DevOps is a Pandora’s Box
I just needed two skill sets, SCO UNIX and PL/SQL to enter into the IT Market back in 1997. Gradually you needed at least 5 to 6 skill sets by 2010 to land a job in the IT space.
The introduction of Cloud Computing and DevOps changed the tools for software development upside down. Today a full-stack engineer requires at least 15 skill sets on their resume to be called for an interview.
A client of mine uses the following Open source products, languages and Clouds at their DevOps toolchain.
- Python, Ruby on Rails, Golang, Groovy, ANSIBLE and Java.
- GitHub, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana, Grafana, Prometheus, Nagios, Consul, Terraform, FitNesse, Jasmine, Nexus, GlusterFS, Redis, MongoDB and Graphite.
- GCP, AWS, Azure, and VMware.
Can you count the above? The listing excludes other integrated systems and required skill sets such as Network, virtual machines, volume, security groups, IAM and other Nonfunctional factors. Can we expect a candidate to have experience in all the above?
This expectation is unrealistic.
It lends to several complaints that are related to slow hiring, shortage of DevOps resources, attrition etc.
The economy is performing very well. The unemployment rate stays at 4.1%. Companies are forced to pay overtime or hire contractors to run the business. Salaries, Perks and Benefits are going up constantly.
It’s time for hiring managers to step up to hire the right resources and assist recruiters with flexible hiring process.
Some of the challenges in DevOps Adoption Strategy are below;
Do not look for 100% match
We had to hire 2 DevOps engineers with Jenkins, Docker and Kubernetes when we launched Kuberiter last year. After a rigorous recruiting cycle, two exact matches were hired however they didn’t join after accepting the offer. It was an expensive process.
Finally, we decided to hire programmers who were good in Python then train them in DevOps. I hired three Python programmers and flew to India last December to train them in Docker with the help of a freelancer. Within few weeks, they learned that tool thoroughly and developed a fine Docker Pipeline.
If I was not flexible with the skill sets requirements for the role, I would have had to wait long before a DevOps resource could be hired due to the high demand and limited supply in the market. My flexibility to hire candidates with limited but key skills and helping them scale up with training and mentoring not only helped me close my requirement but also help gain the loyalty of the 3 programmers we hired.
Consider scalability of the candidate instead of looking for a 100% match of the resume to the requirement.
Do not look for the top Degree
Many corporate success stories reiterate that a big school education is not a guarantee to success in the corporate world especially in the DevOps market. Employers should look at specific skills sets, interpersonal skills and presentability and the emphasis to shortlist a resume for hire should not be dependent on Universities, Percentage of Marks and the GPA.
Do not hesitate to Upskill
Upskill process is scary for many. It takes you outside of your comfort zone and introduces new pattern, work style and culture.
DevOps is full of Open source tools. Key questions to consider, can employees upgrade themselves when there are no commercial training programs? How employers sponsor them to get the right training with the tool sets? We see a new tool every day in the market, how can both employees and employer adopt it right away if relevant for the DevOps strategy?
This trend is increasing the need for consultants to get the job done. A group of consultants can certainly deliver an accepted DevOps pipeline but is it feasible for a company to keep consultants forever?
The employees must be trained by those consultants to learn DevOps and take over. Also, they should not be afraid to self-learn, practice and adopt the new culture. This direction and sponsorship must come from the top. As an employee do not be afraid to learn new technologies, even if that means shelling some money from your pocket. Employers should not not hesitate to invest in training, upskill and development.
Do not look at the age of the candidates
We all know that age-based discrimination exists in IT. Perceptions, fear and other expenses (especially medical insurance cost) makes employers pass on older candidates. It is ugly.
From my experience, candidates with many years of experience are the big asset to any organization especially start-ups like ours. Their years of experience, patience, knowledge and mentorship abilities helps the project to get better. Moreover, their needs are focused and the old school thought process is an added advantage to the super-fast DevOps projects.
I have two freelance analysts for Kuberiter. Jerry — 64 years and Ralph — 71 years. Both are excellent business analysts, writers and have a great professional network. They are not only doing a good job but also became mentors of mine. Therefore, consider older candidates, give their experience a chance and watch them surprise you.
Slowdown, Document and do what is right for the business
DevOps gives you a high. It has every day success and failure. I often see DevOps engineers get excited when things go well and forget the basic IT discipline.
Truly, it is a fantasy world. Working in DevOps is like visiting Disney land every day. Whatever was hidden for years suddenly becomes visible to every engineer.
The excitement and pressure from stake holders to speed to market has put all the documentation, diagrams, tickets, proper email communication and meetings on the back-burner. It is not healthy. This rush, I fear, may lead the customers to a cow boy culture and then a need to run behind COTS DevOps products in the future.
Be focused, develop documentation, diagrams and do what is right for the business.
Do not whine about Open source
Stop whining about Open source, Security, Bugs and associated issues. We have come a long way and already put our investment into the Open source world. Even though we have tools such as Red Hat Open Shift to support Docker, Kubernetes based DevOps toolchain, a notable bug in one of the bundled Open source piece makes everyone wait. Nothing is immune.
Do not scale up quickly. Don’t get excited to upgrade those Open source tools right away to accommodate few features.
Wait. Patience is a virtue.
You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you’ll find you get what you need.
— The Rolling Stones
Lawrence Manickam is the Technical Founder of Kuberiter, a Seattle based bootstrapped Start-up that provide JDK Services (Jenkins as a Service, Docker as a Service and Kubernetes as a Service). Please visit www.kuberiter.com , subscribe and try our Docker as a Service module that is currently available.
