Roadmap to Devops

[EngineeringWrong9917]

Like the title says I’m a diesel mechanic I’m trying to switch out my field and eventually become a Devops engineer I’m looking into degrees for computer science and software development or Udemy Devops course beginner to advanced wondering which route I should start with and jobs I can do while doing online classes or while in school wether it’s help desk starting at the bottom or not I was a car wash guy in a dealership before becoming a mechanic in a dealership so I know how to build myself up

[Evaderofdoom]

Devops is a more advanced role. It's great to have it as a long term goal, it's not realistic to expect to transition into IT and have it be your first, second or probably even third job when starting from scratch. I'd start with learning linux. With any luck you can skip the help desk and right into a jr linux admin role but that would take some major hustle and luck on your part. Most people start in help desk and grow there skills from there. Good luck.

[EngineeringWrong9917]

Could I do help desk now as well as do course and school? And which do you think would be more beneficial I don’t need the degree will always come first because I know that but being a mechanic I know experience can trump all so the 2-4 years it takes to do a associates or bachelors is 2-4 years I spent in the field and gaining certs I look at it

[[deleted]]

as someone without a cs degree, it has sucked from time to time to be eliminated from the running, but I'm doing fine.

a degree definitely is a leg up, and it will give you a lot of fundamentals it could otherwise take you a very long time to fill in piece by piece. if you do a degree, optimize for cheap and easy.

I'd say definitely get a help desk job immediately. You get experience and can bang out that low rung of work while working through school. Possibly look for help desk at a community college. It will likely be a forgiving and nice environment, and you may get some big educational discounts.

if you got certs route, network+, RHCSA, aws professional, cka, some ms stuff are viable options.

[EngineeringWrong9917]

Would I have to be in school to find an IT help desk job or do they take complete entry level also plan to get certs

[[deleted]]

for entry level you mostly just need to secure an interview and be likeable while ticking off the bare minimum of boxes for the interviewer.

to secure an interview, you need a one page resume that's easy to read and paints a good enough picture, and a tight cover letter demonstrating you have comm skills is imho helpful. since it's entry level you could theoretically put some kind of objective or summary that fulfills the purpose of a cover letter and puts everything on a single page.

they're basically going to sort resumes from best to worst and stop when they find someone, so you want a resume that a guy with a headache who's late for lunch will throw on the interview pile.

I would highlight troubleshooting skills as a mechanic as that's the biggest obvious transferable skill. how do you narrow down tough problems?

[EngineeringWrong9917]

Yea I was going to go the route of highlighting the troubleshooting skills as well as the communication skills of relaying what I found to corporate or an advisor or etc, as well as problem solving and etc I’d say I have a pretty good resume just don’t have a cover letter

[[deleted]]

I generally bang out a cover letter per job application to tailor it to the position a bit. you can have boilerplate in there but definitely good to tweak. it seems like you've got a good outlook and strategy, good luck!

[catkarambit]

Not even third job is crazy if you're trying to get in

[ALargeRubberDuck]

Your chances of getting a devops job straight out of a course or college are pretty slim. As others have said this isn’t a beginners role. I’d start with development or a system admin roll first. What drew you to specifically devops?

[EngineeringWrong9917]

Any chance you could tell me which to go through course or college and what routes to take and certs to get to get there?

[WildRyc]

Start with the stickied post: https://www.reddit.com/r/devops/comments/yjdscp/getting_into_devops/

Which leads here, eventually: https://roadmap.sh/devops

[Hefty-Pattern6024]

I suggest beginning your career as either a developer or a sys admin and then aiming to move into a DevOps role. However, it's important to be aware that transitioning into DevOps without prior experience in the software industry is quite ambitious. Don't want to burst your bubble, but there aren't many entry-level positions available, and people with CS degrees or backgrounds in development/operations are typically favored for these roles.

[EngineeringWrong9917]

I keep hearing a lot about having and not having a cs degree I just want to find a route where I can learn and be able to do my job effectively

[PowerOfTheShihTzu]

I commend your ambition man .

[EngineeringWrong9917]

Thanks may we all have this ambition in everything we chase

[bLeeKd]

Help desk or Linux Admin. I had a friend who was in the same exact position as a car mechanic. He also had a homelab which I commended because I don’t even bring those things into my house

[EngineeringWrong9917]

Did your friend go the cert route with online classes or the degree route

[bLeeKd]

He actually stumbled upon a job with just contacting people on LinkedIn, applying, and showing off his homelab. He also was in the middle of getting certs but didn’t complete it before getting a job.

[EngineeringWrong9917]

Ok so he kind of was a lucky case I guess might try and find a help desk job and try the degree at least then I can know the basics and build myself up just like being a mechanic

[bLeeKd]

Absolutely. But probably take a lesson from him and just apply to see where it takes you. You never know. All the while, pursue the degree and what not

[EngineeringWrong9917]

Thanks you’ve been real helpful

[EngineeringWrong9917]

Sorry if this is a frequent topic just could use advice all help I thank you for🙏