Developing and releasing software is a complicated task, and requires the skills of many different professionals. The job titles of these professionals can be confusing. For instance, even though DevOps engineers and software engineers both might be involved in the development and deployment of a software, they have a very different area of focus. A software engineer is largely focused on creating the software, including writing code that meets its requirements. On the other hand, DevOps engineer works on automating the development and release of the software. Companies like Revature trains and hires both software engineers and DevOps engineers.
Revature briefly discusses the factors differentiating Software Engineer from DevOps Engineer
The role played by DevOps engineers differs to a good extent from that of a software engineer. The latter usually works only the development side of a software. Based on the project requirements, software engineers design and built the software, write code and algorithms, as well as test the software prior to handing it over for deployment. The role of a DevOps engineers is much broader. They oversee every step of SDLC or Software Development Life Cycle. They not only may carry out certain duties the same as a software engineer, but also perform certain operational functions. DevOps engineers often have to monitor the software subsequent to deployment and address problems that may arise on the end of the users.
Software engineers and DevOps typically focus on varied means when it comes to reaching their goals and carrying out their activities. Software engineering projects generally seek to meet user requirements by creating a product that is engaging. The emphasis here is on the feature or application itself, and the goal is to produce an outcome that satisfies the users. The focus of DevOps engineers, however, is more UX and business oriented. They do aim to meet user demand, while simultaneously also maintaining a baseline performance threshold for the smooth operation of the software. They try to maximize speed and efficiency throughout SDLC while reducing the effect on the existing infrastructure.
Most software engineers follow a traditional SDLC approach that isolates distinctive stages of work. In certain stringent models, the development team might receive feedback pretty late in the process. As a result, fixes and improvements also arrive later. DevOps, however, streamlines the process by maintaining continuous communication between the development and evaluation team. This allows the DevOps engineers to swiftly resolve issues and deploy.
Usually, there are more entry-level positions available for software engineers than for DevOps engineers. The narrower focus of the job of the software engineers allows many of them to enter the field after graduating college. In contrast, DevOps engineers may have to meet a longer list of requirements to land a job. Not only do they need a more specialized skill set, but also a certain level of job experience. However, to get this experience, the DevOps engineers invariably need to find their first job. To solve this dilemma, they can always seek out the assistance of companies like Revature that enable candidates to work on enterprise-level projects to gain actual industry experience.
