​Is DevOps still a good career specialisation in 2021? Based on current demand, we can safely say, yes, it can be.

In June, LinkedIn listed DevOps Engineer as the 10th most demanded job overall, based on the number of job posts published. And given that DevOps is more of a concept than it is a ‘role’, there are probably a lot more in demand opportunities out there.

Here’s an overview of the DevOps function, market, and salaries.

DevOps in a nutshell

If you’re new to DevOps, what you may find most interesting is that it can’t really be put into a box. DevOps is a concept / philosophy, and/or set of principles. If you were to ask 100 DevOps engineers how they’d describe DevOps, you’d probably get 100 different answers!

I would say it’s a way to deliver software applications to production faster and more reliably, which is essential for any business. That’s because the basic principle of DevOps is to enable continuous deployment and continuous delivery (CI/CD), but it’s an ever-evolving, fluid role.

The best way to describe the role of a DevOps team is that they are responsible for exposing blind spots in the applications and infrastructure of a company, and then figuring out how they can monitor and fix things.

Technical skills - DevOps tools and languages

DevOps is an ever-changing part of any business. The required tools are generally categorised by station. Here are some examples:

Building – Jenkins & Bamboo

Source code management – Bitbucket, GitLab, GitHub

Configuration management – Chef, Puppet, Ansible

Containerisation – Docker & Kubernetes

Cloud Platforms – AWS remains the highest in demand, as well as Azure & GCP

Java & Python continue to be the "go to" languages most frequently needed on the market, but SQL and C++ experience are also in demand.

What to expect from a career in DevOps

Experiences may vary, however here’s a quick round up of some of our major employers to give you an idea of what’s happening in the market.

AWS – As the market leader in cloud technology, they hire the best operators and pay solid salaries.

Macquarie Bank – Currently going through an exciting time with huge transformation projects, presenting development and upskilling opportunities.

Tabcorp – Going through a rapid period of change and growth with an interesting re-structure happening. They’re in the process of building an IT centre of excellence across their offices, which would enable you to get involved in some exciting greenfield projects.

QBE – The market leader of insurance in Australia, they’re a collaborative company that provides the opportunity to work with full autonomy.

DevOps market insights

It’s a hot market right now where demand for DevOps Engineers is the highest we’ve seen on record, with the largest areas of demand across Australia within the Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane areas.

But supply within the market has dramatically fallen, and there are several reasons behind this.

1. More demand on tech practices within an organization.
2. Lack of new talent on the market coming from abroad because of the on-going pandemic and lockdown laws preventing overseas travel and migration.
3. Most companies don’t want to go down the sponsorship route or transfer of visas for migrants already working in Australia.
4. Candidates are receiving large counteroffers from their current employer, as employers know it will cost more to replace them in an already candidate short market.
5. Candidates are staying put, as some feel that moving into a new role during a pandemic is not the right decision to make, due to a fear of job stability/security.

DevOps salaries in Australia

These factors are driving a shift in the DevOps salaries being offered between the three major cities. Twelve to 18 months ago, salaries were $10k - $20k less in Brisbane compared to Sydney and Melbourne due to the lower cost of living.

However, given the shift to remote working driven by the pandemic, this has now completely changed. As more clients become open to remote work, salaries have levelled across Australia:

DevOps Engineer: $120k - $150k + super – Australia wide

Senior DevOps Engineer: $150k - $170k + super - Australia wide

DevOps Lead: $170k - $190k + super - Australia wide

DevOps Manager: $190k - $200k and above + super - Australia wide

5 courses to help start your career in DevOps

Here are 5 courses that can help you level up your DevOps career.

1. DevOps culture and Mindset – For basic foundational principles of DevOps with a focus on culture and the DevOps mindset

2. Learn DevOps: The complete Kubernetes course – Learn how to build, deploy, use and maintain Kubernetes

3. Docker crash course for busy DevOps and developers – Learn how to develop and deploy web applications with Docker technologies

4. Learn DevOps: Infrastructure Automation with Terraform – Learn how to automate infrastructure with Terraform. Covers Terraform with AWS, Packer, Docker, ECS, EKS & Jenkins

5. Docker Mastery: with Kubernetes + Swarm – Build, test and deploy containers with this mega course on Docker, Kubernetes, Compose, Swarm and Registry

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No matter where you’re at in your DevOps career, you can reach out to Jonathan to learn more about our current opportunities.