DevOps Consultants or DevOps Engineers: What Career Path to Take?

For many budding DevOps professionals, there are two enticing career options available: to become a more business-oriented DevOps consultant or a more technical-oriented DevOps engineer. So what career path is right for you?

If you’re excited about the strategic planning and implementation of a DevOps initiative, then a DevOps consultant is likely the best option. A DevOps consultant can help assess infrastructure and processes, identify areas where improvement is needed and develop and implement a plan to improve those areas.

If you’re looking to help with implementing DevOps practices, then a DevOps engineer may be the best option for you. A DevOps engineer helps automate tasks, set up continuous integration and delivery pipelines and troubleshoot issues that arise.

I was practically born into the DevOps culture, and from the beginning I was fascinated by its potential to revolutionize software delivery. Even early in my career, the idea of bridging the gap between development and operations was incredibly appealing. Immersing myself in the DevOps philosophy, I discovered a passion for both the strategic and technical aspects of the field. This dual interest naturally led me to explore roles as both a DevOps consultant and a DevOps engineer.

How do DevOps consultants help?

If an employer or a client uses AWS, for example, in their operations, an AWS DevOps consultant can help them optimize their use of AWS services. Similarly, if their focus leans towards Microsoft Azure, you'd want to build an Azure DevOps competency.

A consultant can also help develop a roadmap for implementing DevOps within an organization by addressing key pain points, such as lack of collaboration between development and operations teams, lack of communication between departments, lack of visibility into the software development process and fragmented tooling and processes. 

Early on, I found myself gravitating towards the consultant role. The opportunity to assess an organization's infrastructure, identify inefficiencies and craft a strategic roadmap for DevOps implementation was thrilling. I enjoyed the high-level perspective and the chance to influence long-term change. For instance, working with a media-and-entertainment customer, I was able to guide their transition to a more agile and efficient DevOps model. This involved conducting comprehensive assessments, developing tailored strategies and ensuring alignment with their greater business goals.

When DevOps engineers should come in

A DevOps engineer may be called in for more complex projects or strategy implementation. They can help set up the necessary tools and processes and train teams on how to use them. 

While working in a DevOps consultant role, my technical side still craved hands-on experience, so I transitioned into roles that allowed me to dive deep into the nitty-gritty of DevOps engineering. Implementing CI/CD pipelines, automating processes and solving complex technical issues provided a different kind of satisfaction than I found as a consultant. In one memorable project, we revamped a legacy architecture using a serverless model, which dramatically improved scalability and reduced operational costs. This hands-on work not only honed my technical skills but also gave me a profound understanding of the practical challenges and solutions in the DevOps space.

DevOps engineers can help address pain points throughout the SDLC, such as inefficient manual processes, lack of automation, poorly configured monitoring and logging tools and slow or broken continuous integration and delivery processes. 

Unlike DevOps consultants, who work in a more senior role, DevOps engineers often follow a straightforward career trajectory from junior to lead systems/DevOps engineer and up.

Transitioning into the DevOps engineer role was a natural progression for me. I relished the challenge of building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines, which are the backbone of modern software development. One of our major challenges involved legacy architecture that was creating a bottleneck. By redesigning the system using a serverless architecture, we not only improved performance and scalability but also significantly cut costs and deployment times.

As a Stream Coordinator, I managed the release cycles of multiple products, ensuring that our pipelines were efficient and reliable. The hands-on experience of scripting, coding and automating processes was invaluable. It gave me a deeper appreciation for the complexities involved in maintaining a seamless deployment process and the importance of robust monitoring and logging mechanisms.

I also found that being in the thick of technical challenges helped me stay current on cutting-edge DevOps practices. Whether it was integrating new tools, troubleshooting issues or enhancing our security protocols, every project added to my skill set and knowledge base. This continuous learning and adaptation are what make the role of a DevOps engineer so exciting and fulfilling.

If you feel like trying a new role at EPAM, explore our open DevOps jobs around the world and apply.