I've been working as a field technician for a little over two years and currently hold several certifications, including the CCNA and Security+. I'm studying for the RHCSA because I'd like to move into a systems administrator role and eventually work in DevOps. Before I commit more time to that plan, I'd appreciate advice from people with experience in these areas. Is sysadmin work a useful stepping stone toward DevOps, or would another path make more sense?
3 Answers
Your certifications should help open doors, but certifications alone won’t show employers that you can do the work. Build a few practical projects, such as deploying a Linux service, managing it with Ansible, putting the configuration in Git, and creating a basic CI/CD pipeline. That will help you decide whether you actually enjoy the day-to-day work and give you something concrete to discuss in interviews.
Sysadmin can be a useful route, but it’s a broad generalist job and not automatically a direct bridge into DevOps. If you take that path, look for roles where you’ll manage Linux systems, automate repetitive work, use configuration management, and support cloud infrastructure. Those responsibilities will translate much better than a position focused mostly on desktop support or manual ticket work.
You’re building a solid foundation, especially with networking and Linux certifications. The bigger question is whether you enjoy coding, scripting, automation, and working with deployment tools. DevOps tends to involve much more than traditional infrastructure support, so start practicing with Bash or Python, Git, CI/CD, containers, and a cloud platform alongside your RHCSA studies.
I’d also spend some time learning cloud fundamentals before committing to a specific job title. Even basic experience with virtual networks, identity, storage, and monitoring can make the transition from infrastructure support to automation much easier.