Technology changes at a breakneck pace and shaping these changes is DevOps.
The demand for DevOps engineers is exploding as companies embrace migrating storage to the cloud, automating workflows, modernizing applications, and rolling out software at scale. DevOps remains one of the most in-demand and high-paying career options for IT professionals in 2026.
If you’re a newbie, sysadmin, software developer or engineer, IT admin or an individual who looks forward to having a more lucrative and rapidly growing career in the IT industry then finding the best devops certification will definitely make an impact for you. Certifications prove your skills, and they can make you stand out in a competitive job market.
This guide discusses the top DevOps certification courses you can take in 2026, what to expect from each of these, their target audience, career benefits, difficulty level, paying scale and how they mesh with cloud computing courses for a 360-degree DevOps career path.
Why DevOps Is Needed More than Ever in 2026
DevOps is not just about tools. It’s a cultural and technical shift that unifies software development (Dev) and software operation (Ops), allowing for faster, more reliable software delivery.
What is driving the DevOps job explosion:
Rising penetration of cloud and automation
Demand for faster release cycles
Emergence of microservices & containerized apps With the days of monoliths and legacy systems behind us, modern applications have to be fast, scalable and flexible.
Need for infrastructure-as-code (IaC)
Adoption of platforms such as AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
Enforce reliability, monitoring & observability as first class responsibilities Build in fault tolerance/ self-healing code by default. Companies are looking for engineers who are capable of handling code, infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, containers, cloud environments and security automation.
This is also why devops certifications and cloud computing certification training are becoming a critical part of the modern IT role.
Best DevOps Certification Courses to Consider in 2026
The following is our roundup of the best DevOps certifications that will boost your pay and your career with a high salary job.
AWS certified devops engineer – professional
This is one of the best DevOps certifications AWS has to offer. It assesses the higher-level skills required to automate infrastructure, create CI/CD exploits and secure and monitor across AWS workloads.
Why It’s Valuable
Globally recognized
Ideal for cloud-heavy DevOps roles
Covers automation, monitoring, IaC, and CI/CD
Best For
Professionals already familiar with AWS
If you’re a cloud engineer, DevOps engineer or sysadmin
As AWS is a leader in the cloud market, coupling your learning with cloud computing courses extends the number of job opportunities.
Azure DevOps Engineer Expert
It has been very exciting to see the incredible momentum behind Microsoft Azure, and Azure DevOps, a powerful CI/CD platform that extends through our defection into team development.
What You’ll Learn
End-to-end DevOps strategy
Version control (Git, GitHub, Azure Repos)
CI/CD pipelines
Automating infrastructure with ARM & Terraform
Security & compliance
Ideal For
IT professionals in Azure-driven organizations
Developers who want to go bigger with cloud operations
Google Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer
Google Cloud is really big on SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) practices, and this certification shows that you know how to do it properly.
Exam Focus Areas
Service monitoring
CI/CD implementation
Incident management
Automation and reliability
Who Should Take It
DevOps engineers
Cloud architects
SRE professionals
It’s a great route if you’re also bundling DevOps with contemporary courses in cloud — such as GCP Cloud Architect or Cloud Engineer.
Kubernetes Certifications (CKA / CKAD / CKS)
Today, Kubernetes is the underpinning of modern cloud deployments and microservices-driven architectures.
CKA – Certified Kubernetes Administrator
Covers cluster configuration, functions and security and network settings.
CKAD – Certified Kubernetes Application Developer
Focuses on building cloud-native applications.
CKS – Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist
Focuses on securing containerized workloads.
Why These Are Powerful
Kubernetes is the same practically everywhere: AWS, Azure, GCP
High demand for Kubernetes talent
Particularly related to DevOps & automation positions
Docker Certified Associate (DCA)
Containers are critical to DevOps, and Docker is the most ubiquitous containerization platform.
What You’ll Learn
Docker architecture
Storage & networking
Image creation & registry management
Orchestration basics
Ideal for beginners getting into DevOps roles.
Jenkins Engineer Certified
Jenkins continues to be the most popular CI/CD solution for use in start-ups and Fortune 1000 companies, and an established foundation ecosystem with more than 1,000 plugins.
Certification Benefits
Builds your CI/CD foundation
Covers the concept of build automation, test automation, deployment automation.
Provides access to DevOps positions in legacy and hybrid environments
HashiCorp Terraform Associate
Terraform is the most popular IO tool based in the world used for building infrastructure.
Skills Covered
Infrastructure provisioning
Cloud resource management
Modules, variables, state
Multi-cloud architecture
A required credential for cloud DevOps engineers.
Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
RHCE is a time-tested certification, valued by many in the industry for its automation and system administration skills for Linux.
Ideal For
Sysadmins moving into DevOps
Professionals working with Ansible
Red Hat is pretty useful though, since most kubernetes and cloud platforms are Linux/centos powering RHCE is super helpful.
DevOps Foundation (DevOps Institute)
This course is great for beginners!
What You’ll Learn
DevOps culture, processes & lifecycle
Continuous delivery
Feedback loops & automation
Suitable For
Students
Freshers
Beginner IT learners but need basic software knowledge for Advanced DevOps course paths
It is a good addition to existing early cloud computing curricula to provide a strong foundation.
DevOps Architect Master Program (Expects Instructors)
A complete master program with various tools, like: Many ed-tech platforms provide a full master program and multiple resources such as:
Git & GitHub
Jenkins
Docker & Kubernetes
Terraform
AWS/Azure/GCP
Ansible
Monitoring tools like Prometheus/Grafana
They’re perfect for anyone who prefers a guided, comprehensive DevOps learning path.
Selecting the Best DevOps Certification
Here’s how to choose the best certification based on your experience and goals.
If You’re Coming in as Newcomer, Fresher, or a Novice
Start with:
DevOps Foundation
Docker Certified Associate
Basic Git/GitHub courses
Introductory cloud computing courses
These let you establish a foundation before graduating to the more advanced tools.
If You Have Some IT or Development Experience
Choose:
CKA or CKAD
Terraform Associate
Jenkins certifications
These skills equip you with powerful practical DevOps skills.
If You Want to Get High in the Clouds
Pick:
AWS DevOps Engineer
Azure DevOps Engineer
Google Cloud DevOps Engineer
Cloud + DevOps = paycheck bonanza that few other combinations can match.
If You Want Complete Mastery
Opt for a Master DevOps Course that comprises:
Docker
Kubernetes
Jenkins
Terraform
Git
AWS/Azure/GCP
Ansible
That aside, here are fundamental DevOps skills that all employers seek (certifications notwithstanding):
Cloud Platforms
You need to know AWS, etc and thus courses of cloud computing is a big part of DevOps training.
Linux Fundamentals
File systems, networking, shell scripting.
CI/CD Pipelines
Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Azure DevOps.
Containerization
Docker basics, images, registries.
Orchestration
Kubernetes clusters, deployments, Helm charts.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Terraform, CloudFormation.
Automation Tools
Ansible, Puppet, Chef.
Monitoring & Logging
Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, CloudWatch.
Security
DevSecOps principles, secrets management.
How DevOps Certification Can Help Your Career
A devops certification will help you:
Credibility and technical expertise validation
Stronger resume visibility
Higher chances of shortlisting
Better negotiation power for salary
Prospects in cloud, SRE, and automation positions
It also communicates to recruiters that you know how DevOps works in the real world.
Job positions that will earn the most: DevOps in 2026
The jobs DevOps pros get are getting diverse, including:
DevOps Engineer
Cloud DevOps Engineer
Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
Build & Release Engineer
AWS/Azure Cloud Engineer
Automation Engineer
DevSecOps Specialist
Kubernetes Specialist
These are positions in IT, finance (banking), e-commerce, AI/ML companies, telecom, healthcare etc.
DevOps Salary Expectations in 2026
DevOps still ranks as one of the top paying skills around the world.
India
Entry-level: ₹6–10 LPA
Mid-level: ₹12–20 LPA
Senior-level: ₹22–40 LPA
Specialists (Kubernetes/SRE): ₹35–60 LPA
United States
Entry-level: $90,000–120,000
Mid-level: $130,000–150,000
Senior-level: $160,000–200,000+
Cloud DevOps and SRE positions are even more lucrative with increasing cloud adoption.
How DevOps and Cloud Computing Courses are Co-Related
It is integral to the cloud and can not be separated from it. Literally every DevOps pipeline is in one of AWS, Azure or GCP.
How cloud skills contribute to your DevOps journey: Defensive driving: 5 previous ways you (or someone else) hijacked an open-source project How familiarity with the cloud leads to an enhanced DevOps practice.
Deploy scalable infrastructure
Build serverless applications
Automate deployments with IaC
Integrate cloud-native monitoring tools
Leverage container registries & orchestrators
Work with microservices architectures
This is why a majority of DevOps practitioners combine certifications with fundamental or higher level cloud computing classes.
Study Path to become a DevOps Job-Ready
Here is a suggested 6-month learning plan:
Month 1: Foundations
Linux & Command Line
Git/GitHub
Basics of cloud
Month 2–3: Core DevOps Tools
Jenkins
Docker
Kubernetes
Month 4: Infrastructure & Automation
Terraform
Ansible
Month 5: Cloud
AWS, Azure, or GCP
join cloud course programs or take up cloud specialization
Month 6: Advanced Projects
CI/CD pipelines
Kubernetes deployments
Cloud automation projects
Final Thoughts
The market for DevOps is not cooling off and it continues to heat up every year. Take the right devops certification and you will be opened doors in cloud, automation and cyber security, SRE as well as AIOps operations whether still looking at entering the tech world or already working in IT.
And with DevOps having become the de facto backbone of modern tech infrastructure, those who cross train with DevOps and practical cloud computing courses will be 2030’s individuals grabbing the highest salaried roles.
Read more:
Best DevOps Certification Courses to Take for High-Paying Jobs in 2026