My DevOps Journey: From Chance to Choice

I got into DevOps when the word was not there. I got into it by chance and stayed by choice. Over the past 13 years, my journey in this ever-evolving field has been nothing short of transformative.

The Early Days: Pre-DevOps Era

Back when I started, the industry was still following traditional development and operations silos. Developers would write code, testers would test it, and operations teams would deploy it. The handoffs were rigid, the processes slow, and failures often led to the infamous blame game.

As someone who was working across multiple teams, I found myself bridging the gap between development and operations—automating tasks, optimizing workflows, and ensuring smooth deployments. At the time, I didn’t know I was practicing what would later be called DevOps. It was just common sense to me.

The Shift: DevOps Takes Shape

As the industry started moving towards agility, automation, and CI/CD, the term 'DevOps' emerged. It was a philosophy that resonated deeply with my way of working—breaking silos, fostering collaboration, and using automation to improve efficiency.

Over the years, I embraced tools like Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms. GitOps, infrastructure as code (IaC), and security integrations became second nature. Each technological shift reinforced my belief that DevOps was not just about tools—it was a mindset.

Staying By Choice: Continuous Learning and Growth

What made me stay in DevOps was the thrill of solving complex problems, the culture of continuous improvement, and the ever-evolving landscape. The more I automated and optimized, the more I realized the impact DevOps had on business agility and reliability.

Being in DevOps also meant wearing multiple hats—developer, system administrator, security specialist, and strategist—all in one. It required constant learning, and that’s what kept it exciting for me.

The Road Ahead

Today, DevOps is a well-established practice, but its evolution continues. With AI, platform engineering, and DevSecOps gaining momentum, the next decade promises to be just as exciting as the last.

For anyone starting in this field, my advice is simple: embrace curiosity, automate relentlessly, and always look for ways to improve collaboration. DevOps is more than a job; it’s a mindset that transforms how technology and businesses operate.

Looking back, I may have entered DevOps by chance, but staying was the best choice I ever made.