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DevOps professionals are needed in today’s organizations more than ever to support digital transformation and ensure quicker, more innovative development cycles. Over the next five years, DevOps skills are projected to grow 122%, which means endless possibilities for career advancement in this ever-evolving field.
Whether you’re just starting out in your DevOps career or are more experienced in this growing field, DevOps certification helps you level up in your career.
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Best for mid-level DevOps engineers with two-plus years experience
Amazon’s AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional certification validates the ability to automate the testing and deployment of AWS infrastructure and applications.
This certification is geared towards individuals with at least two years of experience provisioning, operating, and managing AWS environments.
The DOP-C01 exam contains multiple-choice and multiple-response questions and is administered either at a testing center or via online proctoring services. Preparation for the exam is self-guided. The exam guide, practice exams, and other AWS training resources are available to aid in preparation. Expect the exam preparation to take 1-2 weeks.
Before taking the exam, the following experience is recommended:
The exam contents are segmented into six domains, each weighing between 14% and 22% of the total score.
The first domain, at 22% of the exam, has four task statements. Each of them is used to test your knowledge of various SDLC areas, including CI/CD pipeline implementation, integration of automated testing into CI/CD pipelines, building and managing artifacts, and implementation of deployment strategies, such as container and serverless environments.
This domain has an exam percentage of 17% plus three task statements. You should be able to:
To pass this domain, you must have knowledge of IaC and AWS tools like AWS Serverless Application Model (AWS SAM), AWS CloudFormation, and AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK), as well as system inventory automation, configuration, and patch management.
Here Amazon tests you in three key areas, including your knowledge of how to implement highly available solutions to meet resilience and business requirements, identifying and remediating scaling issues, and automated recovery processes to meet RTO/RPO requirements. This domain ascertains your skills in configuring load balancing to support cross-AZ services, deploying container-based applications and testing failover of multi-AZ and multi-region workloads. It measures 15% of the exam.
This category weighs 15%, and gauges your ability to monitor applications and infrastructure, collect custom metrics using the CloudWatch agent, and configure solutions for auto-scaling and S3 events to process log files will be tested. Knowledge of anomaly detection alarms, AWS key management service, and real-time log ingestion is also a plus.
The fifth domain tests and ascertains your ability to respond to an incident correctly. It has a 14% weighting and determines your ability to troubleshoot system and application failures, your knowledge of root cause analysis, plus AWS health services like AWS Health, CloudWatch, Systems Manager, and OpsCenter.
With an examination score of 17%, Domain 6 helps gauge your knowledge of implementing techniques for identity and access management (IAM), access management based on user roles, and automation for security controls and data protection. To pass this category, you must be skilled in analyzing logs, metrics, and security findings, encryption of data in transit and data at rest, and activation of multi-factor authentication (MFA), AWS Security Token Service (AWS STS), and IAM profiles.
Best for developers or infrastructure administrators
Microsoft’s DevOps Engineer Expert certification is for individuals who already have experience with both Azure administration and development and expertise in at least one of these areas.
You must first have at least one of the associate certificates to get started, either the Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator certification or the Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certification. Upon earning this certification, you are qualified to design and implement strategies for the following areas within the organization:
To prepare for the AZ-400 exam, you have the option to go through self-paced study modules for free or pay a fee to go through the modules with an instructor. Expect the exam preparation to take 4-6 weeks.
The experience required for this certification is as follows:
Prospective candidates for this certification course have the option to take self-paced or instructor-led courses. It includes nine learning paths with 58 modules spread across the courses.
It’s recommended to take these courses before signing up for the prerequisite certifications, as it will help increase your success chance.
Best for aspiring entry-level DevOps professionals
The DevOps Institute offers a DevOps Foundation certification that will validate an individual’s knowledge and skills. More specifically, with this certification individuals get a solid understanding of CI/CD, testing, security, and “The Three Ways,” DevOps relationships to other methodologies, such as Agile and Lean, and more.
There are no prerequisites to taking the open-book web-based exam that contains 40 multiple-choice questions. To study for the exam, you can choose the instructor-led or self-study option. Regardless, expect the exam prep to take a total of 16 hours.
This certification doesn’t require any experience level. It has 16 hours of instructor-led training to help you learn before the exams.
This course has eight modules, which outline what you will learn during the certification process.
Best for aspiring DevOps engineers who want to gain technical DevOps knowledge
A second certification from the DevOps Institute, the DevOps Engineering Foundation, ensures foundational understanding of core knowledge, principles, and practices but from a technical perspective that is needed to engineer a successful DevOps solution.
As with the DevOps Foundation certification, there are no prerequisites for the DevOps Engineering Foundation certification. Individuals answer 40 multiple-choice questions in the open-book web-based exam. You can opt for the instructor-led or self-study option. Exam prep takes 16 hours.
This course is designed for individuals and organizations getting started with their DevOps journey. It doesn’t require any prior experience. However, DevOps institute encourages candidates to have a basic knowledge of DevOps and Agile processes.
A sample of covered topics includes the following:
Best for those with minimal Docker experience (one year or less) who want to sharpen their Docker knowledge
The Docker Certified Associate exam is designed by experienced Docker practitioners and validates the foundational Docker skill set. It tests mastery of topics, such as networking, orchestration, security, image creation, and more.
Several institutions offer exam prep courses, so budget 24-36 hours of study time. The course cost will also vary, depending on which training program you opt for.
This course is designed for junior Docker practitioners. The course providers encourage prospective candidates to have at least 6 to 12 months of Docker experience.
While preparing for your exam, you can sign up for the provider’s on-demand courses as they serve as study materials for the certification programs. With these materials, individuals can have cloud based lab access for about 8 to 40 hours depending on the course.
Note that course contents vary based on the type of course. For instance, the Cloud Native Development Bootcamp | CN252 teaches learners how to develop secure containerized applications, while the DevOps Engineer Bootcamp | CN255 covers Docker containerization essentials, Kubernetes application essentials, Kubernetes native application development, Kubernetes operations, and advanced Kubernetes security.
Best for experienced cloud developers, especially those who are familiar with Google Cloud
Google’s Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer certification is intended for those who want to become skilled at using Google Cloud to build software delivery pipelines, deploy and monitor services, and manage and learn from incidents.
The exam, to be taken at a testing center or remotely via online proctoring, contains multiple-choice questions and takes two hours. There are no prerequisites to taking the exam; however, as with the AWS certification, at least three years of industry experience and at least one year of experience managing solutions on Google Cloud is recommended.
Preparation includes studying the exam guide provided, four free self-guided courses, 13 labs, a free webinar, and sample exam questions. Depending on familiarity with Google Cloud, course prep can take five hours per day over a course of 1-3 months.
Although this certification has no prerequisites, Google recommends at least 3+ years of industry experience plus 1+ years designing and managing production systems using Google Cloud.
The exam tests an individual’s knowledge of the following areas:
Best for experienced cloud engineers seeking to validate their knowledge of the Terraform platform
HashiCorp’s Terraform Associate certification is designed for cloud engineers who specialize in operations, IT, or development and know the basic concepts and skills associated with open source HashiCorp Terraform.
It’s not required but recommended that candidates have professional experience using Terraform in production. However, if that’s not the case, individuals may also perform the exam objectives in a personal demo environment.
Upon earning this certification, the recipient understands which enterprise features exist and what can and cannot be done using the open source offering. Recipients must retake the exam every two years to remain current.
The exam is an online proctored exam consisting of multiple-choice questions. An online, self-paced study guide, review guide, and sample questions are available to candidates for free. Exam prep takes up to 50 hours, depending on learning pace.
Before taking this exam, you should know:
Topics learned include:
Best for Kubernetes administrators and cloud administrators
The Certified Kubernetes Administrator certification demonstrates mastery of the skills, knowledge, and proficiencies that a Kubernetes Administrator should hold, including but not limited to:
The online-administered exam contains performance-based questions that the candidate has to solve in order to demonstrate their competence in a command-line environment in Kubernetes. This certification is good for three years before recipients have to take the exam again.
The Kubernetes Fundamentals online 35-hour prep course offered through the Linux Foundation is self-paced and costs an additional $299. It’s possible to bundle the exam and course together for a total price of $575. Alternatively, Udemy offers an exam prep course for $179.99, which you can sometimes find steeply discounted. Budget up to 50 hours of study time for this exam.
This exam includes the following general domains and their percentage weights on the exam:
Best for experienced cloud developers with basic knowledge of Kubernetes
The Certified Kubernetes Application Developer exam certifies that the recipient can design, build, configure, and expose cloud native applications for Kubernetes.
Upon certification, a Kubernetes Application Developer can define application resources and use core primitives to build, monitor, and troubleshoot scalable applications and tools in Kubernetes.
The exam prep course covers necessary topics for the exam, such as container runtimes and microservice architecture.
The online-administered exam contains performance-based questions that the candidate has to solve in order to demonstrate their competence in a command-line environment in Kubernetes.
The Kubernetes for Developers online 35-hour prep course is self-paced and costs an additional $299. It’s possible to bundle the exam and course together for a total price of $575. Udemy also offers an exam prep course for $159.99, which you can sometimes find steeply discounted. Expect to spend between 13 and 35 hours studying.
This certification is for individuals who has acquired a solid understanding of the following tasks:
You will be tested in the following domains.
DevOps certification is an accredited credential that validates and builds your knowledge of DevOps skills and practices. Earning a DevOps certification demonstrates your mastery of the subject matter through coursework, assessment, or performance reviews.
Earning a DevOps certification means more job opportunities and professional growth. Some certifications allow you to specialize in a platform which sets you up for career advancement. Other certifications diversify your skill set and thus open you up to a variety of roles as well as platforms to work with in the future.
DevOps certification also increases your earning potential. Entry-level DevOps engineers in the U.S., for example, earn an average salary of $93,000, while a mid-level DevOps engineer earns an average salary of $102,600. Working towards a certification helps you get to that next level.
The short answer is yes. DevOps certifications are valuable because they help engineers improve their skills, advance their careers, and increase deployment success rates.
DevOps engineers are in high demand. Organizations are looking for engineers who can help scale their application and process development needs by following DevOps best practices. Although DevOps is more attractive to technical professionals, those who are less technically inclined can also learn DevOps skills by practicing with the best DevOps tools and software and taking certification courses to test their knowledge of the field.
The right certification for you will depend on where you are in your career and which tool or platform you need to master in order to perform well in your current or desired DevOps role.
If you’re just starting out in your DevOps career, a more general DevOps certification, such as the DevOps Foundation or DevOps Engineering Foundation certifications, may be a good fit. However, if you know exactly which platform you want to work with or are already working with a particular platform, investigate the more specific options for AWS, Google Cloud, HashiCorp’s Terraform, or Kubernetes.
Cost may pose a formidable barrier, especially for aspiring DevOps professionals. HashiCorp’s certification is comparatively affordable, and employers may subsidize some or all certification costs. Certification pathways are often available for continued professional development in this growing field.
We also evaluated the best DevOps tools and software to improve automation and communication at your organization.
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