"Do I really need coding skills?"

This is a common question. Not only from you but also from thousand other aspiring DevOps engineers.

No matter what forum you ask this question, the answers vary. From "Yes, absolutely" to "No, not on your life".

Those who say "Yes" are DevOps engineers who did (or had to do) coding in various DevOps roles. Those who say no? They also have been in DevOps roles, but did not have to (or get to) do any coding in those roles.

So, the answer is clear. Some DevOps roles require coding skills. Others don't. That's OK. Every DevOps role is different.

As an aspiring DevOps engineer, the message to you is also clear. It's better if you have have some coding skills. You'll be eligible for more job opportunities.

There's also this very good reason to learn coding as a DevOps engineer.

As a DevOps engineer, you will be working very closely with developers. You'll be managing their CI/CD pipelines, containerizing their applications, and helping them ship code faster and more reliably.

Learning to code gives you a real taste of software development and exposes you to the workflows your developer colleagues are using everyday. And you'll be able to "speak in their language" with the developers.

Then, you'll be in a better position to understand their pain points. You'll know why a build is failing, how to properly manage dependencies, or what they mean by "test coverage." This shared understanding is crucial for building empathy and fostering a true DevOps culture.

What programming language to learn as a DevOps engineer

Alright.

I trust, by this point, you thoroughly believe that you need to learn coding to become a good DevOps engineer.

The next big hurdle: which language?

The internet is a battlefield of opinions. You'll see recommendations for Java, JavaScript, Go, Python, Ruby, and a dozen others. There are endless arguments about which language is "better," faster, or more "in demand." Each language is someone's favorite.

As an aspiring DevOps engineer, all this noise can be confusing. You might have no clue which language to select and waste weeks in "analysis" instead of just starting.

Three Great Choices (and how to pick one)

Let's cut through the noise.

While many languages are useful, for DevOps you cannot go wrong by selecting one of these three: Python, Node.js, or Go.

Here’s a breakdown of each to help you choose the one that's right for you.

1. Python 🐍 (The versatile all-rounder)

Python is overwhelmingly popular in the programming world, and for good reason. It's used extensively in web development, data science, AI/ML, in addition to DevOps.

Its syntax is clean, readable, and often described as "executable pseudocode," making it a fantastic first language. It's powerful enough for sophisticated tools but simple enough for quick, one-off automation scripts. Libraries like boto3 (for AWS) or fabric (for SSH) are mainstays in an engineer's toolkit.

• Choose Python if: This is the first programming language you are learning seriously. As a new programmer, you will likely find Go and Node.js more confusing than Python's straightforward approach.

2. Node.js ⚡ (The web's Lingua Franca)

Node.js is a runtime that allows you to run JavaScript on the server.

Its main strength is its massive ecosystem (npm is the largest package registry in the world) and the fact that it's used everywhere on the web.

If you're going to be in an environment that heavily features web applications, you'll be dealing with JavaScript. Knowing Node.js means you can use the same language as the frontend and backend developers.

• Choose Node.js if: You already have some experience with JavaScript.
• Also consider: If your goal is to build a serious, fully-fledged web application, Node.js and its rich ecosystem are often a better choice than Go for that specific task.
• A quick note: Node.js was historically less popular for simple command-line tools (CLIs) because it couldn't easily create standalone binaries. However, this is changing with new runtimes like Deno and bun.sh that are solving this problem.

3. Go (Golang) 🐹 (The cloud-native powerhouse)

Go (or Golang) is the language of modern cloud infrastructure.

Many of the most critical DevOps tools you will use every day are built with Go, including Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, Prometheus, and ArgoCD.

Go is known for its simplicity, high performance, and excellent handling of concurrency (doing multiple things at once). Its most significant advantage for DevOps is its ability to compile a complex application into a single, standalone binary. This makes deployment incredibly simple—you just copy one file and run it. No dependencies, no runtime to install.

• Choose Go if: You want to dive deep into the cloud-native ecosystem and build high-performance infrastructure tools. While it's considered easy to learn, some people (especially beginners) find its syntax and strict conventions (like error handling) a bit hard to understand at first. But, don't worry. You'll be alright as you keep learning.

The real secret to coding proficiency

Whatever language you choose, learn it seriously. Beyond "Hello world!"

The language itself is less important than your commitment to mastering it. Whatever language you choose, don't give up too early. The initial learning curve is always the hardest part.

Most importantly, do not stop at a hobby project. A simple "to-do" app won't teach you the real world software life cycle and the workflows.

To truly learn as a DevOps engineer, you must build a serious project. Create a fully-fledged web application with a database. Then, apply your DevOps skills to it:

1. Write the application in Python, Go, or Node.js.
2. Containerize it with a Dockerfile.
3. Build a full CI/CD pipeline (e.g., with GitHub Actions) that tests and packages your app.
4. Deploy it to the cloud (like Kubernetes, AWS ECS, or even just a VM managed with Ansible). Try how you can minimize downtime during deployments.
5. Run it with resiliency. Set up monitoring, logging, and alerts. See if you can make it scale.
6. Do a failover. See how you can recover data and make the application available in different scenrios.

This is how you bridge the gap between "knowing a language" and "being a DevOps engineer."

The choice of Python, Go, or Node.js is just the first step on that journey.

Good luck.