Top 10 must-have knowledge for DevOps Engineer beginner
Breaking into DevOps? DevOps Engineer beginner must master these 10 knowledge—from Linux and IaC to CI/CD, cloud, and the mindset behind DevOps success.
DevOps Engineer is among the most in-demand and well-compensated tech roles in 2025. Companies across industries—from finance to healthcare to retail—are aggressively hiring DevOps talent to power their digital transformation efforts. But launching a successful DevOps Engineer career requires far more than curiosity and certifications.
To stand out, every DevOps Engineer beginner needs to master a broad mix of technical skills, foundational knowledge, and professional mindsets. This article outlines the top 10 must-have knowledge that form the cornerstone of a future-ready DevOps career, equipping beginners with both vision and direction.
What Is a DevOps Engineer?
A DevOps Engineer is a specialist who bridges the gap between development and operations teams by promoting automation, continuous integration, and continuous delivery of software. Their job combines coding, system administration, network understanding, and collaboration.
Typical job responsibilities include:
- Building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines
- Automating infrastructure provisioning using IaC tools
- Ensuring application reliability, scalability, and monitoring
- Collaborating across software, QA, and security teams
Career path can include:
- Junior DevOps Engineer → DevOps Engineer → Senior/Lead DevOps → Platform Engineer or Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
Source: AWS Careers Guide
Top 10 knowledge a DevOps Engineer Beginner Must Have
Basic Working Programming Skills
A DevOps engineer isn’t just deploying code—they often write scripts, contribute to build tools, and debug pipeline issues. Proficiency in Python, Shell, or Bash is essential, along with understanding Git workflows and version control.
Suggested learning:
- Google IT Automation with Python (Coursera)
- FreeCodeCamp: Git & GitHub full course
Basic Operating System Concepts (Linux/Windows)
Understanding OS fundamentals—especially Linux—is critical. From process management to file systems, permissions, and cron jobs, these skills enable you to work confidently in real-world server environments.
Suggested learning:
- Linux Foundation Certified IT Associate (LFCA)
- Ubuntu Tutorials (Canonical)
Intermediate Server Management Knowledge
Know how to configure, secure, and maintain servers via the command line. SSH, package managers (e.g., apt, yum), and user access control are daily bread for DevOps engineers.
Suggested learning:
- TryHackMe: Linux Fundamentals
- Red Hat System Administration I (RH124)
Intermediate Network & Protocol Knowledge
A solid grasp of IP, TCP, UDP, HTTP/HTTPS, DNS, firewalls, and proxies helps DevOps engineers troubleshoot connectivity issues and design resilient systems.
Suggested learning:
- Cisco DevNet Fundamentals
- Packet Tracer labs + Wireshark tutorials
Specific Network Infrastructure Knowledge
This includes load balancers (e.g., NGINX, HAProxy), VPNs, DNS management, and security groups. Understanding VPCs and subnetting in cloud environments is a major plus.
Suggested learning:
- AWS Advanced Networking Specialty (for VPC, NATs, etc.)
- NGINX documentation + load balancing labs
Intermediate Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) Experience
IaC allows DevOps teams to manage infrastructure with tools like Terraform, Ansible, and Pulumi. Beginners should understand how declarative infrastructure works and be able to create reproducible environments.
Suggested learning:
- HashiCorp Learn Terraform
- Ansible for Beginners (Red Hat)
Intermediate CI/CD Pipeline & Code Deployment Experience
From Jenkins to GitHub Actions, understanding CI/CD tools is essential. Know how pipelines work, what goes into a build, test, and deploy stage, and how to roll back when things break.
Suggested learning:
- GitHub Actions Documentation
- CI/CD Pipelines with Jenkins (Pluralsight)
Intermediate Monitoring & Observability Knowledge
Learn how tools like Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, and ELK Stack help track application performance and system health. Observability is critical for uptime and customer experience.
Suggested learning:
- Monitoring Systems and Services with Prometheus
- Elastic's Getting Started with ELK Stack guide
Intermediate Specific Cloud Provider Knowledge
AWS, Azure, and GCP are the big three. Beginners should pick one and understand core services (e.g., EC2, S3, IAM) and deployment basics. Certifications can help but aren’t a substitute for hands-on work.
Suggested learning:
Basic Cloud Architecture & Design Knowledge
Understand what makes a system scalable, redundant, and cost-effective. Concepts like high availability, fault tolerance, multi-region deployments, and serverless design should be familiar.
Suggested learning:
- Google Cloud Architecture Learning Path
- AWS Well-Architected Framework
Top Mindset a DevOps Engineer Beginner Should Know
DevOps isn’t just about tools—it’s about thinking differently.
- Systemic Thinking: See the big picture, including dependencies, feedback loops, and deployment pipelines.
- Ownership & Accountability: DevOps engineers own what they ship—expect on-call duties and proactive debugging.
- Collaboration-First: You’re the glue between developers, testers, and ops. Communication matters.
- Customer-Centric Thinking: Reliability and speed aren’t for the team—they’re for the user.
- Continuous Learning: New tools emerge monthly. Stay curious, humble, and iterative.
Conclusion
Becoming a DevOps Engineer in 2025 is a worthy, impactful, and challenging journey. But with the right foundation, anyone can grow from beginner to expert. These 10 must-have knowledge and mindset shifts are your compass. Invest time in them, apply them in projects, and you'll set yourself apart in one of the most future-proof tech careers today.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What’s the best starting point for a DevOps Engineer beginner?
Start with learning Linux basics, scripting (Python or Bash), and Git. Then explore CI/CD fundamentals and cloud platforms like AWS. Free courses and hands-on labs are the most effective way to build real-world skills.
2. Is DevOps hard to learn for beginners?
DevOps can feel overwhelming at first because it spans multiple disciplines. But by breaking it into phases—OS, scripting, cloud, automation—you’ll progress steadily. Consistency and practice matter more than perfection.
3. Do I need certifications to become a DevOps Engineer?
Certifications aren’t mandatory but they help. Entry-level certs like AWS Cloud Practitioner, LFCA (Linux Foundation), or AZ-900 prove you know the basics. Still, hands-on experience matters more when applying for jobs. It is a worthy, impactful, and challenging journey. But with the right foundation, anyone can grow from beginner to expert. These 10 must-have knowledge and mindset shifts are your compass. Invest time in them, apply them in projects, and you'll set yourself apart in one of the most future-proof tech careers today.