Intro. to DevOps/Build Automation for DevOps & QA
CSM CIS145 - CCSF CS178 - Merritt CIS178
part of a pending collaborative DevOps degree program
Software Build Automation and Continuous Integration (CI)
Applicable to: Information Systems, Mobile, Web, Services, Java Enterprise (J2EE) Apps
DevOps - Essential Skills for the Modern World
The modern world runs on software; people that know how to build software are always in demand. You don't have to be a software developer to work in DevOps. A person with the skills to use Virtual Machines (VMs) to automatically build, deploy, and test software that other team members write can enter one of the most in-demand and high-paying workforce careers in 2 years or less. The average salary (based on a survey of 5,191) is $137,891 with approximately 1,021 open positions in the SF Bay Area alone. You don't have to know how to write software to get started in DevOps; just how to build it!
What are My Career Opportunities?
Dice, the technology recruiting and placement site, just published an article on the rise in salaries for DevOps engineers. While you can get started with this course, especially if you already have applicable experience, the course sequence below offers the best preparation for the many challenges you will face in DevOps.
| DevOps - Software Engineering Automation and Continuous Integration (CI) | |||||||||||||
| Sal. Est. | #Jobs | Pos.Types | Location | ||||||||||
| $115,000 | 310 | Full-time | 355 | SF | 76 | ||||||||
| $125,000 | 262 | Contract | 13 | San Diego | 41 | ||||||||
| $130,000 | 217 | Internship | 12 | Palo Alto | 33 | ||||||||
| $140,000 | 141 | Commission | 1 | San Jose | 20 | ||||||||
| $145,000 | 91 | Sunnyvale | 20 | ||||||||||
| Total | 1021 | ||||||||||||
| Source: Indeed.com | |||||||||||||
What Types of Positions Can I Get?
The DevOps Build Master role is an essential member of a software development team. They may be employees or an independent contractor & entrepreneur using automation to streamline software pipeline for several companies. This course is also part of a regional collaborative sequence of study that qualifies the graduate to take the Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) exam and gain a globally recognized occupational certificate.
How Do I Get a (pending) DevOps Certificate?
If you already have certificates A+, Network+, or have completed the Information Technology Model Curriculum (ITMC) you can jump right into the DevOps courses listed below.
This is a collaborative program where courses from different colleges and districts are accepted and count toward the award of a certficate. The required courses are listed above with this course (CIS 145/CIS 178) highlighted. Normally the student would have to individually request that each equivalent courses from a different college accepted through substitution. A collaborative program means that participating colleges create an agreement before-hand; the student simply completes the course with a satisfactory grade and it automatically counts when they provide a transcript and request the award. These agreements are not yet in place for this (pending) program. However the Course Outlines of equivalent courses at CCSF, Merritt, and College of San Mateo have already been found acceptable by the DevOps program director. The course numbers for these verified courses are listed in the table above.
How Do I Learn This Inter-Disciplinary Skill Set?
This course follows a project driven structure. You start with a simple, bare, Virtual Machine (VM) and with each topic you add one or two capabilities in order to complete project oriented tasks. These tasks are scoped to help you acquire specific skills. Skill gaps are expected and many students are able to acquire skills and catch up fairly easily.
There are XLabs - things you add to your VM that equip it to be used to complete the assignment; for example the ability to send mail from your build VM. The assignment reflects the learning outcome of each topic. The XLabs represent professional skills you will use again and again in different forms in your DevOps career. Both XLabs and Assignments contribute to your final grade.
Course Design
You learn DevOps for building and testing software by by creating a Virtual Machine capable of completing a set of curated projects; However you also learn to strategically fill in skill gaps by adding specific bite-size capabilities to this VM. By the end of the course you not only have the skills to tackle any build automation task; you also have a VM that you can clone to hit the ground running your first day on the job!
While I teach the Build automation course in the pending certificate, it is designed in cooperation with faculty at several colleges to complement the skills acquired. As long as the applicable courses are on your transcript you can petition for the degree.
Spring 2019 Offering
College of San Mateo Course Information
Fall 2019 Offering
Merritt College Course Information