What’s the Best Career Path for Breaking into DevOps?

To thrive in DevOps, you should focus on mastering Linux, networking, and programming in languages like Python. Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code and containerization is vital too. If you're already comfortable with Python, working on cloud services like AWS can help. Practice building CI/CD pipelines, and take the time to really learn system administration; it’ll pay off.

Breaking into tech can be tricky right now, especially with how fast things are evolving. I’ve been in the field since 2011, and one thing I’ve noticed is that developers are getting more involved with infrastructure tasks as AI tools streamline their workloads. Keep your programming skills sharp—it’ll definitely help you in the DevOps space.

Starting your DevOps career can be daunting, but there are junior roles out there, even if they’re hard to find. Open up an AWS account, start building projects, and familiarize yourself with essential services. Finding your niche—whether it's platform management or infrastructure support—will help you figure out what you enjoy the most.

Internships and taking on more responsibilities while you’re in your current roles are critical steps. You won’t just jump straight into a Site Reliability Engineer or DevOps position. You need to gradually scale up by taking on challenges that align with where you want to go. Find ways to incorporate your interests into your current job.

There are many paths into DevOps! My journey started in helpdesk support, then I climbed up to sysadmin before landing my first DevOps role. It’s often easier to transition from a programming background versus someone who has strictly done traditional systems administration. If you can grab a junior position, show your interest and foundational knowledge, that will give you a leg up in landing a role.