full list of requirements for this DevOps Lead role, or discover other job openings at Deloitte.
View More Jobs on the Hackr.io Job Board
What Is DevOps?
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 2022, the size of the DevOps market exceeded $8 billion, and it is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 20% from 2024 to 2032.
So what is DevOps? It is a function that sits between and streamlines two traditionally siloed areas: IT operations and software development.
Using DevOps 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.
This means you don't need to think about things in terms of DevOps vs Agile, as the two can co-exist naturally.
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, and with more than 18% of IT recruitment consultants reporting a struggle in finding suitably skilled DevOps engineers, now is the right time to learn the top DevOps skills you need to succeed this year.
Roles and Responsibilities Of A DevOps Engineer
DevOps engineers perform various tasks. The roles and responsibilities may differ depending on the organization or project requirements. The following are some of the common responsibilities.
- Continuous Integration and Delivery: Setting up CI/CD pipelines to automate integration, testing, and deployment processes, enabling fast and reliable software delivery.
- Managing Infrastructure: Provisioning servers, configuring networks, and managing storage to support software development and deployment.
- Monitoring and Troubleshooting Systems: Utilizing tools like Sentry and Splunk to monitor system performance, identify issues, and troubleshoot problems.
- Project Planning: Participating in project planning meetings to define operational and development requirements.
- Incorporating Security Best Practices: Ensuring compliance with security standards and implementing security measures to protect systems and data.
- Documentation and Knowledge Sharing: Contributing to technical documentation, runbooks, and facilitating effective knowledge sharing within the organization.
The Future of DevOps
The future of DevOps holds some exciting possibilities. Let's look at some of the recent trends that are likely to shape the future of DevOps.
- DevSecOps: This is the integration of security practices into DevOps, and it stresses the importance of implementing security best practices throughout the software development lifecycle.
- AIOps and Machine Learning: Using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to automate and improve various aspects of DevOps, such as monitoring, incident response, and predictive analytics.
- Microservices Architecture: Microservices have become very popular as they help companies to build scalable and modular applications and also promote agile and faster deployments.
- Serverless Computing: Serverless architecture allows developers to focus on code without managing the underlying infrastructure. This helps with reducing complexities in the development process.
- GitOps: The use of Git as a single source of truth for managing infrastructure and application deployments. Changes to infrastructure or application configurations are made through Git commits. This ensures consistency and also traceability.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, the top 12 devops skills you need to get hired in 2024. Whether you’re new to the field and want to land a job as a devops engineer or an experienced pro that wants to further your career by learning new devops skills, we’ve covered essential devops skills for all levels.
And with the future looking bright for DevOps, now is the time to level up your toolkit by learning the essential devops skills you need to stand out in this growing market.
Are you looking to break into the DevOps field, but you're not sure where to start? Check Out:
IBM's Introduction to DevOps on Coursera
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What Are the Skills Required to Become a DevOps Engineer?
As a DevOps Engineer, you need to be skilled in the following; cloud computing, containerization, automation, scripting, CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and more. We encourage you to read the full article to learn more about these skills and why they are important.
2. What Are the Roles and Responsibilities of DevOps Engineers?
DevOps engineers help bridge the gap between engineers and operations teams. Their responsibilities include designing and implementing infrastructure, managing CI/CD pipelines, automating deployments, ensuring system reliability, and promoting collaboration across teams.
3. What is the Future of DevOps Engineers?
The future of DevOps engineering is promising as more organizations embrace DevOps practices. However, to stay relevant, DevOps engineers must adapt to emerging trends like containerization, serverless architecture, and MLOps. Learning new skills and staying updated will help you build a successful career in DevOps.
4. What Are Some of the Commonly Used DevOps Tools?
Some of the commonly used DevOps tools include Git, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, Ansible, and Terraform. These tools aid in version control, continuous integration, containerization, orchestration, and infrastructure management.
5. How Can One Become a DevOps Consultant?
To become a DevOps consultant, focus on obtaining a relevant education and gaining hands-on experience with key DevOps tools and technologies. Build your portfolio, improve soft skills, and network with professionals in the industry to increase your chances of landing consulting roles. Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and continuously learn to remain competitive in this evolving field.
6. 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.
7. 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.
