Hey everyone! I've been a fan of this community for a while. I'm currently a junior DevOps engineer working in the financial sector, but my experience feels limited. Previously, I was a mid-level solutions engineer, and for the past year, I've been managing our team's CI/CD pipelines. However, I feel like I haven't really done 'real' DevOps work yet. I've been studying on my own to gain more exposure, but I'm reaching out to see if any experienced professionals here can point me toward some effective resources or practices that could help me dive deeper into DevOps technologies. I'm starting a new project on Monday, so I hope to gain more exposure then, but I'm eager for any tips you might have!
3 Answers
After 20+ years in the field, I’m curious about what you mean by 'real DevOps.' It depends highly on your tools, platforms, and the languages you're using. For me, that includes AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, and a bit of Python. It's beneficial to keep picking up new skills, but make sure you're building a personal lab environment to experiment without affecting company assets—this was a game changer for me!
Essentially, you need to familiarize yourself with Kubernetes, Docker, Infrastructure as Code using Terraform or Pulumi, and a contemporary CI/CD system. Also, brushing up on some coding basics can be really handy—stick to easier challenges for practice, though! Know your organization’s specific constraints and learn from your past missteps, as those "war stories" can be super insightful.
I've got some experience with Docker and I'm slowly learning Terraform too! Would you suggest running everything on a Linux environment? I've switched to a new Mac and it seems trickier to set Linux up compared to my older machines.
I totally understand where you're coming from! I'm in a similar boat—limited DevOps exposure at my job, but I try to learn through online content in my free time. I've even considered freelancing to gain more hands-on experience, but time constraints make that tough. I'm really excited to hear what the more seasoned folks in this forum suggest!
You might want to set up a low-cost home lab with a few Raspberry Pis or repurposed old computers to run Linux. Try installing k3s, create a CI/CD pipeline, and deploy applications yourself. It's a practical way to learn about the technologies. Also, try building a media server or something similar—it's much more engaging. Watching tutorials online is good, but nothing beats hands-on experience.
I get what you mean! In my last role, I was mostly maintaining the automation pipelines. It felt like I was missing out on the real DevOps experience, especially now that I'm starting something new and want to broaden my skills.