If you hope to become or are already a DevOps engineer, certifications can strengthen your resume, sharpen your skill set, make you more attractive to employers, and increase your bottom line. This guide will reveal some of the top certifications for DevOps engineers that you can start researching to move further in this on-the-rise field.
SEE: Top DevOps Online Courses from Tech Republic Academy
DevOps Engineer certifications
DevOps is a methodology that fuses software development and IT operations. In doing so, it shortens the system development life cycle and allows teams to continuously deliver secure, high-quality software. As DevOps’ popularity increases in the software industry, so does the demand for highly-skilled DevOps engineers.
How can you showcase your skills as a DevOps engineer? Besides on-the-job experience, you can show your worth via DevOps certifications. With so many DevOps certifications out there, finding the right ones to gain expertise, get a leg up on the competition, and advance your career can be a tough task. That is why we came up with this list of the top certifications for DevOps engineers for you to consider.
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional Certification
This intermediate Amazon Web Services certification takes about three months to complete. Having it on your resume shows employers that you are a DevOps engineer capable of testing and deploying AWS applications and infrastructure. Since AWS is considered by many to be the top platform for cloud computing, the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional certification is one of the most highly sought-after credentials by employers.
If you are a DevOps engineer who works with cloud tech or the AWS environment, this certification is for you. At least two years of experience in AWS environments and coding ability in at least one high-level programming language is recommended. Beyond gaining expertise in testing and deploying AWS apps and infrastructure, the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer certification can also enhance your knowledge of cloud platforms overall, specifically in the areas of compliance validation, security controls, and governance processes.
The cost for the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer exam is $300.
Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert
To earn the Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert certification, you must first earn one of these prerequisite certifications:
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
Once you have one of those under your belt, you can tackle this DevOps Engineer certification that measures a host of skills, including:
- Collaboration.
- Developing security and compliance plans.
- Designing and implementing build and release pipelines and source control.
- Configuring processes and communications.
- Implementing an instrumentation strategy.
The ideal candidate for this DevOps Engineer certification has familiarity with GitHub and Azure DevOps, along with experience in administering or developing in Azure.
The Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert certification exam costs $165.
Linux Professional Institute DevOps Tools Engineer Certification
The Linux Professional Institute DevOps Tools Engineer certification shows that you are comfortable working with open-source DevOps tools that boost the efficiency of development and operations tasks and promote product innovation. Whether you are involved with software development, IT operations, or system administration, this certification can help you showcase the necessary in-demand skills to stand apart from your peers in this competitive industry.
Some of the areas of knowledge covered in the Linux Professional Institute DevOps Tools Engineer certification include:
- Software engineering.
- Container management.
- Machine deployment.
- Configuration management.
- Service operations.
DevOps tools covered include:
- Git
- Jenkins
- Docker and Docker Swarm
- Kubernetes
- Vagrant
- Packer, Ansible, Prometheus, Logstash, and Elk Stack
A year of experience with such tools, or automation tools, and processes in the software development lifecycle could be helpful before signing up for this DevOps Engineer certification.
The Linux Professional Institute DevOps Tools Engineer certification exam costs $200.
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) Certification
If you want to kickstart your DevOps Engineer career and have two years of experience working with microservice architecture and container runtimes, the Certified Kubernetes Administrator certification could be right for you.
Kubernetes is an open-source container-based platform that is exploding in popularity. Getting certified through this platform used in deployment automation and managing services and workloads could go a long way in propelling you to the next step in your DevOps career path. The $395 CKA exam tests candidates on various skills required to become a Kubernetes Administrator, such as:
- Cluster architecture.
- Installation and configuration.
- Workloads and scheduling.
- Services and networking.
- Storage.
- Troubleshooting.
Pass the exam, and you can show employers you are comfortable with hands-on work in a command-line environment.
Udacity Cloud DevOps Engineer Nanodegree Certification
To become a Cloud DevOps Engineer through the Udacity Nanodegree certification, you will need to set aside 10 hours per week for four months. With this DevOps Engineer certification, you will acquire several marketable skills, including:
- Deploying scalable microservices via Kubernetes.
- Building and monitoring CI/CD pipelines for varying deployment strategies.
- Designing and deploying infrastructure as code.
To complete the program, you will use all those newly acquired skills to execute a capstone project.
Prerequisites for the Udacity Cloud DevOps Engineer Nanodegree certification include intermediate JavaScript programming skills, plus some familiarity with object-oriented programming (OOP), Linux command line basics, and HTML or CSS web development.
The cost to become a Udacity Cloud DevOps Engineer is $1,356.
Docker Certified Associate (DCA)
If you are interested in a DevOps career, configuring and managing containers is a must-have skill. You can put that skill on display by putting Docker Certified Associate on your resume.
Docker is one of the top container runtime platforms, so being certified in the tool can only help you in your quest to become a successful DevOps Engineer.
The $195 DCA exam covers topics like:
- Installation and configuration.
- Image creation.
- Orchestration.
- Networking and storage.
The certification is ideal for those who work with the Docker platform, software engineers, and DevOps engineers. Before signing up, it is best to have a solid understanding of Linux and six to twelve months of experience working with Docker.
Puppet Certified Professional
If you notice that many employers are seeking a DevOps Engineer with Puppet experience, then taking steps to become a Puppet Certified Professional may be a smart move for your career. Since over 40,000 organizations use Puppet worldwide, you have little to lose by becoming certified in the DevOps tool, as it can easily make you more marketable as a DevOps Engineer or IT professional.
Ideally, you will have some knowledge of Puppet before aiming for this DevOps certification. If not, it is recommended that you complete the Getting Started With Puppet and Puppet Practitioner courses first.
The Puppet Certified Professional exam costs $200 and will test you on administration, concepts, environments, language, classification, orchestration and tasks, module authoring, and troubleshooting.
CloudBees CD/RO Admin Associate Certification
DevOps engineers seeking proficiency in Continuous Delivery (CD) and Release Orchestration (RO) administration skills in CloudBees will likely be interested in the CloudBees CD/RO Admin Associate certification. It is also designed for operations engineers and administrators.
The $149 exam covers CD/RO basics, such as deployment automation, release orchestration, security, and reporting. It also covers CD/RO configuration regarding groups, users, personas, privileges, resources, workspaces, plugins, and project creation.
To be eligible for this program, you must have the CloudBees CD/RO Essentials certification.
SEE: DevSecOps Put Security in the Software Cycle
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