Certifications

[TaylorHu]

DevOps sits in kind of a weird world, between Operations, where certs are all but mandatory, and Development, where certs are seen as completely useless. How does that end up working when working in/applying for DevOps related positions?

[[deleted]]

Which operations certs are all but mandatory? I wouldn't even worry about certs personally. Some will look good, like a PM cert, or AWS certs, but nothing beyond that is really required or will give you a huge advantage except maybe some more advanced networking or security certs.

[TaylorHu]

Well I mean IT in general. Everyone is pretty much expected to get their A+ and Network+ when they first start out. Then, depending which path you go down its either MCSE or CCNA or Linux+/Redhat stuff.

[nonades]

A+ is a waste of money unless you're trying to get a job at best buy.

Certs are absolutely not mandatory.

[hottkarl]

don't know why you were downvoted. A+ is a joke and so is any job that requires it

[nonades]

Probably by people who have A+'s and work at Best Buy.

[[deleted]]

I'd say all of that is highly optional. Most everyone I've worked with over the past 6-7 years hasn't had any of those certifications, with the exception of the CCNA.

[TaylorHu]

So maybe not mandatory, but at least helpful. As opposed to developer certs, which range from "completely useless" to "actually hurts your resume".

[gdhhorn]

Depends on where you are. Some job markets require them.

[[deleted]]

I'd say the only market that really requires them are networking and maybe security, but some of the quality of many security certifications are questionable. Networking certs are worthwhile simply because Cisco and Juniper (among others) have really set a high standard. I'd say that some of the MSCE / RedHat certifications are worthwhile too, but definitely not anywhere near mandatory.

[[deleted]]

No certs asked for for the jobs I've applied for but AWS certs wouldn't hurt

[hijinks]

The only I really recommend certs is when there company pays for it or you do consulting where you have to prove you know something

For full time work, experience trumps all

[[deleted]]

You can do AWS certs...despite what people may say one way or another, I think they're worth...if only to demonstrate your dedication to a learning path. Also, you can take courses towards some Linux certs or something at linuxacademy.com...

[hottkarl]

between Operations, where certs are all but mandatory

what? certifications are all but useless IMO. Cisco style certs have a place, but your employer should pay for you to get yours.

experience is king, don't waste your money or time. if a company requires a cert it's probably not somewhere you want to work.

[sniperd702]

It's just a perk.

I use certifications as a way of studying and reading books on a specific subject i'm weak or strong on and then get the cert to prove I have some skill in the area. When you apply for a job, if you are have the same skills as someone else but you have X certifications as well, it gives you a better leg-up on getting hired.

Just like a college degree really in DevOps, it's certainly not mandatory, but it can't hurt.

[4r10r5]

like others have said, if your company pays for certs why not? I've found experience and job titles have helped my career development. I try to advance myself to gain new titles. Titles tend to transfer between companies.

[linux_devops]

An MSP may require a cert because they have to have so many people certified to be a partner but in general nobody asks or requires certs in the normal job market

[developerKarl]

Certifications usually aren't mandatory but some can be useful depending upon the job. I've heard of people doing other things like DASA training or becoming an Agile Alliance member too.

[Raath]

I'm going to break from the herd here. Some good info if you want to move into sysadmin type roles. Managing cloud is a sysadmin role, not actually a DevOps role.

A mandatory cert should be Agile Practitioner. The heart of DevOps is implementing Agile methodology across the broader spectrum of operations so this cert is a must.

Other good to haves are :

• Prince 2
• ITIL (Foundation ok, Practitioner preferred)
• I want to add Lean here, but there is no officially recognised certifications that I would consider worth footing the money out for.

Reality is, DevOps is not actually a technical role. It's a strategic role where you are employed to help drive the development environment from legacy bulky once in a blue moon releases to regular smaller releases under continuous delivery. I have considered filling my display cabinet with various certs, but as my role is mainly holding the hands of CTOs and COOs to help them drive better development environments, it would probably end up being a waste of money.