I've recently made the switch from a cloud support role to a DevOps position, and while I'm getting the hang of it, I often find myself navigating a complex infrastructure mostly on my own. My team consists of just me and a senior engineer who hasn't been very hands-on lately. Most of my tasks revolve around maintaining and enhancing existing infrastructure, troubleshooting production issues, and slowly adapting to new tools like AWS CodePipeline after we moved from GitHub actions. I have a tech stack involving EC2s, ECS Fargate, and CloudWatch for monitoring, but I feel like I'm on a bit of a learning curve. Given the challenges I'm facing and the fact that I can't always find the answers I need, I'm looking for advice on what key areas I should focus on as a mid-level engineer. Also, how long should I expect it to take to roll out new features? Sometimes it feels seamless, but other times it's a scramble. Any book recommendations to help me level up would also be appreciated!
6 Answers
DevOps is like a complex game where you need to navigate various layers. At a mid-level, you should have familiarity with several stacks, even if you're not an expert in everything. It’s all about understanding the bigger picture while being able to problem-solve when issues arise. So, is there a specific tech area where you feel you want to deepen your knowledge?
For a mid-level role, mastering your current tech stack while working on skills in automation, monitoring, and security would be key. I recommend diving deeper into AWS services like CodePipeline and exploring the AWS Well-Architected Framework for architecture optimization. A solid book to read is 'Site Reliability Engineering' by Google. Also, consider building a home lab for practical experience – it's a great way to learn without the pressure of production!
It's great that you're looking to optimize and take on challenges. One thing I've found helpful is to define specific areas to grow in. Each job change can be an opportunity to focus on a new skill, whether it’s virtualization, containerization, or scaling systems. In 10-20 years, you'll have a wealth of knowledge to pass on!
Yeah, I'm currently doing that too, looking into optimizing what we already have.
Focus on CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, Infrastructure as Code, security basics, and cost optimization. As you deepen your understanding of your cloud provider, building a home lab can be a fantastic way to gain confidence and flesh out your resume.
How are you feeling with Git? Are you using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) or still doing most operations manually? Also, do you have an understanding of your infrastructure costs and whether they line up with expectations? In my experience, roles marked 'DevOps Engineer' can vary widely – are you more aligned with traditional sysadmin tasks or are you leaning more into SRE responsibilities?
My Git skills are decent, mainly using the CLI for common operations. Everything I implement is via Terraform, so we are definitely doing IaC. And yes, I handle cost management as well; I've set up scheduled downtime to save on resources!
Check out the One2N SRE bootcamp! It's a fantastic way to gain a broad understanding of the DevOps and SRE landscape, from local development all the way to production. Just a heads-up, I helped create it!
I'm gonna save this for later! This could be a great resource for onboarding new team members.
I totally agree! I feel having a little knowledge across the board is definitely useful, but I'm wondering what specific areas are most critical for mid-level expectations.