Why QA Engineers Should Learn DevOps · QA Automation Accelerator

Why QA Engineers Should Learn DevOps

If you're an SDET or QA Automation Engineer still manually running tests or waiting for DevOps teams to set up your testing environments, you're opportunities on the table. DevOps skills have shifted from "nice to have" to essential for modern QA.

So... 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀?

DevOps is a methodology that combines software development and IT operations to build and deliver software faster and more reliably. DevOps Engineers manage the infrastructure, tools, and automation that make continuous delivery possible.

Their responsibilities include:

• Managing servers and cloud infrastructure

• Building CI/CD pipelines for automated deployments

• Implementing monitoring and logging solutions

• Ensuring system stability and reliability

• Enabling seamless collaboration between development and operations teams

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗽: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗤𝗔 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀 𝗚𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱

Test Automation and DevOps are part of the same infrastructure.

Both roles require knowledge of:

✅ CI/CD Pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions)

✅ Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)

✅ Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)

✅ Linux/Command Line Operations

✅ Version Control (Git)

✅ Databases (SQL, NoSQL)

The difference is DevOps Engineers focus on production deployments. Test Automation Engineers focus on quality gates. But the technical foundation is nearly identical.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀

Learning DevOps isn't just about technical growth. It's about career advancement and compensation.

💰 Higher Salaries:

▶ DevOps skills are among the highest paid in tech. SDETs and QA Automation Engineers with DevOps expertise often get paid significantly higher salaries than those without.

🚀 More Job Opportunities:

▶ Job descriptions increasingly require "SDET with DevOps experience" or "QA Engineer with CI/CD knowledge." Companies want engineers who can own the entire testing pipeline.

🏆 Greater Independence:

▶ Stop waiting for DevOps teams to configure environments or fix pipeline issues. Manage your own infrastructure and move faster.

🎯 Competitive Advantage:

▶ Most QA engineers focus purely on testing. Adding DevOps skills immediately sets you apart from 80% of candidates.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀 (𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀)

Don't try to learn everything at once. Start with the skills that directly impact your daily work:

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹

Learn branching, merging, pull requests, and how to resolve conflicts. This is foundational for everything else.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗖𝗜/𝗖𝗗 𝗣𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

Start with GitHub Actions. Set up a simple pipeline that runs your tests automatically on every commit.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿

Containerize your test environment. Learn to create Docker images and run tests inside containers.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘅 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀

Get familiar with navigating directories, viewing logs, managing processes, and troubleshooting common issues.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱: 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀

Get hands on experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP. Start by setting up a virtual machine or running tests in the cloud.

𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀

DevOps isn't a separate career path. It's a natural extension of modern test automation. The sooner you embrace it, the faster you'll advance.

𝐏.𝐒. 🚩 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝟑-𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 “𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐐𝐀 → 𝐒𝐃𝐄𝐓” 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩, 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢-𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐒𝐃𝐄𝐓 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬.

Click Here to Start: https://www.skool.com/qa-automation-career-hub/classroom/078530b1

0 comments