Career spotlights
AWS DevOps Engineer
Career spotlights
AWS DevOps Engineer
Career spotlights
AWS DevOps Engineer
How much do DevOps Engineers make?
| Junior (0-3 yrs) | Mid-level (4-8 years) | Senior (9+ yrs) | Contract | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States – End users ($) | 148,000 | 165,250 | 184,750 | 165 (p/h) |
| United States – Partners ($) | 132,000 | 175,750 | 192,000 | 165 (p/h) |
| United Kingdom (£) | 61,500 | 76,000 | 98,750 | 810 (p/d) |
| Germany (€) | 69,750 | 80,250 | 89,500 | 930 (p/d) |
| Switzerland (Fr) | 86,250 | 122,250 | 138,000 | - |
72%
68%
42 hours
Permanent DevOps Engineers work an average of 42 hours per week
37 hours
Freelance DevOps Engineers work an average of 37 hours per week
How much do DevOps Engineers make?
| Junior (0-3 yrs) | Mid-level (4-8 years) | Senior (9+ yrs) | Contract | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States – End users ($) | 148,000 | 165,250 | 184,750 | 165 (p/h) |
| United States – Partners ($) | 132,000 | 175,750 | 192,000 | 165 (p/h) |
| United Kingdom (£) | 61,500 | 76,000 | 98,750 | 810 (p/d) |
| Germany (€) | 69,750 | 80,250 | 89,500 | 930 (p/d) |
| Switzerland (Fr) | 86,250 | 122,250 | 138,000 | - |
72%
of DevOps Engineers are satisfied with their job, down from 86% in our last survey
68%
42 hours
Permanent DevOps Engineers work an average of 42 hours per week
37 hours
Freelance DevOps Engineers work an average of 37 hours per week
How much do Data
Engineers make?
| United States – End users: $148,000 |
| United States – Partners: $132,000 |
| United Kingdom: £61,500 |
| Germany: €69,750 |
| Switzerland: Fr86,250 |
| United States – End users: $165,250 |
| United States – Partners: $175,750 |
| United Kingdom: £76,000 |
| Germany: €80,250 |
| Switzerland: Fr122,250 |
| United States – End users: $184,750 |
| United States – Partners: $192,000 |
| United Kingdom: £98,750 |
| Germany: €89,500 |
| Switzerland: Fr138,000 |
| United States – End users: $165 (p/h) |
| United States – Partners: $165 (p/h) |
| United Kindom: £810 (p/d) |
| Germany: €930 (p/d) |
| Switzerland: – |
| Junior (0-3 yrs) | Mid-level (4-8 years) | Senior (9+ yrs) | Contract | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States ($) – End users | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| United States ($) – Partnerss | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| United Kingdom (£) | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| Germany (€) | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| Switzerland (SFr) | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
72%
of DevOps Engineers are satisfied with their job, down from 86% in our last survey
68%
of DevOps Engineers are satisfied with their salary, up from 64% in our previous survey
42 hours
Permanent DevOps Engineers work an average of 42 hours per week
37 hours
Freelance DevOps Engineers work an average of 37 hours per week
What factors impact your earning potential as a DevOps Engineer?
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years of technical experience with AWS | 92% | 8% | 0% |
| Years of experience in IT | 86% | 8% | 5% |
| Exposure to large projects | 84% | 16% | 0% |
| Specific vertical industry experience | 62% | 27% | 11% |
| Years of experience working for an end user | 58% | 17% | 25% |
| AWS certifications | 57% | 32% | 11% |
| Years of experience working for a partner organization | 39% | 44% | 17% |
| College/University degree(s) | 35% | 29% | 35% |
What factors impact your earning potential as a DevOps Engineer?
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years of technical experience with AWS | 92% | 8% | 0% |
| Years of experience in IT | 86% | 8% | 5% |
| Exposure to large projects | 84% | 16% | 0% |
| Specific vertical industry experience | 62% | 27% | 11% |
| Years of experience working for an end user | 58% | 17% | 25% |
| AWS certifications | 57% | 32% | 11% |
| Years of experience working for a partner organization | 39% | 44% | 17% |
| College/University degree(s) | 35% | 29% | 35% |
We asked current AWS professionals what factors were most important in upping your earning potential in that role.
What factors impact your earning potential as a DevOps Engineer?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Years of technical experience with AWS | 92% |
| Years of experience in IT | 86% |
| Exposure to large projects | 84% |
| Specific vertical industry experience | 62% |
| Years of experience working for an end user | 58% |
| AWS certifications | 57% |
| Years of experience working for a partner organization | 39% |
| College/University degree(s) | 35% |
| % | |
|---|---|
| Years of technical experience with AWS | 8% |
| Years of experience in IT | 8% |
| Exposure to large projects | 16% |
| Specific vertical industry experience | 27% |
| Years of experience working for an end user | 17% |
| AWS certifications | 32% |
| Years of experience working for a partner organization | 44% |
| College/University degree(s) | 29% |
| % | |
|---|---|
| Years of technical experience with AWS | 0% |
| Years of experience in IT | 5% |
| Exposure to large projects | 0% |
| Specific vertical industry experience | 11% |
| Years of experience working for an end user | 25% |
| AWS certifications | 11% |
| Years of experience working for a partner organization | 17% |
| College/University degree(s) | 35% |
What steps should you take to become a DevOps Engineer?
Education
What AWS certifications do DevOps Engineers hold?
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate | 68% |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner - Foundational | 45% |
| AWS Certified Developer - Associate | 36% |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional | 18% |
| AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate | 9% |
| AWS Certified Security - Specialty | 9% |
Certification
Certifications provided by AWS are specifically tailored to help professionals develop their skillsets throughout their careers, ranging from entry-level badges to advanced certificates. As a result, a common first step for many budding DevOps Engineers is the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner—a foundational certification that serves to validate a candidate’s understanding of core AWS fundamentals.
From there, professionals can look to advance to the intermediate level certifications, with the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate and AWS Certified Developer – Associate certification proving particularly popular among DevOps Engineers. These showcase your knowledge and skills in AWS technology across a wide range of AWS services, from architecture best practice and the AWS Well-Architected Framework to solution optimization and application development.
Finally, those looking to master their DevOps Engineer skillset can then consider Professional-level certifications including the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional and AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional badges. Interestingly, the DevOps Engineers we surveyed didn’t hold an AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional certification despite this badge being specifically targeted to the role. With job listings requiring this certification increasing 52% between Oct 2021 and Sept 2022 alone, this highlights a great opportunity for DevOps professionals to stand out from their competition in the job markets.
What steps should you take to become
a DevOps Engineer?
Education
Certification
AWS certifications can help to boost your market worth by giving you the verifiable skills and expertise you need to prosper as a DevOps Engineer.
Under two-thirds (59%, down from 65% in our last survey) of DevOps Engineers are certified, and 45% of those have undergone recertification to maintain their AWS Certified Status, while 82% believe that certifications help candidates stand out in a competitive job market.
Certifications provided by AWS are specifically tailored to help professionals develop their skillsets throughout their careers, ranging from entry-level badges to advanced certificates. As a result, a common first step for many budding DevOps Engineers is the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner—a foundational certification that serves to validate a candidate’s understanding of core AWS fundamentals.
From there, professionals can look to advance to the intermediate level certifications, with the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate and AWS Certified Developer – Associate certification proving particularly popular among DevOps Engineers. These showcase your knowledge and skills in AWS technology across a wide range of AWS services, from architecture best practice and the AWS Well-Architected Framework to solution optimization and application development.
Finally, those looking to master their DevOps Engineer skillset can then consider Professional-level certifications including the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional and AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional badges. Interestingly, the DevOps Engineers we surveyed didn’t hold an AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional certification despite this badge being specifically targeted to the role. With job listings requiring this , this highlights a great opportunity for DevOps professionals to stand out from their competition in the job markets.
What AWS certifications do DevOps Engineers hold?
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate | 68% |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner - Foundational | 45% |
| AWS Certified Developer - Associate | 36% |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional | 18% |
| AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate | 9% |
| AWS Certified Security - Specialty | 9% |
What steps should you take to become a DevOps Engineer?
Education
In terms of what you might need, 77% of DevOps Engineers hold at least a Bachelor’s degree. However, only 35% consider a degree to be an important factor when it comes to increasing earning potential, and even less (16%) think that a degree is important to have to work with AWS.
Certification
AWS certifications can help to boost your market worth by giving you the verifiable skills and expertise you need to prosper as a DevOps Engineer.
Under two-thirds (59%, down from 65% in our last survey) of DevOps Engineers are certified, and 45% of those have undergone recertification to maintain their AWS Certified Status, while 82% believe that certifications help candidates stand out in a competitive job market.
Certifications provided by AWS are specifically tailored to help professionals develop their skillsets throughout their careers, ranging from entry-level badges to advanced certificates. As a result, a common first step for many budding DevOps Engineers is the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner—a foundational certification that serves to validate a candidate’s understanding of core AWS fundamentals.
From there, professionals can look to advance to the intermediate level certifications, with the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate and AWS Certified Developer – Associate certification proving particularly popular among DevOps Engineers. These showcase your knowledge and skills in AWS technology across a wide range of AWS services, from architecture best practice and the AWS Well-Architected Framework to solution optimization and application development.
Finally, those looking to master their DevOps Engineer skillset can then consider Professional-level certifications including the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional and AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional badges. Interestingly, the DevOps Engineers we surveyed didn’t hold an AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional certification despite this badge being specifically targeted to the role. With job listings requiring this certification increasing 52% between Oct 2021 and Sept 2022 alone, this highlights a great opportunity for DevOps professionals to stand out from their competition in the job markets.
What AWS certifications do DevOps Engineers hold?
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate | 68% |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner - Foundational | 45% |
| AWS Certified Developer - Associate | 36% |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional | 18% |
| AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate | 9% |
| AWS Certified Security - Specialty | 9% |
Roles that can lead on to becoming an DevOps Engineer
The path to becoming a DevOps Engineer isn’t set in stone, with IT careers open to professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.
That being said, this role is perhaps best suited to digital professionals with experience rooted in infrastructure, systems administration, and development, with DevOps talent tending to start their careers in roles like:
- Software Developer
- Performance Engineer
- Tester
- Infrastructure Engineer
- Systems Administrator
- Systems Reliability Engineer
- Automation/Integration Engineer
- Release Manager
What skills and experience should DevOps Engineers have?
- Good programming skills in Python, Java, Node.JS, .NET
- Fundamental understanding of networking, security, and software reliability engineering
- Knowledge of Linux and Web Development fundamentals
- Solid understanding of Continuous Management, Continuous Integration, Continuous Testing, and Continuous Monitoring
- Deep knowledge of CI/CD processes and practices
- Experience with CI/CD tools including Jenkins and Gitlab, and AWS CI/CD tools like CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, CodePipeline
- Confidence in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and tools like CloudFormation, Terraform, and AWS CDK
- Strong expertise in containerization techniques and tools like Docker, Kubernetes, and Amazon EKS
- Proficiency in monitoring and logging, working with tools like Amazon CloudWatch amd AWS CloudTrail
- Ability to build and deploy a microservices architecture
- Comfortable working under Agile principles
- Subject matter expert on the AWS platform, including its tools and service infrastructure
Roles that can lead on to becoming an DevOps Engineer
The path to becoming a DevOps Engineer isn’t set in stone, with IT careers open to professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.
That being said, this role is perhaps best suited to digital professionals with experience rooted in infrastructure, systems administration, and development, with DevOps talent tending to start their careers in roles like:
- Software Developer
- Performance Engineer
- Tester
- Infrastructure Engineer
- Systems Administrator
- Systems Reliability Engineer
- Automation/Integration Engineer
- Release Manager
What skills and experience should DevOps Engineers have?
- Good programming skills in Python, Java, Node.JS, .NET
- Fundamental understanding of networking, security, and software reliability engineering
- Knowledge of Linux and Web Development fundamentals
- Solid understanding of Continuous Management, Continuous Integration, Continuous Testing, and Continuous Monitoring
- Deep knowledge of CI/CD processes and practices
- Experience with CI/CD tools including Jenkins and Gitlab, and AWS CI/CD tools like CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, CodePipeline
- Confidence in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and tools like CloudFormation, Terraform, and AWS CDK
- Strong expertise in containerization techniques and tools like Docker, Kubernetes, and Amazon EKS
- Proficiency in monitoring and logging, working with tools like Amazon CloudWatch amd AWS CloudTrail
- Ability to build and deploy a microservices architecture
- Comfortable working under Agile principles
- Subject matter expert on the AWS platform, including its tools and service infrastructure
Roles that can lead on to becoming an DevOps Engineer
The path to becoming a DevOps Engineer isn’t set in stone, with IT careers open to professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.
That being said, this role is perhaps best suited to digital professionals with experience rooted in infrastructure, systems administration, and development, with DevOps talent tending to start their careers in roles like:
- Software Developer
- Performance Engineer
- Tester
- Infrastructure Engineer
- Systems Administrator
- Systems Reliability Engineer
- Automation/Integration Engineer
- Release Manager
What skills and experience should DevOps Engineers have?
- Good programming skills in Python, Java, Node.JS, .NET
- Fundamental understanding of networking, security, and software reliability engineering
- Knowledge of Linux and Web Development fundamentals
- Solid understanding of Continuous Management, Continuous Integration, Continuous Testing, and Continuous Monitoring
- Deep knowledge of CI/CD processes and practices
- Experience with CI/CD tools including Jenkins and Gitlab, and AWS CI/CD tools like CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, CodePipeline
- Confidence in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and tools like CloudFormation, Terraform, and AWS CDK
- Strong expertise in containerization techniques and tools like Docker, Kubernetes, and Amazon EKS
- Proficiency in monitoring and logging, working with tools like Amazon CloudWatch amd AWS CloudTrail
- Ability to build and deploy a microservices architecture
- Comfortable working under Agile principles
- Subject matter expert on the AWS platform, including its tools and service infrastructure
What are the opportunities for progression?
What are the opportunities for progression?
What are the opportunities for progression?
DevSecOps: a growing sector in the cloud
As the uptake of AWS shows no signs of slowing, it’s no surpise that demand for digital security is growing year to year too—after all, as more organizations begin to adopt cloud-first principles, more opportunities are created for cybercriminals. DevSecOps serves to ensure that’s not the case.
DevSecOps introduces security testing into every stage of the software development cycle by integrating tools and processes that encourage collaboration between developers, security specialists, and operation teams. Despite not yet being widely recognized as standard DevOps practices, DevSecOps is being considered a cultural transformation, reimagining security responsibility by sharing it amongst everyone involved in building the software.
As a modern alternative to older software security practices, DevSecOps ensures efficiency and effectiveness by reducing costs and minimizing mistakes across all stages of the software development cycle, from requirement analysis and planning to design, development, and deployment. By integrating security assessments throughout the CI/CD process, you can identify software vulnerabilities early, reduce time to market, ensure regulation compliance, and build a security-aware culture across an organization—and so it’s little wonder we’re seeing this practice spike in demand.
DevSecOps is forecast to be valued at $16.20bn by 2030, representing a 17.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2024 and 2030. As a result, candidates should expect more DevSecOps vacancies to appear across the job market in the coming years, with those boasting the relevant skillsets likely be rewarded with lucrative offers. Roles will typically entail ensuring security-first processes across CI/CD development cycles, including risk analysis, monitoring and managing incidents, testing, and automation. Those considering exploring this field should have strong experience and expertise in DevOps, as well as a first-rare understanding of security concepts and best practices (hey, those 9% of respondents who hold the AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification, we’re looking at you!).
DevSecOps: a growing sector in the cloud
As the uptake of AWS shows no signs of slowing, it’s no surpise that demand for digital security is growing year to year too—after all, as more organizations begin to adopt cloud-first principles, more opportunities are created for cybercriminals. DevSecOps serves to ensure that’s not the case.
DevSecOps introduces security testing into every stage of the software development cycle by integrating tools and processes that encourage collaboration between developers, security specialists, and operation teams. Despite not yet being widely recognized as standard DevOps practices, DevSecOps is being considered a cultural transformation, reimagining security responsibility by sharing it amongst everyone involved in building the software.
As a modern alternative to older software security practices, DevSecOps ensures efficiency and effectiveness by reducing costs and minimizing mistakes across all stages of the software development cycle, from requirement analysis and planning to design, development, and deployment. By integrating security assessments throughout the CI/CD process, you can identify software vulnerabilities early, reduce time to market, ensure regulation compliance, and build a security-aware culture across an organization—and so it’s little wonder we’re seeing this practice spike in demand.
DevSecOps is forecast to be valued at $16.20bn by 2030, representing a 17.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2024 and 2030. As a result, candidates should expect more DevSecOps vacancies to appear across the job market in the coming years, with those boasting the relevant skillsets likely be rewarded with lucrative offers. Roles will typically entail ensuring security-first processes across CI/CD development cycles, including risk analysis, monitoring and managing incidents, testing, and automation. Those considering exploring this field should have strong experience and expertise in DevOps, as well as a first-rare understanding of security concepts and best practices (hey, those 9% of respondents who hold the AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification, we’re looking at you!).
Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables allow you to compare your salary or benchmark your teams’ salaries no matter their role in the AWS ecosystem.
Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables allow you to compare your salary or benchmark your teams’ salaries no matter their role in the AWS ecosystem.
Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables allow you to compare your salary or benchmark your teams’ salaries no matter their role in the AWS ecosystem.
