DevOps is an amalgamation of the term development and operations. It is a cultural philosophy that aims at integrating software development and software operations to deliver applications or services at a very high velocity.

DevOps helps organizations to evolve and to produce improved products at a quicker pace than the organizations which use traditional software development methodology and infrastructure management process.

Read: A Brief Overview About DevOps

Let us go through the top 7 skills in demand for a DevOps engineer.

1. Linux Fundamentals and Scripting

Did you know that 94% of the world’s supercomputers are powered by Linux? Most of the big organizations prefer to work in a Linux environment. Hence, it’s only natural for recruiters to expect candidates to be well equipped with the Linux concepts.

A DevOps engineer not only needs to be aware of the Linux concepts, but he also needs to be fluent in scripting languages like Python for easy navigation through devices, software, and servers. Scripting also helps in automation of the tasks, therefore, decreasing the time and increasing the efficiency of the code which results in increasing your value to the company.

2. Knowledge of Various DevOps Tools and Technologies

DevOps has a lot of phases that require a clear and concise understanding of DevOps tools which makes the work much easier. For instance, you need to know about Configuration tools like Puppet, Ansible which have their master nodes on Linux.

It is always good to be informed about security tools like White source bolt which is an open source free tool and similar tools like Docker, Saltstack, etc.

As we previously stressed that scripting helps in automation of tasks. So, it will definitely help if you have an idea of tools which help in automation such as Behat, Chef, Nagios, etc.

Read: Be Prepared for DevOps Revolution

3. Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery

Knowledge of tools alone is never sufficient, application of tools according to the situation plays a very important role. The tools should be used for Continuous integration and continuous delivery. Sometimes even continuous deployment is done. Although, we suggest you to not implement continuous deployment as it has a lot of risks.

Too technical? Don’t worry, we will make it easier for you.

• How Does Continuous Integration Work and Why Do We Need It?

Developer frequently commits to a shared place (repository) using a version control system such as GIT. Developers might run local unit tests on their code to add an additional layer of verification before integrating their code. Continuous integration helps in building and running unit tests on the new code changes for immediately identifying errors. Previously the developers used to merge their changes to the master branch only after their work was completed. This proved to be risky as merging the code changes were difficult and it consumed a lot of time. Bugs used to get accumulated for a long time without undergoing any corrections. This resulted in the delay of update releases.

Continuous delivery is a practice where the code changes are automatically prepared for release into production.

Continuous Delivery Vs Continuous Deployment

In continuous delivery, every code change is built, tested and then pushed to a non-production testing stage. There can be multiple parallel stages before the product is deployed. Whereas in continuous deployment the production is deployed without manual approval. Continuous deployment is a very risky process because some bugs may go unnoticed as there is no manual approval.

4. Infrastructure as Code

Imagine you are having the best day of your life, camping out in the woods while sipping hot chocolate on a Sunday morning. Your boss suddenly calls you and orders you to come to the office instantly because one of the servers crashed. Many of us may have already been through this awful experience. Some of us would have had a panic attack for just recollecting the ordeal that they had to go through for configuring the server.

Even though you have all the documentation with you to reconfigure the server, it still requires a lot of time. What if we told you that there is a better way to do this?

Infrastructure as a code (IAC) is a type of IT infrastructure which holds the key to your issues. The IAC can manage and automate provisioning infrastructure in addition to deployments. This is not just writing scripts, it involves using tested and proven software development practices that are already in use for app development.

5. Soft Skills

Soft skills are an indispensable skill set which cannot be ignored by any professional especially DevOps engineers. Communication, as usual, is a quintessential part of your life, it helps in communicating with developers and operators so that better software can be released. It also helps in cultivating a positive relationship with the customers and stakeholders. This, in turn, helps you to manage the situation in case there are impediments which occur at the wrong time and delays the project. As a successful DevOps engineer, you should be able to listen attentively, negotiate, solve problems and build teams.

6. The Customer-First Mindset with Decision-Making Abilities

Delivering the best value to the customers should always be the top priority for a DevOps engineer. When you are focussed on delivering the best value to the customer you will be automatically inclined to look at the bigger picture all the time. This is one of the most important traits that recruiters look for in a candidate as this decides everything about your ability.

Making good decisions will always separate you from the herd and put you on the top of the pile. Any organization will hesitate to hire you if they realise that you are bad at making decisions and it is unacceptable if you are in for a DevOps engineer role. You will be thrown in tricky situations where your decisions make or break the situation. For instance, you are in a situation where you have to decide how to modify a code quickly. And based on your decision the rapid development and deployment of code changes depend.

7. Security Skills

Everyone is aware of the antics of hackers. And that is the reason this final skill is the most important and preferred skill in many organizations. The easiest way for hackers to get into a system is through the vulnerabilities in it.

DevOps adopts a faster cycle of development and deployment of code changes. Hence the risk of vulnerabilities developed during the cycle is very high. Therefore, the engineers are always instructed to adopt secure coding so as to prevent hackers from finding a backdoor to the system through their code. Additionally, a contingency plan should be prepared in case a hacker gets inside the system.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the preferred candidate for a DevOps engineer designation should be equipped with knowledge of Linux, tools of DevOps and should have good communication skillset with decision-making abilities. Organizations prefer candidates who have good knowledge about incorporating secure codes and are well versed with DevOps technologies and tools.

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