Ask HN: How do I transition to DevOps after 10 years of front end?

4 points by kecupochren 2 years ago | 16 comments

After 10 years of doing frontend I feel like I'm hitting a career ceiling. Overall, frontend is being looked down upon and I don't want to be considered a second class citizen anymore. I also don't have a CS degree so it's an uphill battle.

But I love tech and learning stuff. I'd like to spend the next year or so studying to transition to a DevOps role. I know SQL on a OK level, did some backend, know how to setup a Docker container etc.

What steps would you recommend to take? Books to read? Courses to take?

I ordered "Designing data intensive applications" book and am also considering buying the Cloud engineer bootcamp course from Linux Foundation.

What else? What should be my primary focus? What do I need to know inside out to be a competent candidate?

Thanks for the replies.

JazzyEssy 2 years ago |

To successfully make this transition, here are some steps and resources I'd recommend:

Learn Version Control: Familiarize yourself with Git, as version control is a crucial skill in DevOps. You can start with online tutorials and documentation like the "Pro Git" book by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub.

Master the Command Line: DevOps heavily relies on command-line tools for automation and management. Practice using the terminal extensively and learn essential commands and scripting (e.g., Bash, PowerShell).

Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Get familiar with IaC tools like Terraform or Ansible, which allow you to manage and provision infrastructure programmatically. Online courses like those on Udemy or Pluralsight can be helpful.

Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD): Understanding CI/CD pipelines is crucial in DevOps. Consider learning tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, or CircleCI. "Continuous Delivery" by Jez Humble and David Farley is an excellent book on this topic.

Cloud Platforms: Familiarize yourself with cloud providers like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform. You can take vendor-specific certifications or explore resources like the AWS Well-Architected Framework.

mbm 2 years ago |

The first step in a transition like this is to make sure you actually enjoy and are good at DevOps. Ask yourself what someone in the role you're interested in is most likely to do on a day-to-day basis, and then practice doing those things for a few weeks and see if you actually like it. One thing I've learned time and time again is that my perception of what X is like is often very inaccurate to the actual experience of doing X.

Look up a few folks on LinkedIn in your area with the title you're interested in getting, and ask to buy them a coffee. Pick their brain on how they like what they're doing, where they see the field going, and what their frustrations are.

To take this to the next level, find a friend with a side project they're trying to launch, and offer to help them out on some of the DevOps aspects. Try it for a few weeks to months and then evaluate what you learned.

Once you're sure you actually like the work, you can start thinking about how to actually pivot into DevOps.

willnonya 2 years ago | |

This is pretty vapid advice. Setting aside the absurdity of the idea that you need to decide whether you can like a type of work before you're capable of doing it you've not answered OP's question to any degree.

If you have any experience with the field that allows you to answer OP's question please offer that rather than this feel good nonsense.

kecupochren 2 years ago | | |

It's not completely unreasonable point. I do see it's a very different type of work compared to mine. But I learned that life is not about doing something you love, but learning to love what you do. So I'm game to try something new.

Emigre_ 2 years ago |

Take a look at courses from A Cloud Guru, they are great. Consider studying and passing kubernetes certifications, like CKAD or CKA. Probably also consider the AWS ones. After that, you start being more attractive to perform a devops role. You don’t really need the certifications, but they might help you. What you’ll need is somebody willing to give you work involving that kind of experience, after you gain a base of knowledge thanks to courses, practicing on your own, etc. In small startups or companies work is less compartmentalised and there are probably less impediments to start exploring work that’s more devops than front-end. You might have to get less compensation, perhaps, but that would allow you to progress towards your professional goal. Ultimately, everybody’s case is different, so who knows. Good luck!!!

Emigre_ 2 years ago |

One really important detail to mention. An advice or a personal opinion I have. Courses, books and theory are great; but practical experience is much, much better. Only when you are actually immersed in a professional environment doing things related to a particular topic will you really understand what that kind of job is really like, what practices are standard, how to use the tools, etc. In my humble opinion, go for it as soon as you have the chance! Don’t get bogged down in theory. It’s also important, but try no to be intimidated or feel underprepared. Jump into the pool. Good luck.

willnonya 2 years ago | |

This theory and academic prep that you dismiss is actually pretty damned important. It lays the foundation upon which the experience becomes valuable. What you've suggested is taking the lazy way out on the premise that you don't really need to understand any of it as long as you can muddle through doing enough of it. It is not very good advice.

I do agree that experience is important but experience on top of knowledge is much more valuable.

Emigre_ 2 years ago | | |

Well, don’t take it in the wrong way… I do agree that it’s important, and I’ve personally always made sure to learn lots of theory and do academic and other types of research. I agree with you that preparation and knowledge are super important.

What I was trying to say is that you get a really valuable perspective from actually working on a field. You get that plus you see how others work, possibly more senior engineers. Mentorship in the workplace is really useful for example. You also see real code and different practices and ways of working.

I wasn’t trying to be dismissive… more like encouraging. Some people feel that they really aren’t prepared, even when they get to a point where they are. It was more about that than about laziness. I value theory a lot, myself.

znpy 2 years ago |

Devops engineering is essentially automated linux system administration, but you don’t mention that anywhere in your post. Give linux system administration a good chunk of your effort.

Source: have worked as a devops engineer in the past, for a few years.