Feeling Stuck in My First DevOps Job – How Can I Boost My Skills and Career?

I totally get where you’re coming from; I’m in a similar situation work-wise. I suggest focusing on building a few personal projects using the skills you’ve learned, like Ansible and Terraform. Maybe work on deploying a basic multi-tier web app using AWS and Terraform. This’ll provide you hands-on experience and tangible outputs for your resume. Don’t worry too much about what you lack; just make the most of your current position while expanding your skills.

It sounds like you have a solid foundation already! I recommend trying to take on more initiatives within your current role. Since you’re familiar with the team and tech, propose small improvements to your existing processes. Don’t wait for your boss to give you those tasks—suggest changes you can implement to improve quality or efficiency. This way, you can build up your experience without needing to switch jobs right away, and it might make it easier to transition into a more dedicated DevOps position later.

Keep up with your learning—certifications can really boost your profile. Look for ways to improve the infrastructure at your job, even if you can’t directly implement them. For cloud environments, assess cloud spending or deployment processes. You could create a Terraform module or enhance your CI/CD pipeline. That’ll give you some practical experience and show your proactive attitude, which hiring managers really appreciate.

Building relationships is super important, especially with senior engineers. Maybe ask if you can shadow them to learn more about their work. Just make sure to be respectful of their time. Once you’ve shown some competency, it’ll be easier to approach your boss about bigger tasks. Getting a mentor can really help you gain the skills and confidence you need.