I'm moving into a Project Manager role within a DevSecOps organization, but I don't have a technical background. I'd like to build enough knowledge to work effectively with the engineering and operations teams, and my role may require certifications in both DevOps and cloud computing. Which certification paths or beginner-friendly training programs would be most useful?
3 Answers
Start by asking your organization which cloud platform, tools, and certifications they actually use or value. The best choice will usually match your team’s environment—for example, Azure certifications if the team uses Azure DevOps, or AWS training if AWS is the main platform. There isn’t one universal DevOps certification that fits every company.
If your organization primarily uses Microsoft technologies, an Azure DevOps Engineer Expert path such as AZ-400 may be relevant, though it is not really a beginner-level exam. If the company runs on AWS, look at AWS’s introductory DevOps learning material first and then choose a certification based on your actual responsibilities. Match the credential to the platform and tools your team uses rather than pursuing a generic label.
Before jumping into advanced DevOps certifications, build a broad IT foundation. Focus on Linux basics, networking, version control, scripting concepts, and how cloud services work. You don’t necessarily need to become a full-time engineer, but understanding tools such as Bash, Python, CI/CD pipelines, containers, and infrastructure as code will make the certification material—and your project discussions—much easier to follow.
A simple way to ask is: “Which training resources and certifications do people on this team recommend?” That should give you a much more relevant starting point than choosing a certification blindly.