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The DevOps Salary Scale & How To Become A DevOps Engineer

Updated: Aug 28, 2023


Kazeem Razaq @K.Razaq / 5:00 PM EDT. September 9, 2022.



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DevOps is the latest buzzword in the IT world. And with good reason: it's a way to bring together developers and operations staff together to improve the performance of your company's IT infrastructure. But what does this mean for you? If you're thinking about joining DevOps, or if you're already working there as a developer or operations specialist, then this guide will help you understand what DevOps is, how it works and how much money you can make by doing so. We'll also discuss learning resources that will help keep your skills up-to-date over time.


What Is DevOps?


DevOps is a development and operations approach that aims to shorten the time from idea to launch while reducing the overall time it takes to develop software. It involves bringing together the development and operations teams in order to modify code, deploy changes and monitor the quality of delivered software. DevOps uses automated tools and processes that enable faster delivery of new features, better monitoring of existing systems, easier testing of new code and improved reliability.


DevOps is all about learning as quickly as possible. DevOps engineers need to constantly read books, attend conferences and meet-ups, take online courses, and so forth. If you are passionate about being a DevOps engineer and want to learn everything there is to know about it then this article is for you.


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DevOps is a software development methodology, culture and mindset that aims to improve the quality of software by integrating the processes involved in building it. DevOps is a collaboration between developers and IT departments. The goal of DevOps is to improve software quality through building and testing by using tools such as continuous integration and deployment. It is an exciting career path and a major step to becoming a better developer. As more and more companies begin to realize the importance of adopting DevOps principles, they are doing everything they can to make sure they have qualified candidates.


The History of DevOps


The term “DevOps” was first coined by Gene Kim and Jez Humble in 2010 at a meeting of large technology companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google. These companies were looking for ways to continuously improve their products through collaboration between developers and operations staff—a practice known as "continuous integration."

Taking this idea further, Dan Kohn created more specific definitions for each aspect of DevOps:

  • DevOps is defined as an integrated approach between development teams (development) and operations teams (operations). It involves continuous integration across all stages of product lifecycle; automated deployment processes; increased automation where possible; better communication between these groups using tools like Slack or HipChat instead of email chains or phone calls.

  • Culture refers not just to technical practices but also organizational norms such as how people dress when they work together (e.g., no jeans). Culture also includes values such as trustworthiness toward each other so everyone knows who's responsible for what tasks now!

What Do DevOps Engineers Do?


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DevOps engineers are responsible for automating and improving the software development process. They’re responsible for the entire application life cycle from development to deployment, monitoring, maintaining and troubleshooting applications.

DevOps engineers are also responsible for making sure that your applications work as expected by other users who use them on a daily basis—and they do this by ensuring that all of your systems are up-to-date with bug fixes and new features before releasing updates or new versions of your products. If something goes wrong during this process (such as an error in code), it can cause serious problems down the road when trying to debug why something went wrong in the first place!


What are the different roles within DevOps and career road map?


There are several different roles within DevOps, each with its own responsibilities. The most common roles include:


  • DevOps Engineer – A DevOps engineer is responsible for both developing software and deploying it on production systems. They’ll also manage infrastructure components like network and server provisioning, security updates and backups etc.

  • DevOps Architect – An architect is responsible for designing how systems should be deployed in order to meet business requirements such as scalability or security needs etc. They will also work closely with other architects to ensure that the overall architecture meets business requirements.

  • Project Manager – A project manager oversees multiple projects at once (including multiple teams) by ensuring projects are on schedule and within budget; they’re also responsible for all aspects of communications between teams.

Career Roadmap

1-3 Years

  • Entry Level DevOps Engineer

  • Contract Consultant ($65/hr)

  • Full-time Salary: $75K- $90K

3-5 Years

  • DevOps Specialist (Intermediate)

  • Contract Consultant ($80/hr)

  • Salary full time: $90K - $120K

5+ Years

  • Senior DevOps Architect

  • Contract Consultant ($80-160/hr)

  • Salary full time: $120K - $250K


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DevOps Engineer Salary

When it comes to DevOps, the salary potential is high. In fact, DevOps professionals are among the highest-paid IT professionals in the industry.


The average base salary for a DevOps engineer is $110,000 (source: Dice), and top-paid DevOps engineers can make up to $200,000.


How much do you make as a DevOps engineer? That depends on where you live and what your experience level is. In order to get an idea of what you can expect in terms of pay, we've taken into account all of the factors that determine salary rates for DevOps roles.


There are several factors that determine your salary, including:

  • How many years of experience do you have.

  • Your education level and certifications.

  • The amount of time it takes to get certified through industry programs.

  • Your location

  • Your company size

  • The role you're hired into (full stack, middle tier or senior)

  • The number of years you've been working in IT


As a DevOps engineer, you are responsible for the configuration management tools that help IT organizations run their businesses more efficiently. You may also be involved in providing technical leadership and direction as well as helping your team members develop new skills through training programs or mentoring opportunities. As such, it's important to understand how much you can expect to make when working in this field and what factors affect your salary package.


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Entry-level DevOps Engineer


The median pay for entry-level DevOps engineer positions is $70,000 per year and the average pay is $100,000 per year. These engineers have just graduated from college and are looking to get their foot in the door with a company that will help them grow. This can mean working for free for a couple of months or getting paid on a project basis.


Mid-Level DevOps Engineer


Mid-level DevOps engineers can earn anywhere from $80,000 to $150,000 per year depending on their experience level, location and industry. The average pay for mid-level DevOps engineers is around $115,000 per year. They have been working in their field for several years now and are looking to move into management roles with larger companies.


How To Become a DevOps Engineer


The traditional pathway to becoming a DevOps engineer is having a degree in computer science, software engineering or a related field. But this isn't necessary. You should however have some experience in programming and scripting. If you're not sure about your ability to write code, then perhaps consider taking an advanced course in web development by enrolling in one of busyQA's top-rated IT courses.


You should also be familiar with DevOps tools and technologies such as Jenkins and Ansible. These will help inform those decisions when it comes time for them to deploy software changes across multiple systems within their organization. A good understanding of these tools means that you'll be able to troubleshoot problems more efficiently than someone who doesn't have this knowledge base—which could save valuable time during testing phases before deploying new versions into production environments.


While the field of DevOps is growing rapidly, it's also in high demand. The best way to make a living as a DevOps engineer is by working for yourself and gaining experience but don't wait too long before you start looking for your next job.


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With this said, there are plenty of opportunities out there for those interested in transitioning into this field because there are so many job openings available right now throughout the country. If you're considering becoming an intermediate or advanced developer who specializes in automation tools like Ansible or Chef Cookbook (or both), then we recommend looking into these positions first before applying elsewhere since they'll give you exposure beyond just being able to code well enough so that others can understand what you're doing when they need help with their own projects!


If you have an interest in this field and want to become a DevOps engineer, it’s never too early to start looking into opportunities. It can be difficult for companies to find skilled DevOps engineers, so start working on your skills as soon as possible.


busyQA can help you make that possible with our online and in-class training. You can get started with our DevOps course which covers GIT, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, Ansible, Terraform, and Cloud. Not only will you learn what you need, but you will also get hands-on experience with our in-house paid co-op, which will give you experience that will able to blow the competition away. Our graduates have gone on to work for each of Canada's Top 100 companies - and you can be next. Ready to land your dream job? Click here to see our next schedule.

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