Hey everyone! I recently finished a 3-month internship as a "DevOps Intern" right after graduating college. I had background knowledge in networking, system design, and AWS, which is why they thought I could handle this role. However, my experience wasn't great at all. I was thrown into the deep end with little guidance—my manager mostly told me to explore on my own and use tools like ChatGPT for help. Whenever I did ask for assistance, he seemed annoyed and would tell me that ChatGPT could teach me better than he could. To make matters worse, I felt lost trying to connect all the dots between K8s, Jenkins, AWS, and other tools. At the end of my internship, they decided not to offer me a full-time position, citing high expectations for someone straight out of college.
So I'm left wondering: has anyone else started in DevOps right out of college? How did you manage that? What kind of training did you receive? Additionally, I'm looking for advice on where to go next. I understand now that I probably need more experience in a developer or sysadmin role before attempting DevOps again.
5 Answers
I went straight into DevOps after college too, but back then, there was way less complexity in the cloud landscape. Your experience sounds rough. Honestly, it seems like they were just looking for a cheap replacement for an experienced hire rather than fostering your growth. You deserve better than being left to fend for yourself with tools like ChatGPT.
It's completely realistic to feel overwhelmed—DevOps roles often require loads of experience to be effective, which is tough for newbies. I started in backend development which let me pick up DevOps skills alongside. Maybe consider pursuing that path to gain valuable experience before trying DevOps again. You'll be better equipped for it in the future!
It sounds like your manager seriously dropped the ball. You can't just toss someone into an undocumented environment and expect them to figure everything out. That setup was unfair; most solid internships ideally have structured guidance to help you grow. Don’t be too hard on yourself—it was the company’s unrealistic expectations at fault.
I appreciate your perspective! They did have some documentation, but it still felt overwhelming. I was hoping to get more hands-on support to navigate everything.
Your internship experience sounds pretty tough! I graduated with limited AWS experience but had some good mentors who guided me along the way. Maybe take what you learned and polish your resume. For your next role, be upfront in interviews about needing more structured onboarding—they should provide proper support for junior roles.
Definitely! I realize how vital mentoring is for juniors now. Thank you for the advice!
They really set you up to fail. If I had gone through that without support, I would have been lost too! I'd recommend focusing on a sysadmin or developer role first to build your skills. Getting some solid foundational experience will help you be much more prepared next time. Also, practice in a home lab can do wonders to make sense of it all.
Great tips! I plan to work on my skills before heading back into DevOps. Thanks!
Right? Their approach is pretty chaotic. The best internships have mentors who genuinely help guide you through the learning process instead of expecting you to be an expert from day one.