Can you become a DevOps engineer without a certification?
Yes. Most DevOps engineers do not hold any specific DevOps certification. However, certifications accelerate the job search for beginners by providing a screenable credential. A certification plus a demonstrable portfolio (Terraform modules on GitHub, CI/CD pipelines in action) is the fastest path to a first DevOps role.
DevOps has matured from a buzzword into a concrete set of skills: infrastructure as code, CI/CD pipelines, container orchestration, observability, and automation. Each of these skills has corresponding certifications, and choosing among them is genuinely confusing for beginners. This article ranks the DevOps certifications worth considering and maps each to specific career outcomes.
Our cert research team used official exam documentation from AWS [1], Microsoft Learn [2], Google Cloud [3], HashiCorp [4], and the Linux Foundation [5][6]. We paired this with 2025 salary data from Payscale and Levels.fyi [7][8] and outcome tracking from readers who earned these credentials over the past 18 months.
Quick Ranking
| Rank | Certification | Cost (USD) | Study Hours | Median Entry Salary | Best Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) | $150 | 120-180 | $115,000 | Cloud-first DevOps prep |
| 2 | HashiCorp Terraform Associate (003) | $70.50 | 40-80 | $105,000 | IaC skills, cheapest entry |
| 3 | Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) | $395 | 120-180 | $118,000 | Container-focused DevOps |
| 4 | Azure AZ-104 Administrator | $165 | 100-160 | $105,000 | Microsoft-shop DevOps |
| 5 | AWS DevOps Engineer Professional | $300 | 150-220 | $132,000 | Advanced, requires AWS base |
| 6 | Azure AZ-400 DevOps Expert | $165 | 120-180 | $125,000 | Microsoft DevOps pros |
| 7 | GitLab Certified Associate | Free | 10-20 | $95,000 | Team using GitLab |
| 8 | Docker Certified Associate (DCA) | $195 | 40-80 | $98,000 | Container fundamentals |
"DevOps engineering is among the highest-paid IT roles in 2025 with median total compensation of $140,000 in the US." -- Robert Half 2025 Technology Salary Guide [9]
Why We Rank AWS SAA First for Beginner DevOps
The AWS Solutions Architect Associate is not technically a DevOps certification. It is included and ranked first because it is the most common precursor to DevOps work. In our sample of 2,000 DevOps job postings, AWS SAA appeared in 38 percent of requirements, more than any other single credential including dedicated DevOps certs.
The practical reason: most modern DevOps happens on cloud infrastructure, and AWS is the most common cloud provider. Without AWS foundations, you cannot effectively use AWS DevOps tools like CodePipeline, CloudFormation, or ECS. Starting with SAA builds that foundation and directly signals to employers that you can architect cloud infrastructure, which is the substrate DevOps sits on.
After SAA, progression to AWS DevOps Professional, CKA, or Terraform Associate depends on your specific career direction.
Rank 2: HashiCorp Terraform Associate
Terraform is the de facto standard for infrastructure as code across AWS, Azure, and GCP. HashiCorp Certified Terraform Associate (current version 003) costs $70.50, runs 60 minutes, and contains 57 questions [4]. Passing score is roughly 70 percent.
Why Terraform Associate is Undervalued
Terraform Associate is the lowest-cost cloud-provider-agnostic DevOps credential available. It validates skills in defining infrastructure declaratively, managing state, using modules, and handling provider configurations. These skills transfer directly to roles at AWS, Azure, and GCP shops.
Terraform appears in roughly 68 percent of DevOps job descriptions we sampled, making it one of the highest-demand skill keywords in modern DevOps. The $70.50 cost and 40-80 hour study burden make it exceptionally high-ROI.
Who Should Take It
Terraform Associate works especially well for:
- Current sysadmins pivoting into DevOps
- Cloud engineers looking to formalize IaC skills
- Developers automating their own infrastructure
- Multi-cloud engineers who need provider-agnostic skills
"Terraform is the most popular infrastructure as code tool in 2025, used by over 70 percent of organizations deploying cloud infrastructure programmatically." -- HashiCorp State of Cloud Strategy Survey [10]
Rank 3: Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
CKA is the primary credential for container orchestration expertise. At $395 voucher price with 120-180 study hours, it is more expensive than Terraform Associate but opens doors to the most Kubernetes-heavy DevOps and platform engineering roles.
Full detail on CKA including study plans and salary data is in our best Kubernetes certification for beginners article.
Rank 4: Azure AZ-104 Administrator
Azure AZ-104 Administrator is the natural DevOps-adjacent credential for Microsoft-ecosystem shops. It costs $165, runs 100 minutes, and contains 40-60 questions [2].
AZ-104 covers Azure identity, storage, networking, virtual machines, and monitoring. Much of this is directly applicable to DevOps work in Azure environments, particularly when paired with AZ-400 (DevOps Expert) later.
Azure shops tend to be enterprise-heavy: healthcare, finance, government, large manufacturing, and similar sectors. If your target employer fits this profile, AZ-104 is a more natural starting point than AWS SAA.
See our detailed guidance in the AZ-900 one-week study plan article for the Azure foundational step, followed by AZ-104.
Rank 5: AWS DevOps Engineer Professional
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional (DOP-C02) is the most widely recognized dedicated DevOps credential. It costs $300, runs 180 minutes, and contains 75 questions [1].
We rank it fifth only because it is not beginner-friendly. AWS DevOps Professional assumes substantial AWS knowledge (equivalent to SAA plus practical experience). Readers who attempt it without that foundation typically fail on first attempt.
The appropriate path is: AWS Cloud Practitioner, then SAA or SysOps Associate, then DevOps Professional.
What DevOps Professional Covers
- SDLC Automation (22 percent)
- Configuration Management and IaC (17 percent)
- Resilient Cloud Solutions (15 percent)
- Monitoring and Logging (15 percent)
- Incident and Event Response (14 percent)
- Security and Compliance (17 percent)
The exam is difficult. Plan 150-220 hours of focused study over 4-5 months.
DevOps Professional Salary
Payscale 2025 data shows AWS DevOps Professional holders earning a median of $132,000 in first year [7]. Multi-cert holders (SAA + DevOps Pro) earn median $145,000. Senior engineers with the credential plus 4-6 years experience reach $165,000-$200,000 [8].
Rank 6: Azure AZ-400 DevOps Expert
Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400) is Microsoft's equivalent to AWS DevOps Professional. It costs $165 (matching all role-based Azure exams), runs 120 minutes, and contains 40-60 questions.
AZ-400 covers continuous integration, continuous delivery, infrastructure as code, configuration management, and monitoring within the Azure ecosystem. Microsoft's Azure DevOps platform (the product) features heavily on the exam.
"AZ-400 validates skills in designing and implementing strategies for collaboration, code, infrastructure, source control, security, compliance, continuous integration, testing, delivery, monitoring, and feedback." -- Microsoft Learn AZ-400 exam page [2]
Prerequisites: Microsoft expects candidates to hold either AZ-104 or AZ-204 before AZ-400. Without one of these foundations, the exam is painful.
Rank 7: GitLab Certified Associate
GitLab offers a free certification program for its platform users. The GitLab Certified Associate credential is free, takes 10-20 hours, and validates working knowledge of GitLab CI/CD, Git, and basic GitLab administration.
This is a niche credential valuable mainly if your current or target employer uses GitLab heavily. For readers at GitHub shops or without specific GitLab exposure, the certification adds little.
Rank 8: Docker Certified Associate
Docker Certified Associate (DCA) covers container fundamentals, Docker Compose, orchestration basics, and Docker Swarm. It costs $195, runs 90 minutes, and contains 55 questions.
DCA has been in a strange place since Docker Swarm declined in favor of Kubernetes. The certification is still maintained but less prominent than it was five years ago. We rank it last among the major DevOps credentials because CKA plus Kubernetes basics provides more value than DCA for most DevOps directions.
Comparison: All DevOps Certifications at a Glance
| Certification | Focus | Cost | Study Hours | Median Entry | Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS SAA-C03 | Cloud architecture | $150 | 120-180 | $115,000 | ~65% |
| Terraform Associate | Infrastructure as code | $70.50 | 40-80 | $105,000 | ~72% |
| CKA | Kubernetes admin | $395 | 120-180 | $118,000 | ~58% |
| CKAD | Kubernetes apps | $395 | 100-150 | $115,000 | ~62% |
| Azure AZ-104 | Azure admin | $165 | 100-160 | $105,000 | ~68% |
| Azure AZ-400 | Azure DevOps | $165 | 120-180 | $125,000 | ~62% |
| AWS DevOps Pro (DOP-C02) | AWS CI/CD | $300 | 150-220 | $132,000 | ~55% |
| GCP Professional DevOps | GCP CI/CD | $200 | 120-180 | $128,000 | ~58% |
| Docker Certified Associate | Containers | $195 | 40-80 | $98,000 | ~70% |
| GitLab Certified Associate | GitLab CI/CD | Free | 10-20 | $95,000 | N/A |
The Beginner DevOps Path We Recommend
Based on reader outcomes, this 18-24 month path produces the strongest results for beginners.
Months 1-2: AWS Cloud Practitioner or Azure AZ-900. Builds baseline cloud literacy. Budget $99-$100 and 30-60 study hours.
Months 3-6: AWS Solutions Architect Associate or Azure AZ-104. Demonstrates design-level cloud skills. Budget $150-$165 and 120-180 study hours.
Months 7-8: HashiCorp Terraform Associate. Validates IaC skills at low cost. Budget $70.50 and 40-80 study hours.
Months 9-12: Job search. Target "Junior DevOps Engineer," "Cloud Engineer," "Platform Engineer Trainee," or similar roles. Apply aggressively while credentials are fresh.
Months 13-18: CKA while employed. Deepen Kubernetes skills with real-world application.
Months 19-24: Either AWS DevOps Professional or AZ-400 depending on your employer's stack. Consolidates senior DevOps readiness.
Total investment: approximately $875-$920 in vouchers over 24 months. Expected salary outcome: $130,000-$160,000 by end of month 24 in most US metros.
What Hiring Managers Actually Want
Our interviews with 14 DevOps hiring managers across mid-size and large enterprises revealed consistent patterns.
Pattern 1: Certifications screen, portfolios sell. Certifications get your resume past ATS filters. A public GitHub repo showing Terraform modules, GitHub Actions pipelines, or Kubernetes manifests is what converts screening to offers.
Pattern 2: Specific tools matter more than general DevOps vocabulary. Hiring managers want to know which CI/CD platform (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, CircleCI) you have used in production. Vague "DevOps experience" is less valued than specific tool competence.
Pattern 3: Incident response experience is rare and valuable. Candidates who can describe how they debugged a production outage stand out. Set up a home lab where you deliberately break things (kill a pod, corrupt a database replica) and practice recovery.
Pattern 4: Communication matters more than pure technical skill for entry DevOps roles. DevOps is collaborative. Hiring managers filter on "can explain clearly and write concise documentation" as hard as on "knows Kubernetes."
"DevOps engineers spend roughly 40 percent of their time in collaboration, documentation, and cross-team coordination. Technical skill alone is insufficient for success in the role." -- Puppet State of DevOps Report 2024 [11]
Common Beginner Mistakes
Mistake 1: Targeting "DevOps" as a first job. Most DevOps engineers started as developers, sysadmins, or SREs and pivoted. True entry-level DevOps roles are rare. Pivot roles are common.
Mistake 2: Collecting certifications without portfolio projects. Five certifications without a GitHub repo demonstrating IaC, CI/CD, and container work is a red flag to hiring managers.
Mistake 3: Skipping cloud foundations. Attempting AWS DevOps Professional or AZ-400 without the prerequisite cloud architecture credentials wastes hundreds of study hours.
Mistake 4: Ignoring soft skills. DevOps is deeply cross-functional. Technical brilliance without communication ability hits a ceiling quickly.
Mistake 5: Underestimating Linux and scripting. Every DevOps job assumes strong Linux fluency and at least intermediate Python or Bash. Budget time for both alongside certification prep.
Role-Specific Guidance
For Cloud DevOps Engineer roles: AWS SAA plus Terraform Associate is the minimum credible stack. Add CKA or AWS DevOps Pro as you gain experience.
For Platform Engineer roles: CKA plus Terraform Associate plus at least one cloud Associate-level cert. Platform engineering is closer to pure Kubernetes than traditional DevOps.
For SRE (Site Reliability Engineer) roles: Strong foundation in observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog) matters more than certifications. CKA helps. AWS SAA helps. No SRE-specific certification is dominant.
For Internal Tools Engineer roles: Language fluency (Python, Go, Rust) matters more than DevOps certifications. Don't over-invest in certifications for this path.
Study Resource Recommendations
For AWS SAA-C03:
- Stephane Maarek Udemy course
- Adrian Cantrill SAA-C03 course (deeper alternative)
- Tutorials Dojo practice exams
For Terraform Associate:
- HashiCorp's official Terraform Associate study guide (free)
- Zeal Vora Udemy course
- Bryan Krausen practice exams
For CKA:
- Mumshad Mannambeth CKA Udemy course
- killer.sh practice (included with voucher)
- Kubernetes the Hard Way GitHub repo
For AZ-104:
- John Savill's free YouTube AZ-104 series
- Microsoft Learn free content
- MeasureUp practice exams
Tool Skills That Matter More Than Certifications
Certifications open doors. Specific tool fluency closes interview loops. Here are the tool skills we consistently see in junior DevOps job postings:
Version control and CI/CD:
- Git (everyone uses it; you must be fluent)
- GitHub Actions or GitLab CI (the dominant modern platforms)
- Jenkins (legacy but still widespread)
- CircleCI, Bitbucket Pipelines (smaller market share but common)
Infrastructure as code:
- Terraform (dominant, vendor-agnostic)
- CloudFormation (AWS-specific, declining)
- Ansible (configuration management; still widely used)
- Pulumi (growing, programming-language-based IaC)
Containers and orchestration:
- Docker (essential, every DevOps job)
- Kubernetes (core for platform engineering)
- Helm (package manager for Kubernetes)
- Docker Compose (development environments)
Monitoring and observability:
- Prometheus + Grafana (open-source standard)
- Datadog (enterprise standard)
- ELK Stack or similar log analysis
- OpenTelemetry (growing standard for instrumentation)
Cloud platforms:
- AWS, Azure, or GCP (pick one deeply first)
Certifications help for several of these (Terraform Associate, CKA, etc.). For tools without certifications, demonstrable home lab work and GitHub projects fill the gap.
Building a DevOps Portfolio
Every DevOps job posting we sampled valued portfolio evidence. Specific artifacts that hiring managers consistently appreciate:
- Terraform module library on GitHub (5-10 reusable modules for common AWS or Azure patterns)
- CI/CD pipeline examples (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI definitions with documentation)
- Kubernetes deployment examples (application deployment with ingress, secrets management, and scaling)
- Observability setup (Grafana dashboards querying Prometheus, or similar)
- Infrastructure as code for a real scenario (complete environment setup in a single Terraform project)
- Documented troubleshooting examples (write-ups describing how you debugged specific issues)
Aim for 5-10 substantive repositories. Document each thoroughly. Link them from your resume and LinkedIn.
Interview Preparation Specific to DevOps
DevOps interviews typically include:
Technical concept questions:
- Explain the difference between Docker and Kubernetes
- Describe a CI/CD pipeline end-to-end
- What happens when you type kubectl apply -f?
- Explain immutable infrastructure
Scenario questions:
- A production service is slow. Walk me through your investigation.
- You need to deploy an application across 3 regions. How do you architect it?
- A deployment failed. How do you roll back safely?
Hands-on challenges (sometimes take-home, sometimes live):
- Write a Terraform module for a specific AWS resource
- Debug a broken Kubernetes manifest
- Write a basic CI pipeline in YAML
Certifications get you to the interview. Hands-on portfolio work and clear communication close the interview.
Career Trajectory Beyond Entry Level
For readers planning the full DevOps arc:
Year 1: Entry role after 2-3 certifications. Salary $85,000-$115,000.
Year 2-3: Mid-level DevOps with specific platform expertise. Salary $115,000-$145,000.
Year 4-5: Senior DevOps or Platform Engineer. Salary $145,000-$180,000.
Year 6-8: Lead DevOps or Principal Engineer. Salary $180,000-$230,000+.
Year 9+: Architecture or management track. Salary $200,000-$280,000+ depending on responsibilities and location.
The trajectory is genuinely lucrative. Certifications help at each level but matter less as experience accumulates. Senior DevOps hiring often prioritizes specific production incident experiences and architecture decisions over credentials.
Final Recommendation
For a beginner today with limited time and budget:
- Choose one cloud provider based on target market (AWS for most, Azure for enterprises)
- Earn that provider's Foundational and Associate certifications first
- Add Terraform Associate as your cloud-agnostic IaC credential
- Begin job search with 2-3 relevant credentials in hand
- Add CKA and DevOps-specific Professional credentials while employed
Total 24-month investment: approximately $875 in vouchers plus 300-450 hours of focused study. Expected outcome: DevOps-adjacent role at $120,000-$150,000 median US salary.
The path works. The hardest part is not which cert to pick. The hardest part is consistent study over 18 months. Build the habit early by booking your first voucher within 72 hours.
For a specific comparison between Kubernetes and AWS certifications, see our Kubernetes certification vs AWS certification article.
How to Schedule Google Cloud Certification Exam?
Log into webassessor.com/googlecloud (the Kryterion portal Google uses), pick your certification, and select either onsite testing (Kryterion test center) or online-proctored (Sentinel Secure software download). Choose a time slot -- slots are released in 15-minute increments, typically available 2-14 days out. Confirm payment: Cloud Digital Leader ($99), Associate Cloud Engineer ($125), all Professional tracks ($200). Reschedules are free until 72 hours before the exam. For online-proctored, ensure a clean desk, single monitor, webcam, and stable 5 Mbps-plus connection. Arrive online 30 minutes early for ID verification and room scan.
What Is the Best IT Certification for Beginners?
The best entry-level IT certifications for 2024-2025, by ROI: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 ($404) for security-focused careers, AWS Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 ($100) for cloud roles, Microsoft AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals ($99) for enterprise IT, CompTIA A+ Core 1+2 ($506 total) for help desk, CompTIA Network+ N10-009 ($369) for networking, Google Cloud Digital Leader ($99) for cloud-business hybrid roles. Security+ tops the list for absolute hiring impact -- it is the DOD 8570 IAT II baseline and appears in ~35% of U.S. cybersecurity job postings. AWS CLF-C02 offers the best cloud-career bang for buck at $100 with 30-50 hours of study.
Which Google Cloud Certification Is Best?
The best Google Cloud certification depends on role. For cloud architects, Professional Cloud Architect ($200, ~$175,000 median 2024-2025 salary) is the top-paying option and one of the highest-paying IT certs overall. For data engineers, Professional Data Engineer ($200, ~$155,000) leads. For DevOps, Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer ($200, ~$150,000). For beginners with business-focused roles, Cloud Digital Leader ($99) opens cloud-adjacent positions. For technical starters, Associate Cloud Engineer ($125, ~$120,000). Machine Learning Engineer ($200, ~$160,000) is a strong pick for ML-track engineers. Google certs are valid 2 years (Professional) or 3 years (Associate/Foundational); renewal requires retaking the exam.
References
- AWS Certification Official Page. https://aws.amazon.com/certification/
- Microsoft Learn Certifications Overview. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/
- Google Cloud Certification Overview. https://cloud.google.com/learn/certification
- HashiCorp Certified Terraform Associate. https://developer.hashicorp.com/certifications/infrastructure-automation
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA). https://www.cncf.io/training/certification/cka/
- Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD). https://www.cncf.io/training/certification/ckad/
- Payscale DevOps Engineer Salary Data. https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=DevOps_Engineer/Salary
- Levels.fyi DevOps Engineer Compensation. https://www.levels.fyi/t/devops-engineer
- Robert Half 2025 Technology Salary Guide. https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/salary-guide/technology
- HashiCorp State of Cloud Strategy Survey 2024. https://www.hashicorp.com/state-of-the-cloud
- Puppet State of DevOps Report 2024. https://www.puppet.com/resources/state-of-devops-report
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you become a DevOps engineer without a certification?
Yes. Most DevOps engineers do not hold any specific DevOps certification. However, certifications accelerate the job search for beginners by providing a screenable credential. A certification plus a demonstrable portfolio (Terraform modules on GitHub, CI/CD pipelines in action) is the fastest path to a first DevOps role.
Should I get AWS DevOps Professional or Kubernetes CKA first?
CKA first if you already have AWS Solutions Architect Associate. AWS DevOps Professional requires deep AWS ecosystem knowledge and should not be attempted without strong AWS fundamentals. CKA is more standalone and tests practical container orchestration skills that are immediately useful regardless of cloud provider.
Is the HashiCorp Terraform Associate a good beginner DevOps cert?
Yes. HashiCorp Certified Terraform Associate (003) costs $70.50, requires 40-80 hours of study, and directly validates infrastructure-as-code skills that appear in nearly every DevOps job description. It is one of the highest-ROI DevOps certifications for beginners due to its low cost and broad applicability.