Post job

Devops engineer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a devops engineer. Devops engineers usually study computer science, electrical engineering, or computer engineering. 75% of devops engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 20% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 6,485 real devops engineer resumes to see exactly what devops engineer education sections show.

The most common colleges for devops engineers are the University of Central Missouri and the University of Central Missouri.

There are also many online devops engineer courses to help get the education required to be a devops engineer.

There are certain devops engineer certifications that you should consider. These devops engineer certifications include AWS Certified Developer - Associate and AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate.

What education do you need to become a devops engineer?

What degree do you need to be a devops engineer?

The most common degree for devops engineers is bachelor's degree, with 75% of devops engineers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 20% and master's degree degree at 2%.
  • Bachelor's, 75%
  • Master's, 20%
  • Associate, 2%
  • Diploma, 1%
  • Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become a devops engineer?

You should major in computer science to become a devops engineer. 38% of devops engineers major in computer science. Other common majors for a devops engineer include electrical engineering and computer engineering.

Most common colleges for devops engineers

Devops engineers often get their degrees at University of Central Missouri, University of Texas at Austin, and Texas A&M; University. Here are the most common colleges for devops engineers in the US based on their resumes.
Devops engineer common collegePercentages
University of Central Missouri12.06%
University of Texas at Austin7.09%
Texas A&M University6.38%
San Jose State University5.67%
Western Washington University5.67%

Best majors for devops engineers

Best colleges for devops engineers

The best colleges for devops engineers are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University.

A devops engineer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for devops engineers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become devops engineers.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

4. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$12,424

Enrollment

15,201

7. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

8. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$54,104

Enrollment

7,089

9. Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH • Private

In-state tuition

$55,453

Enrollment

4,312

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

20 best online courses for devops engineers

Advertising disclosure

1. Software Engineering Immersive (Full-time)

general_assembly

Meet the global demand for technical problem-solvers by developing your coding skills to create full-stack web applications across multiple frameworks, incorporating functionality from third-party APIs, executing software engineering projects in an Agile development workflow, and more...

2. Data Science Immersive (Full-time)

general_assembly

Harness the power of data science to solve the world’s most challenging problems by developing your skills in predictive modeling, pattern recognition, data visualization, wrangling massive data sets, forecasting trends, and informing strategy across diverse industries like public policy, robotics, and FinTech...

3. Programming for Data Science with R

udacity

Prepare for a data science career by learning the fundamental data programming tools: R, SQL, command line, and git...

4. Full Stack Web Developer

udacity

Design and develop modern web applications.Students will also learn how to deploy a Flask-based web application to the cloud using Docker and Kubernetes...

5. Exam Prep: AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional

coursera

Exam Prep: AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional Specialization is intended for candidates performing a Developer or DevOps Engineer role. This specialization validates the candidate’s ability to design, deploy, and manage AWS services and systems at scale, with a focus on automation, continuous integration, delivery, monitoring, and security.\n\nThis specialization will help you attain AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional Certification. By preparing for and passing the AWS...

6. IBM Applied DevOps Engineering

coursera

Gain the in-demand skills to advance from programming to DevOps engineering. In this program, you’ll learn the latest DevOps practices, tools, and technologies from experts at IBM to get job-ready in less than 3 months.\n\nAlmost every company is looking to become more Agile and shorten software development cycles, creating a high demand for DevOps Engineers! DevOps professionals are skilled in both software development and operations, and have a working knowledge of coding and infrastructure...

7. DevOps: CICD with Jenkins, Maven, Gradle, SonarQube, Docker

udemy
4.4
(760)

Become Dev Ops Master learning Jenkins pipeline & integrations with powerful tools like Docker, Ansible, AWS, GIT & more!...

8. Devops Tools Training: Learn Git,Jenkins,Docker, kubernetes

udemy
4.5
(469)

Devops Tutorials:CI/CD with devops tools Git,Maven,Jenkins,Docker,Docker macine,Docker Swarm,kubernetes on AWS with EKS...

9. Data Science (Part Time)

general_assembly

Create robust predictive models with statistics and Python programming. Build confidence and credibility to tackle complex machine learning problems on the job. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

10. Python Programming (Part Time)

general_assembly

Gain fluency in Python — the world's fastest-growing major programming language — and start leveraging its versatile capabilities to build web and data science applications. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

11. Android Kotlin Developer

udacity

Master Android app development with Kotlin, a modern programming language that enables developers to be more concise and productive. Build professional apps for the world's most popular mobile platform using Android Studio and Kotlin...

12. Artificial Intelligence for Trading

udacity

Complete real-world projects designed by industry experts, covering topics from asset management to trading signal generation. Master AI algorithms for trading, and build your career-ready portfolio...

13. DevOps Deployment Automation with Terraform, AWS and Docker

udemy
4.7
(1,989)

Create production-grade scalable deployments with Git Lab, EC2, ALB, ECS, ECR, VPC, S3 and Infrastructure as Code (Ia C)...

14. DevOps: CI/CD with Jenkins Nexus Ansible Docker Terraform

udemy
4.9
(358)

Learn about CI/CD -Pipeline as Code, Learn about Ia C (Infrastructure as Code), Build your own virtual data centre in AWS...

15. Front-End Web Development (Part Time)

general_assembly

Start building responsive websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — a versatile skill set with powerful applications in a variety of design, marketing, and other tech-adjacent roles. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

16. JavaScript Development (Part Time)

general_assembly

Gain fluency in JavaScript — the world's most popular programming language — and start leveraging its versatile capabilities to build rich, interactive websites and applications. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

17. Data Engineer

udacity

Learn to design data models, build data warehouses and data lakes, automate data pipelines, and work with massive datasets...

18. iOS Developer

udacity

Master the Swift programming language, and create a portfolio of iOS apps for iPhone and iPad to showcase your skills!...

19. Maven and SonarQube for DevOps Engineers - Beginners Guide

udemy
4.3
(1,287)

How to use Maven and Sonar Qube for Code build and Code Quality Analysis as a Dev Ops Engineer...

20. Git and GitHub for DevOps Engineers

udemy
4.5
(818)

Dev Ops Engineer Roles on Git and Git Hub from Creating a Repository to Releasing Code onto Production Environment...

Top 10 most affordable universities for devops engineers

The most affordable schools for devops engineers are Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, brigham young university, and hunter college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for devops engineers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for devops engineers.

1. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

2. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

3. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

4. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

5. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

6. Queens College of the City University of New York

Queens, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,338

Cost of attendance

14,281

7. Brigham Young University - Hawaii

Laie, HI • Private

In-state tuition

$5,560

Cost of attendance

18,043

8. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Arecibo

Arecibo, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,872

Cost of attendance

13,476

9. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Ponce

Mercedita, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,914

Cost of attendance

13,564

10. Trident University International

Cypress, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$9,240

Cost of attendance

17,912

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for devops engineers

The hardest universities for devops engineers to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University.

Some great schools for devops engineers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for devops engineers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

4. Amherst College

Amherst, MA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,449

5. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

6. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

7. University of Tulsa

Tulsa, OK • Private

Admissions rate

41%

SAT average

1,321

8. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

9. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

10. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for devops engineers

The easiest schools for devops engineers to get into are Nyack College, saint martin's university, and oklahoma wesleyan university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a devops engineer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for devops engineers.

1. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

2. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. Linfield College

McMinnville, OR • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

1,117

6. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

7. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

8. Saint Xavier University

Chicago, IL • Private

Admissions rate

74%

SAT average

1,061

9. Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Winona, MN • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,148

10. Longwood University

Farmville, VA • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,065

Average devops engineer salary by education level

According to our data, devops engineers with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $117,886 annually. Devops engineers with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $110,066.
Devops engineer education levelDevops engineer salary
Master's Degree$110,066
Bachelor's Degree$102,255
Doctorate Degree$117,886

Devops engineer education FAQs

Search for devops engineer jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse computer and mathematical jobs