Is Learning “DevOps” the added advantage for Java Full Stack Developers?

Table of Contents [show]

Introduction

Have you ever used software that is frustrating because of all the things that are wrong with it? If you've used something like this, you know how frustrating it can be, and that's why DevOps was developed. DevOps enables continuous review during the software development process so that software can be thought of holistically. This allows for a more stable release and, ultimately, a better product for the end user.

What is DevOps?

DevOps is an approach to software development where the development team (Dev) collaborates with the operations department/function (Ops) in all phases of software development. These include the creation, testing, deployment, and maintenance of products.

DevOps is sometimes considered an offshoot of agile and lean approaches because it provides the same quality controls and standards required by the above methodologies. Before Agile, Developers and operations worked in silos. The developers created the product, and the operations team took care of all the processes. The resulting damage from this approach is what gave birth to Agile and DevOps. DevOps further enhances Agile by emphasizing the successful delivery of fully usable software during each iteration. It helps reduce frustration for both internal product teams and the end user.

Before embarking on DevOps training, you should understand what you want to achieve by implementing it. The following three elements should appear in any context where DevOps is used:

• Automation
• Continuous delivery
• Site Reliability

What is Java DevOps?

Java DevOps simply applies DevOps practices and philosophies to Java application development. This means that split teams are no longer needed when creating Java applications.

Some of the policies you should be aware of include the following:

• Continuous integration: This practice requires developers to regularly merge the code they've written into a central repository. Tests and automated builds are performed after the merge. This allows the team to find issues and fix bugs quickly, improving the application's quality and reducing the time needed to validate your applications. It also helps your team release new updates faster.
• Continuous delivery: This practice requires your team to release all code changes to production after it is written and then automatically built and tested. If continuous integration moves code changes to a test environment, continuous delivery moves it to a production environment. What does it mean? You will always have a production-ready Java application!
• Microservices: DevOps uses microservices. Instead of one large monolithic Java application, your application comprises smaller, independent applications.
• Infrastructure as code: This practice means that infrastructure is allocated and managed using code and development techniques. Cloud services can help your development and operations teams interact with the infrastructure at the scale that suits them. With infrastructure as code, servers and infrastructure are deployed quickly, automatically patched, and easily duplicated. Your team can also automate configuration management and take advantage of policy-as-code, where compliance with regulatory requirements is virtually assured.

Our Learners Also Read: What Skills are Required to Become a Full-Stack Java Developer?

Benefits of Learning DevOps

Anyone involved in software development, whether from the development end or the end of the operation, will benefit greatly from learning DevOps. Depending on your experience and skill level, you can enroll in a DevOps certification course to gain career benefits such as:

Shorten production cycles 

Development and operations teams in silos unnecessarily lengthen the production cycle. It is increasingly difficult for both teams to collaborate on the processes required to bring the software to life. Close collaboration accelerates innovation and development by eliminating forces.

Increase deployment success rates

Programming errors are one of the main reasons why deployments fail. The frequent release of code caused by a DevOps approach ensures that problems are detected at an earlier stage. Thanks to the cooperation of the development and operations teams, the recovery time is much shorter.

Improved collaboration and communication

DevOps has revolutionized the culture of software development. This is because when all stakeholder teams participate in the development process, they focus on a common goal instead of working with different goals. More synergy improves communication. Better communication leads to smoother development cycles, faster bug detection/resolution, and faster time to market.

Increased efficiency through automation

Continuous integration lessens the need for manual testing and development processes. Specific tasks in the development process cannot be automated. DevOps focuses developers' attention on these tasks and leaves other tasks to tools that can accelerate development, such as:

Cloud platforms. The use of hardware resources during development unnecessarily ties up the relevant system infrastructure. Scalable infrastructures such as cloud platforms solve this problem, resulting in faster processes.

Create acceleration tools to compile code faster.

Parallel workflow processes for smoother continuous supply chain operations.

Work with good developers.

Bad code is all too common, although users will realize this when it's too late. The fact is that some developers are good at what they do, while others have poor coding skills. DevOps has a solution to this problem. Frequent reviews make it easy to evaluate the performance of developers on a DevOps team so that each team member is tasked with the duties that best match their skills.

DevOps recognizes that software development is not just about coding. There are other additional responsibilities in the process. A team member who is terrible at coding may be good at different roles and vice versa. Reassigning tasks to team members earlier in the process prevents wasted time and resources.

Increase your value

Every few months, new IT trends emerge that promise a better, faster, more convenient, and more efficient way of doing things. Industry experts also improve the overall software development process by implementing practical methodologies. IT professionals who don't keep up with these changes are often left behind or have to change careers entirely.

If you're pursuing a career in IT, earning a DevOps Engineer certification to complement your years of experience is a great way to stay relevant in an ever-evolving industry. You can get more done with DevOps automation features and better support operations.

Become Respected in IT Security

Security is a pressing concern for many organizations due to the increasing number of black-hat hacking cases in the last few years. One survey shows that as the security workforce skills shortage continues, 54 percent of companies currently outsource the task of implementing security measures to DevOps. This means that mastering DevOps security best practices can also enhance your skills in solving security problems.

Increase your salary

DevOps practitioners are in high demand as companies constantly look for ways to improve workflow processes. The study shows that 46 percent of IT firms see a growing skills gap and need skilled professionals to fill it. Although it is challenging, those who dedicate themselves to this work should expect to earn a substantial salary.

Although your salary will depend on your role, the average salary for different roles does not vary radically. For example, a DevOps Release Manager earns an average of $92,000, a Site Reliability Engineer $125,000, and a DevOps Engineer $115,000.

Conclusion

Yes, learning DevOps is a good advantage to Full stack java developers. In certain cases, Full Stack Developers can help you create growth. But DevOps can help you move your software project forward.

The Full Stack Developer and DevOps Developer career paths provide rewarding and interesting opportunities. But choosing between Full Stack developer and DevOps can be difficult. At this point, you must have a firm idea of your interests and areas.

About The Author: