The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected the growth rate of certain computer and Information technology roles to be 25% from 2021 to 2031. This is higher than the projected growth rate for all other occupations. According to Bain& Company’s 2021 technology report, job postings that required DevOps as a skill grew by a whopping 443% from 2015 to 2019. Machine learning skills came in second with a 417% growth followed by data science and software engineering.
The average salary of a mid-career DevOps engineer with 5–7 years of experience is $142k. As expected the salary range is lower for someone starting their career. Junior DevOps engineers with between 1–3 years of experience are relatively well paid, making close to $100k.
The location of a job can influence the salary because of factors such as cost of living and local demand for work. Places like San Jose and San Francisco are known for their big tech presence. Silicon valley- the high-tech business area that’s home to 30 of the biggest tech companies attracts some of the best tech talent worldwide. It’s no wonder the median household income is $117,324.
This 2020 State of DevOps Report by Puppet showed that DevOps engineers working at companies with well-established DevOps practices reported the highest salaries.
The average job posting for a DevOps engineer required, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field with more emphasis placed on professional training certificates. Professional certificates prove your competence in DevOps practices and tools such as AWS, Linux, Kubernetes, etc. Here’s an example of the qualifications and skills required by employers, as well as the tools you’ll be required to work with.
There are plenty of opportunities for upward mobility as a DevOps engineer. With 2 or 3 years of experience in the role and the necessary skills, you could become a Lead DevOps engineer and manage a small team of juniors. On Glassdoor, a lead DevOps engineer made on average $158,007 which is a 20% increase from the DevOps engineer role.
Knowing what you’re worth means taking inventory of your skills, your qualifications, your unique abilities, and the value that you contribute to the team and the organization. With everything you offer, compare what you’re earning and how it relates to the market trends.
When you look at DevOps, there are so many skills that you can do. It can be difficult deciding which one to start with. For guidance, the DevOps institutes’ Upskilling IT 2022 report listed some of the must-have technical skills according to employers and practitioners in the DevOps space.
Your achievement log is a compilation of all the evidence that you’re achieving and even exceeding the requirements of your role. You can use it to support salary negotiations or to beef up your resume and land a new job with higher pay.
Getting a promotion is the easiest way to get a significant increase in your salary. But sometimes it may not be possible to get the increase you want from your existing employer. If the budget doesn’t allow it, you can ask for a promotion instead. A promotion in name without the salary increase to go with it may seem pointless. But you’re setting yourself up for better opportunities.
Some of the highest paying jobs are clustered in specific locations. So widen your job search to different states or target remote opportunities. Changing your job location could very well help double your salary in a short amount of time.