DevOps engineering is not for everyone.
While there are many benefits to being a DevOps engineer, there are also many downsides. In my point of view, every benefit can become a disadvantage. It depends on what kind of person you are.
In this article, I will cover the reasons why some people should not choose DevOps as a career.
Here are some reasons you might regret choosing DevOps as your career.
Lack of Standardization
There is no industry standard for DevOps (actually, it exists, but only a few people know about it). The concept of what a DevOps engineer should do is unclear in many companies.
It means that, as a DevOps engineer, your responsibilities will vary across the different companies. For example, James, who works for 404 Found Inc., is responsible only for the CI/CD pipeline automation. However, the DevOps engineers who work for Syntax Terror Ltd. are also responsible for the cybersecurity. And I heard that DevOps engineers who work for Bug & Play Solutions handle server provisioning and configuration, performing tasks similar to those of traditional system administrators.
A year ago I interviewed for a role that was 70 percent DevOps engineer and 30 percent backend developer. This kind of position represents a rare exception to the norm, but they do exist.
A variety of tools can be overwhelming for some people
Here is the periodic table of DevOps tools:
As you can see, it includes a significant number of tools, even though it represents less than 30% of all existing tools.
In addition to different DevOps tools, you need to know the concepts of the DevOps practices. You need to know how to write automation scripts, how to debug, and how to do reverse engineering. You need to be skilled in various operating systems, computer networks, security, and more.
Implementing the new DevOps tools can be overwhelming as well. You need to be able to read the documentation, analyze the pros and cons of each tool, and decide which one to use in a short period of time.
This leads to the next point.
You need to be a quick learner
Imagine you need to solve a specific problem.
A quick Google search leads you to the top five products that answer your needs. In order to decide about the option you will implement in the end, you need to research, learn, and try. You need to consider the price, security impact, reliability, scalability, etc. You need to make sure that the product perfectly fits your needs.
Before making a final decision, you need to learn about each of these five products and maybe install and try them. You must do it quickly because you have a problem to solve.
Or imagine you have some issue related to the LDAP and you are not familiar with how it works. So you have no choice but to learn about it and solve the issue.
Being a DevOps engineer means forgetting words like "I don't know how" or "I never did that before."
You will say instead, "I don't know how, but I will learn and let you know" and "I never did that before, but I will learn and do it."
You make an impact
As a DevOps engineer, you play a crucial role in the software development environment.
Your mistakes often become visible to both development and operations departments and even rise to high levels of management. For instance, when the CI/CD pipeline fails and developers are unable to deploy the new version, you become the focal point of everyone's attention. If this version is critical for business, your name will be mentioned to the top management.
Mistakes are a natural learning process, but you have to really learn from your mistakes and not repeat them.
There are also many situations where mistakes are unacceptable (like modifying production environments or managing secrets and credentials).
On-Call responsibilities
It depends on the company you work for, but in many cases, DevOps engineers have to be on call.
Once I worked for a startup as the only DevOps engineer in a company, so theoretically I was on call 24/7. I could receive a phone call about a DevOps-related issue at any given time. If you work in a team, you might have on-call shifts, which could provide more flexibility.
If you are the only DevOps engineer in the company, your vacation or sickness may become a factor that changes development department plans.
You need to be persistent and convincing person
You, as a DevOps engineer, need to implement DevOps practices in the organization.
You have to work with people from different backgrounds. Some are less technical and don't understand infrastructure considerations and issues. Your job is to explain and implement the DevOps ideas to these people.
Sometimes it can be challenging.
You must find a way to explain yourself. This may include documentation, charts and diagrams, webinars, and online sessions. You also need to learn to speak convincingly and argue professionally.
Your work may become invisible to others
The DevOps tasks in the company are often invisible.
The DevOps team's task is to ensure smooth deployment, operation, and scaling of applications and systems. When everything runs smoothly, no one notices your job unless you talk about it.
So you need to avoid being an invisible and humble DevOps engineer. You need to be a key figure.
Nobody knows that you are smart and hard-working if you don't show it.
I’m a DevOps expert with 15 years in IT.
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