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I am a 'DevOps Engineer' based in the UK. I have 2.5/3 years experience in the IT field; starting out as an apprentice now a mid-level engineer learning/practicing Linux/Windows System Administration, Continuous Delivery (Jenkins), Continuous Integration/version control (Git, Visual Studio), AGILE/SCRUM methodology, configuration management (SaltStack), virtual machine technologies (AWS EC2, VMware etc) as well as S3 and BASH/PowerShell scripting.

I haven't got any formal qualifications nor do I think it is necessary to excel in the field. However my manager has asked myself and my colleagues to find some courses and/or qualifications which will help us become fully-fledged DevOps Engineers and I think it'd be stupid not to do so!

Could anyone recommend any useful courses/qualifications?

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  • First, understand that you're not a "DevOps Engineer". You're an "(System) Engineer practicing DevOps". It's a subtle, but important distinction, although one that is lost on most people (including management, who design Job Titles). Second, the field is so large, that it's hard to make any recommendations. You have to go in what areas interest you.
    – Erik Funkenbusch
    Commented Jun 7, 2017 at 3:50
  • @ErikFunkenbusch I know this, notice the inverted comma's around the title.
    – jto
    Commented Jun 7, 2017 at 7:07

4 Answers 4

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Linux Academy has several webinars and tutorials (including sandbox VMs for hands-on experience) in several technologies favored by DevOps shops including AWS, Docker, Ansible, Jenkins, Puppet and many more.

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    Thanks for the answer, I actually found this site shortly after posting my question, it definitely looks relevant to mine and my colleagues needs.
    – jto
    Commented Jun 7, 2017 at 7:15
  • I'm normally a tightwad, but a former employer payed for my account. This resource was so good, I plan to renew at my own expense. I really can't recommend it highly enough - it is well worth the subscription.
    – James Shewey
    Commented Jun 7, 2017 at 14:49
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In my opinion you'll benefit the most if you choose the roadmap offered by RH. Review their courses (incl. DevOps) here

I myself however would also like to hear opinions from other professionals.

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  • The RH Satellite 6 stack is highly underrated in my opinion. This stack brings together many of the roadmap items in one dashboard. This is really just The Foreman in the Katello scenario re-branded, so you can check it out for free by installing The Foreman. If you haven't used The Foreman in a couple of years, it is worth a second look.
    – James Shewey
    Commented Jun 6, 2017 at 15:43
  • I would agree with @JamesShewey. Although I didn't take the Satellite class specifically, I have several friends who did and it made a huge difference. My RHCE just expired, and I have to say, regarding the perspective of recruitment/potential employers, being an RHCE was worth it's weight in gold.
    – Tim S.
    Commented Jun 6, 2017 at 19:58
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I had originally made this a comment, but I think it's worthy of it's own answer. Having been through a few different certification programs, I definitely think the RHCE (RedHat Certified Engineer) program is worth it's weight in gold. The prerequisite is RHCSA (RedHat Certified Systems Administrator), and RedHat does offer a "both-at-once" class where you have 4 days to cover both topics, and two exams on Friday. (I would only recommend this for someone who is already extremely familiar with administrating a RedHat system.)

If your employer is willing to fit the bill, I think that it would be a great start. RedHat also offers quite a few "DevOpsy" type courses as well, like OpenStack/OpenShift, Ansible (a HUGELY popular DevOps product), and many others.

You can see their offerings here.

Edit: I also have seen quite a lot of demand for AWS as well, so that would also be a good place to start. The "Free Tier" Amazon offers is a great place to start playing around with it and get some practical experience.

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  • Thanks for the answer @Tim S. I have been looking in to the RCHA course/qualification and it does look good, I'd like to think I'm quite proficient with RedHat, could you divulge more as to what sort of existing exposure is required to obtain this qualification (if possible)?
    – jto
    Commented Jun 7, 2017 at 7:09
  • RedHat offers a course/exam combo (4 days of instruction and exam on day 5) where they theoretically teach you what you need for the exam, but success is much more likely if you have prior experience with the systems. In order to take the RHCE course/exam, you need to have passed the RHCSA (unless you take them both together.) In order to get the RHCA (Architect) certification, you must first gain both RHCSA and RHCE. Both RHCSA and RHCE are each a single class, but RHCA takes several courses in order to receive certification. (I think it's still 5.)
    – Tim S.
    Commented Jun 7, 2017 at 14:10
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Microsoft in collaboration with EdX is running a comprehensive DevOps course. It covers Chef/Puppet for configuration management, Selenium for testing, Docker, Nagios, Loggly etc. Obviously being Microsoft they use Azure, but all this tooling is Open Source and so the skills are very transferrable. All the courses are free, you only pay if you want the Certificate.

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