Latest / The Career Change Podcast with Fexingo: Switching Fields, Bootcamps, and Reskilling / How Bootcamp Grads Can Transition Into DevOps
Transcript
- Lucas: If you've gone through a coding bootcamp, you've probably been told to aim for frontend, backend, or full-stack roles. But there's a path that a lot of grads overlook, and it's growing fast — DevOps. Luna: DevOps always sounded like a role for people who've been managing servers for years. Is that still true? Lucas: It used to be. But the job has changed. Modern DevOps is less about racking hardware and more about writing code that automates infrastructure. And bootcamp grads already know how to code. The gap is mostly in vocabulary and tools. Luna: So what's the actual skill set? If I'm a bootcamp grad with React and Node under my belt, what do I need to add? Lucas: I'd say three core areas. First, infrastructure as code — tools like Terraform or Pulumi where you define servers and networks in configuration files. Second, CI/CD pipelines — automating tests and deployments, typically with GitHub Actions or GitLab CI. Third, containerization — Docker and some Kubernetes. Luna: That sounds like a lot. How long would it take someone to get job-ready in those three areas? Lucas: A focused three to four months, if you're consistent. And you don't need to master Kubernetes on day one. Start with Docker. Then add a CI/CD pipeline. Then learn Terraform. One step at a time. Luna: And how do you prove you know these things without a job title? I imagine a GitHub repo of React components doesn't scream 'DevOps.' Lucas: You're right. You need a project that shows infrastructure. Let me give you a concrete example. There's a bootcamp grad I spoke with — let's call him Mark. After his bootcamp, he volunteered to help a local food bank rebuild their website. But instead of just writing the site, he automated the whole deployment. Luna: Okay, I'm interested. What did he do exactly? Lucas: He containerized the app with Docker, wrote a Terraform script to spin up a cheap server on DigitalOcean, and set up a GitHub Actions pipeline so that every time he pushed code, it automatically ran tests and deployed. He documented everything in a README. That single project got him two interviews. Luna: So the key is showing you can take an application and make it resilient and repeatable, not just write the app itself. Lucas: Exactly. And that's a story you can tell in an interview. You don't need to have managed a thousand-node cluster at a Fortune 500. You just need to demonstrate that you understand the lifecycle of code going from a laptop to production. Luna: What about the interview itself? Are DevOps interviews different from standard software engineering loops? Lucas: They are. You'll still get coding problems — usually in Python or Go — but you'll also get system design questions that are infrastructure-focused. Things like 'design a deployment pipeline' or 'how would you handle a server going down at 3 AM?' Luna: How do you prepare for those if you've never actually been on call? Lucas: You simulate it. Build a small web app, deliberately break the deployment, and fix it. Write a postmortem. That shows you understand the operational side. Also, read the SRE book by Google — it's basically the DevOps bible. Luna: And for the coding round, would they expect you to know bash scripting and Linux commands cold? Lucas: Yes. Absolutely. You don't need to be a kernel hacker, but you should be comfortable with the command line — piping, grep, awk, file permissions, environment variables. That's often the biggest shock for bootcamp grads who've only used an IDE. Luna: So your advice is: start using the terminal for everything. Even if it's slower at first. Lucas: Exactly. And learn YAML — that's the language of pipelines and config files. It's simple, but you need to be precise with indentation. One wrong space and your deployment breaks. Luna: Are there any certifications that help? Like the AWS DevOps Engineer cert or the CKA for Kubernetes? Lucas: They can help get past HR filters, but they're not a substitute for a project. I'd say do the project first, then consider the cert. The cert without a project signals you can pass a test, not that you can do the work. Luna: That makes sense. And I imagine a lot of bootcamp grads already have some exposure to cloud platforms if they deployed apps on Heroku or Netlify. That's not nothing. Lucas: Exactly. You can frame that as 'experience with PaaS.' Then you just need to go one level deeper — understand what's happening under the hood. And honestly, if today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It really helps us keep doing episodes like this. Luna: Yeah, and it's a small way to say this content matters to you. We're grateful for every coffee. Lucas: So back to the transition. Let's talk about the job titles you should actually look for. 'DevOps Engineer' is the obvious one, but there's also 'Platform Engineer,' 'Site Reliability Engineer,' 'Cloud Engineer,' and even 'Automation Engineer.' Luna: Do they all require the same skill set? Lucas: Roughly, but the emphasis shifts. SRE roles focus more on reliability and observability — monitoring, alerting, incident response. Platform Engineer leans into building internal tools for developers. Cloud Engineer is more about provisioning and managing cloud resources. DevOps Engineer sits in the middle. Luna: Which one would you recommend for a bootcamp grad with no ops background? Lucas: Start with a DevOps or Cloud Engineer role at a smaller company. The bar is lower, and you'll get exposure to everything. At a startup, you might be the only DevOps person — that's scary, but you learn fast. Luna: What about the salary range? Is it comparable to software engineering? Lucas: It's similar, sometimes higher because DevOps is in high demand. According to data from levels dot fyi, mid-level DevOps engineers at tech companies are pulling in around $150,000 to $200,000 total compensation, depending on location. And remote roles are common. Luna: That's compelling. So the investment of three months learning pays off quickly. Lucas: It does. And one more thing — don't underestimate soft skills. DevOps is deeply collaborative. You're working with developers, QA, product, security. Being able to explain why a pipeline broke in plain English is just as important as knowing how to fix it. Luna: So communication, documentation, empathy — the same things that make a good developer also make a good DevOps engineer. Lucas: Exactly. And that's where bootcamp grads often shine, because they've learned to communicate complex topics clearly — it's part of the bootcamp process. Luna: Alright, I'm convinced. For anyone listening who's been on the fence about DevOps, what's the single first step you'd recommend taking this week? Lucas: Set up a GitHub Actions pipeline for a project you already have. Even if it's just running tests and deploying to a free tier of Heroku or Railway. That one action — literally the first pipeline — teaches you YAML, triggers, environments, secrets. It's the gateway. Do that, and you're no longer just a developer. You're someone who thinks about delivery.