The 21 Best DevOps Certifications for Developers in 2024

DevOps is quickly becoming a popular career track in the world of engineering. But what are the best DevOps certifications you can get to improve your job prospects?

Since it’s become something of a buzzword in the industry, there is a multitude of DevOps training courses and certifications out there. So, sorting the good from the bad and the ugly can be challenging.

Apart from programs specifically tagged as DevOps courses, there are plenty of certifications available that target specific skill sets a DevOps professional will need. In this article, you’ll find DevOps programs suitable for all existing knowledge and career levels.

1. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer — Professional

This course is designed to validate existing DevOps professionals’ expertise in providing, operating, and managing AWS distributed applications. The cost is $300, and you must pass two exams (one multiple-choice and open response) to earn the certification.

This course takes around three hours to complete, and Amazon provides all the course materials you’ll need to brush up on before you sit for the exams.

Best for:  People with at least two years of experience managing and operating AWS environments.

2. Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert

There are two prerequisite courses needed to complete this certification. First, you must have one of the following:

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate

Once you have one of these under your belt, you must also complete the Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions certification before moving on to the DevOps Engineer Expert level.

The certification covers the development of instrumentation, SRE, security and continuous integration, and delivery strategies, along with soft skills such as facilitating communication and collaboration.

Best for: Engineers with experience in either administration or developing in Azure (or both) and familiar with GitHub.

3. Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

This is a highly-rated DevOps certification program that can kick-start your DevOps career. Kubernetes is an open-source tool for deployment automation, a critical component of a DevOps role.

This certification covers everything you’ll need to know about Kubernetes administration (including configuration and networking). You’ll need to pass some tough practical exams using command-line to earn it.

Best for: Anyone who has approximately two years of experience with container runtimes and microservice architecture.

4. Docker Certified Associate

Configuring and managing containers is a key skill for anyone seeking a DevOps career. The Docker Certified Associate (DCA) is an official accreditation that validates your competencies within the Docker platform. The exam comprises 55 multiple-choice questions across orchestration, image creation, networking, installation, and configuration.

Best for: Candidates who have at least six months of hands-on experience with Docker and working knowledge of container security, a cloud provider, configuration, and Linux or Windows servers.

5. The Linux Foundation Professional Certificate in Introduction to DevOps: Practices and Tools

If you’re looking for some instruction along with professional accreditation, this course from The Linux Foundation is available via EdX.

Delivered over seven months by expert instructors, the course requires around 2-3 hours of your time every week. It covers critical DevOps concepts and the practicalities of continuous integration, development, and deployment via key systems like Kubernetes and Docker.

Best for: Anyone with experience in building and deploying software who wants to get more familiar with DevOps. That includes developers and IT professionals focusing on reliability and quality assurance.

6. AnahuacX Professional Certificate in DevOps Foundations: Software Development Optimization

Authored by Anahuac and Holberton this course provides key skills in popular tools such as Linux, Jenkins, Puppet, Terraform, and more. The content focuses on how you can reduce time to delivery and provide greater software liability through DevOps foundational concepts and practical application of CI and CD automation.

This self-paced course can be completed in two months with a 5-8 hour commitment per week.

Best for:  Engineering professionals with experience in developing and deploying software, including IT leaders, system engineering professionals, system administrators, and software engineers.

7. Certificate in DevOps from York University

This part-time program comprises three modules completed over six months. It blends practical coursework with six instructor-led online weekend sessions.

The York University DevOps certificate is designed to deepen both conceptual and practical knowledge of DevOps and automation pipelines. The course covers tools including Git, Jenkins, Docker, Terraform, Kubernetes, and more. There is also a focus on applying DevOps for emerging machine learning technologies.

Best for:  Mid-career professionals in careers including IT operations, software, and test engineers, infrastructure specialists, and database administrators. Basic knowledge of Linux, Scripting, and Python is required.

8. Puppet Certified Professional

If your organization is specifically on the hunt for Puppet expertise, this certification is a great one to add to your DevOps tool belt. The exam test your working knowledge of the following areas of Puppet:

• Classification.

• Troubleshooting.

• Module Authoring.

• Concepts.

• Language.

• Orchestration and Tasks.

• Environments.

• Administration.

The exam takes 90 minutes to complete online and comprises 60 multiple-choice questions.

Best for: Those with an existing understanding and practical experience in administering system infrastructure. Without equivalent experience, completing the Getting Started With Puppet and Puppet Practitioner courses is recommended.

9. LinkedIn Learning DevOps Course

If you’re brand new to the concept of DevOps and want to dip your toe in first before paying for a certification, this course provides a solid foundation.

Available on LinkedIn Learning, the course was built by DevOps experts Ernest Mueller and James Wickett. It takes just under three hours to complete.

Best for: IT professionals of all levels looking for an introduction to DevOps concepts, components, and frameworks.

10. MIT Cloud & DevOps: Continuous Transformation

This eight-week course requires a time commitment of around 8-10 hours per week. While it’s pricier than other certifications at $2,900, you’ll have an official certification from the world-renowned MIT.

The course covers DevOps through the broader lens of digital and continuous transformation and includes guidance on crucial DevOps systems like Docker and Kubernetes. 

Best for: This course is ideal for CTOs, CIOs, and IT managers who need a deeper understanding of the application of DevOps in a wider context.

11. DevOps Institute DevOps Leader Course

Devised by the DevOps Institute, this course provides a practical take on DevOps and transformational leadership. It includes 16 hours of online instructor-led training and sample exercises focused on DevOps leadership and management.

The certification requires passing a 60-minute multiple-choice exam with 40 questions. It’s less systems-focused than other certifications but shows you can handle leading your organization through a shift to DevOps.

Best for: Anyone leading or involved in a cultural DevOps transformation, including Scrum Masters, product owners, and IT management.

12. CloudBees CD/RO Admin Associate Certification

This certification was started in October 2022, so CloudBees administrators can ensure they’re proficient in all tasks related to Continuous Delivery (CO) and Release Orchestration (RO) in the platform.

If your focus is on Continuous Integration, CloudBees provides other DevOps certifications related to this side of the platform.

Best for:  Administrators, operations engineers, and DevOps engineers who need proficiency in CD/RO tasks in CloudBees.

13. DevOps University DevOps Professional Certification

The DevOps Professional Certification from DevOps university is a six-week course that requires 8-10 hours per week in live, online classrooms and individual coursework.

This course combines theory and practical work that covers all the DevOps essentials, such as Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment, Continuous Monitoring, and Continuous Delivery. Tools covered in the course include AWS, Git, Docker, Kubernetes, Splunk, Jenkins, and more.

Best for: Software developers and IT professionals with some existing working experience in the aforementioned tools.

14. Essential Google Cloud Infrastructure: Foundation

Google offers several learning paths relevant to DevOps careers, including using Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and Terraform for Google Cloud. This course provides guidance on the fundamentals of cloud computing with Google Cloud.

You’ll learn how to interact with Google Cloud Console and Cloud Shell to create VPC networks and virtual machines. Instruction is delivered through video lectures and demos combined with practical labs.

Best for:  Professionals with basic proficiency in command-line tools and Linux system environments.

15. Caltech DevOps Post Graduate Program

This course from the highly respected Caltech takes nine months to complete through online classes, on-demand support from tutors, interactive labs, and project-based learning. It’s a comprehensive DevOps curriculum that covers:

• DevOps concepts.

• Containerization.

• Micro-services.

• CI/CD.

• Configuration management.

• Popular tools, including Docker and Jenkins.

Best for:  Early and mid-career software engineering professionals.

16. HashiCorp Vault Associate Certification

If one of the holes in your DevOps skill set is security automation, this course is worth a look. The Vault Certification from HashiCorp is a one-hour, multiple-choice exam to test your knowledge of authentication methods, Vault policies, tokens, configuring secret engines, and more.

Best for:  Security or development professionals with basics in terminal skills and an understanding of cloud architecture and security.

17. Udacity Cloud DevOps Engineer Nanodegree

You need to devote 10 hours per week over four months to complete this course, but it’s worth the effort. The DevOps Engineer Nanodegree enables you to design and deploy infrastructure and build CI/CD pipelines and microservices with Kubernetes.

All coursework leads to completing a capstone project by the end of the course.

Best for:  Intermediate-level or early-mid career engineers with practical experience with JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Object Oriented Programming, and Linux Command-Line.

18. Learn DevOps: Infrastructure Automation With Terraform

Infrastructure automation is a critical piece of the DevOps puzzle. This course from Udemy covers Terraform infrastructure automation with Docker, Packer, AWS, Jenkins, ECS, and EKS.

By the end of the course, you’ll be fully prepped for the HashiCorp Terraform Associate Certification.

Best for:  People early into their DevOps career who want to learn how to automate infrastructure through Terraform.

19. Linux Professional Institute DevOps Tools Engineer

This certification provides industry proof of your skills in increasing process efficiency. The multiple-choice exam covers software engineering, container management, machine deployment, configuration management, and service operations.

Tools covered include Git, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, Vagrant, Packer, Ansible, Prometheus, and ELK.

Best for:  Candidates with 1+ year of hands-on experience in the tools above or introducing automation tools and processes within the software development lifecycle.

20. BCS Foundation Level Certificate in DevOps

This certification ensures you have a solid understanding of DevOps methodologies, approaches, tools, and best practices. Topics include CI, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Lean and more. There are no entry requirements, but you can access courses through accredited providers to ensure you’re prepared.

Best for:  Mid-career candidates who are beginning implementation of a DevOps process. That includes automation and cloud infrastructure engineers, developers, testers, security professionals, and product owners.

21. GitLab Certified DevOps Professional

You can complete this GitLab DevOps certification through a self-paced or instructor-led course, depending on your preferences and level of confidence with the material. It verifies your ability to:

• Apply DevOps concepts using GitLab throughout the development lifecycle.

• Create test, build, review, and deploy pipelines.

• Build images and deploy to the registry.

• Develop portfolio plans through GitLab.

• Configure the scanning tool and merge request approvals.

• Configure defensive mechanisms.

You must complete four separate exams to earn the certification.

Best for:  Professionals with extensive GitLab experience who have completed the following prerequisite courses:

• GitLab Certified Git Associate.

• GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate.

• Gitlab Certified Project Management Associate.

• GitLab Certified Security Specialist.

Building Your Skill Set

Whether you’re brand new to DevOps and need to understand the fundamentals, or you’re highly experienced and want to validate your expertise, there’s a certification to suit your needs.

Choosing the right DevOps certification is a matter of cost, experience level, and the desired next steps you’d like to take in your career. Regardless of the certification you choose, having an official DevOps qualification on your resume is sure to take your career to new heights.