DevOps Engineer (IT): What Is Your Experience So Far Looking for Job?

ratoloko on 26/08/2025 - 16:45

Going to my second month looking for repositioning into the IT market and so far it has been a mess lmao

Weirdly, the IT job market is way more welcoming compared to 2 years ago, it was pure carnage back then, however, it is a complete mess still right now.
Big techs fired thousands of people and during COVID, a lot of people got into "IT" for the money so now the market is flooded with Juniors and Experts.

+8y DevOps Engineer and this has been my experience so far:

  • WFH: This is dead and although I am WFH for years, these roles now are being sent over to India for cheaper labour. Qantas got busted doing this.
  • 3-in-1 roles: Company after company seems to be merging many roles into one like you must have years of experience as DevOps Engineer, Backend Developer and Cloud Architecture.
  • Having potential is no longer enough, you must be a 10/10
  • Contracts are popping up like plague, permanent roles seems to be getting harder and harder to get.
  • 100s applying for one role: If you aren't applying through a recruiter, there is a 99% chance that you will receive an automated reply.
  • AI: Many companies got this wrong, they are going full on into AI. CommBank got busted replacing workers with AI, it backfired beautifully. Klarna lost $99M doing the same.
  • Companies can afford to wait: Interviews now is one a week if you are lucky, 3-4 interviews which is the new normal for some roles, that is a month gone for one role.
  • Ghosted: getting ghosted is all time high like no jokes.

Before COVID, we could change job looking for career growth, better pay, etc.
Now it feels like you are luck if you or your teams ends up the month employed lmao

I remember crossing some posts on LinkedIn, dude was from UK, ton of experience but unemployed since May over there.

I wonder……. those looking for repositioning into the IT market, what has been your experience so far??

Education & Work

Comments

  • geekcohen on 26/08/2025 - 19:20
    +1

    Just my 2 cents on some points.

    WFH: This is dead

    I found this 2 years ago when I moved jobs. Most business wanted you in the office FT. I was lucky to find my current job which is completely remote and I wouldn't change it because of the current market.

    3-in-1 roles: Company after company seems to be merging many roles into one like you must have years of experience as DevOps Engineer, Backend Developer and Cloud Architecture.

    Yep! Thats my role. DevOps Team Manager, Developer (Front & Back), Server Infrastructure Manager, Technical Marketing Person and the list goes on. However, being a jack of all trades is attractive to many and I think that is how I landed my current role.

    AI

    Whilst AI is great, it doesn't fully replace a developer. I use AI all the time, but you still need to know what to do with the code and how to debug any issues. AI still gets stuff wrong. One of my team will do a code review of AI code and pickup things that could be be done better!

    • ratoloko on 27/08/2025 - 10:50

      I have been WFH since Feb 2020, seeing how jobs are pushing 5 days in the office or even 2-3 days in the office is depressing.

      being a jack of all trades is attractive to many and I think that is how I landed my current role.

      I totally agree with being a jack of all trades, but what I am seeing is companies merging 3 different roles into one which automatically cuts off a ton of folks.
      If you worked in big companies like I did, there is no way on Earth that a DevOps Engineer will also be allowed to be a Backend Developer or even worse, touch the cloud on an Architecture level.
      There are tons of permissions required if you made that far, while working on projects with other teams.

      Whilst AI is great, it doesn't fully replace a developer. I use AI all the time, but you still need to know what to do with the code and how to debug any issues. AI still gets stuff wrong. One of my team will do a code review of AI code and pickup things that could be be done better!

      We know that, say this to the companies replacing folks with AI.
      I believe you have crossed the news where the company AI "tool", deleted the entire production database, backup, everything.
      They lost months of progress.

      Sure, there is a ton of user error there but still, a minority is using AI tools to improve their workflows while companies are using AI to replace people.
      AI Freelancers are all time-high, they are being hired to fix problems created by pushing AI too far.

      • geekcohen on 27/08/2025 - 11:04

        I have been WFH since Feb 2020, seeing how jobs are pushing 5 days in the office or even 2-3 days in the office is depressing.

        100%. I think that bosses/management want visibility again. The previous business I worked for are back to the office full time and the boss has no WFH allowance.

        I totally agree with being a jack of all trades, but what I am seeing is companies merging 3 different roles into one which automatically cuts off a ton of folks.

        Yeah, if you lack in some areas then it does make it challenging.

        If you worked in big companies like I did, there is no way on Earth that a DevOps Engineer will also be allowed to be a Backend Developer or even worse, touch the cloud on an Architecture level.

        Yeah, Big Companies I guess have a different process. I found that when I worked for a Hosting Company that got bought out and then things were locked down so only architecture could be accessed by L3s. Previously L2s could SSH into a server, that wasn't allowed after that the buy out.

        I believe you have crossed the news where the company AI "tool", deleted the entire production database, backup, everything.
        They lost months of progress.

        Yeah, I did see that.

  • AndyC1 on 26/08/2025 - 19:32
    +4

    How is a "+8y DevOps Engineer" "repositioning into the IT" as a snr devops is already in IT?

    • ratoloko on 27/08/2025 - 10:41

      Weirdly it felt like hiring managers wanting mid-level developers expected senior developers, those wanting senior expected staff/principal, and those wanting staff/principal expected senior.

      It is not pretty, quoting what a user said below!
      People's experience differ but mine pretty much matches this person.

  • Jolakot on 26/08/2025 - 20:01
    +3

    I was laid off a few months ago and had to deal with the current tech market as well, fullstack developer with 7 years of experience. Plenty of jobs out there, but also plenty of people looking for jobs.

    Weirdly it felt like hiring managers wanting mid-level developers expected senior developers, those wanting senior expected staff/principal, and those wanting staff/principal expected senior.

    I ended up applying for jobs I wasn't qualified for and was open about taking the lowest end of the range, which worked better than I expected.

    • ratoloko on 27/08/2025 - 10:38

      Weirdly it felt like hiring managers wanting mid-level developers expected senior developers, those wanting senior expected staff/principal, and those wanting staff/principal expected senior.

      Yup, that is my experience with DevOps Engineer roles.

      I ended up applying for jobs I wasn't qualified for and was open about taking the lowest end of the range, which worked better than I expected.

      I have been doing the same and got pretty far, 3-4 interviews for that role, where the roles that are a 1:1 match drops you on the first interview because of what you said above. Go figure.

      Thanks for sharing that.

    • Banks on 27/08/2025 - 12:09

      I ended up applying for jobs I wasn't qualified for and was open about taking the lowest end of the range, which worked better than I expected.

      Are people not concerned about being sued for breach of contract?

      Regardless, it is possible the risk is much lower if the underlying employer is a Federal Government Department.

      • Jolakot on 27/08/2025 - 18:25

        By not qualified I mean they wanted 10+ years of experience minimum and I only had 7, not that I was pulling a Mike Ross.

        How exactly would you get sued for breach of contract in this case?

  • ninfy on 26/08/2025 - 21:49
    +1

    We are an SME recruitment firm - Pinaka based in Canberra that focuses on federal government roles. We are seeing a mixed market. There are some technical roles that we really cannot find enough candidates for; especially when they need to be Canberra based. But roles like PM, BA, Testing etc. there seems to be a lot of deserving candidates that have been in the market for way too long. We are happy to support in whatever way possible. Due to the need for security clearances, we are only able to support Australian Citizens.

    Here's the link to our jobs page. You can also drop your resume here if you cannot find a role that is suited for you right this moment. You could follow us on LinkedIn.

    • OMGJL on 27/08/2025 - 01:48

      There are some technical roles that we really cannot find enough candidates for

      hey, would you mind to share what role you were talking about, thanks in advance!

      • ninfy on 27/08/2025 - 21:42

        Our job page has a few listed at the moment. See my original comment. Also, this is the one of the main panels/portals for ICT jobs - you can see how many are getting posted each day. https://www.buyict.gov.au/sp?id=opportunities

    • ratoloko on 27/08/2025 - 10:29

      Canberra

      I actually crossed a news about Canberra, any federal gov role you must also be citizen, there are a ton of high skilled PR people living in Australia, but because of the citizen mandate, you cannot apply for such roles.
      I would say that is the biggest problem with Canberra, I am pretty sure some people would move there under the right circumstances.

      Thank you so much for sharing that.

  • Ave Maria on 27/08/2025 - 01:12
    +3

    Not my experience and pardon the pun all based on experience. I decided to retire at the end of June 2024 after working in Australia as an IT Developer (contract basis) for 24 years. Next day I started getting calls to WFH 100% in a different state than the one I am based at. I have been doing that for over a year now and I am about to get one more extension. WFH may not be widely available but it is definetely not dead (I call it remote working) and working well for me. Believe it or not also working from overseas is an option unless you are contracted for work at a Federal Government Department (but even they break their own rules by allowing sub-contracted big IT companies to use overseas based resources).

    • ratoloko on 27/08/2025 - 10:35

      from overseas is an option unless you are contracted for work at a Federal Government Department

      Feds roles won't even look at you if you are not a citizen, I know PR folks with family and living here forever with insane skills but would never be able to apply for such roles.
      WFH for DevOps roles seems to have been abandoned altogether.

      Dozens of interviews, only two roles with one being from CrowdStrike was 100% WFH, everywhere else is 2-3 days in the office and even 5 days in the office is becoming a thing again.

      Thanks for sharing your experience.

      • Ave Maria on 27/08/2025 - 13:01

        Yes, Federal Goverment Departments require CITIZENSHIP + SECURITY CLEARANCE, if you don't then forget it. Security clearance (several layers) can take for ever. I work at a state deparment (local government not federal) and a police check is enough to start work next day. Fed Depts went from 100% remote during COVID to 3 then 2 days working from home. The main obstacle is the executives that demand sight of their employees (empire building syndrome). The likes of Accenture enjoy a diferent status & treatment if you can get work trhough them bypassing direct checks.

        • ratoloko on 27/08/2025 - 16:00

          I worked for one of Australia biggest companies and the federal criminal check was enough.
          Anything past that point, citizen + clearance is a must.

          This back to the office is so silly, sure, some minority were found doing nothing but with the rest the productivity actually increases.
          Oh well, it was good while it lasted I guess haha

    • ninfy on 27/08/2025 - 21:44

      Hybrid more than 100% wfh in most cases in the norm.

  • 87percent on 27/08/2025 - 12:02

    I know a few government projects are hiring. Got asked the other day by an ex colleague if I knew anyone

    These are contracting but you need permanent residency, and security clearance

    • ratoloko on 27/08/2025 - 16:02

      permanent residency, and security clearance

      That isn't the normal in my experience, anything gov related roles requires you to be citizen which automatically filters out a ton of skilled folks.
      I would love to cross one of those permanent residency, and security clearance roles like my previous role.

      • ninfy on 27/08/2025 - 21:44

        The only exception is via some large system integrators, who may have exemptions in place for specific programs and niche skills.

  • Banks on 27/08/2025 - 12:14

    From my own perspective the IT industry has been dead for over two decades. (I'm in my late 30s.)

    I branched out into many different fields and as a result I have a mix of skills in the areas of IT/Finance/Law.

    It isn't going to get better in my opinion, it's a huge rat race. You can tell I am successful because I am basically retired now.

    I worked mostly in the private sector.

    IT skills do not really really fit well into most workplaces. The workflow isn't really there in most private businesses which is where the big money can be made through optimising parts of the business. It all comes down to what you are doing that adds value to your company or your employer. Unless you are adaptive and managing the business as if it were your own, then it can be challenging to your average person.

    Most businesses aren't really taking advantage of IT to optimise their businesses, sometimes simple optimisations such as implementing DBs and automating client contact can literally save your client tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars on each project. These are returned as bonuses and other incentives. If you are stuck playing the Government job merry-go-round, you'll never actually find yourself able to retire.

    I believe the professional term is that I am a "Solutions Architect", but I don't use any of those titles anymore. I build the solutions from the ground up, with all development done by myself.

    On a side note: Most IT professionals don't actually look at what happens in practice or delve into the actual implementation of an IT solution. You can tell because even in the Finance thread here on OzBargain I receive mysterious downvotes because people don't understand the reality of how passkeys work. The theory of passkeys is good, but how you actually implement it, and how you get to develop that final product is more important. How the end-user interacts and whether it actually confers any meaningful additional security against the baseline. That is all important if you want to earn big money.

    If you lack the ability to distill a problem down to first principles, you'll find it tough out there in the marketplace. Sure, you can hide amongst the government jobs and earn a reasonable living, but you'll never really be able to retire early.

    • Ave Maria on 27/08/2025 - 13:09

      Well - I have been contracting since 1994 - UK/EUROPE/AUSTRALIA I can tell you IT is not dead and would never be dead. Sure Government policies (ever changing) cause a bit of a comotion, but like the stock-market, everything normalises again when they realise work needs to be done and they need contractors to do it. AI will never take over, permanent stuffing will never take over (as it leads to inefficiencies and not real savings). Either way I am sort of semi-retired so not much impacted but I do not see why younger IT professionals could not continue to make a good living out of contracting. It is a matter for adapting to the market needs and perhaps learning new skills. If you are straight out of UNI then the best chance is to get a cadet/trainee job, pick up skills and then utilise them to maximum benefit. If you are not an Australian citizen, then perhaps it was the wrong move to come looking for a job in Australia. I almosts did not even get permanent residency back in 2004 and I had 2 degrees + 15 years of IT experience. It is much harder now.

    • ratoloko on 27/08/2025 - 16:15

      IT skills do not really really fit well into most workplaces

      I worked in one of Australia largest companies with federal criminal check required, etc, it is insane the amount of folks who lacks skill, fully.
      They cannot get a basic task done right or done for the matter, you wanna cry lmao and yet they are still in places they should not be.

      Most businesses aren't really taking advantage of IT to optimise their businesses

      You said it all!
      In many places you are extinguishing fire as you go, attempts to optimise the business gets sacked coz "this isn't our priority", even when it is a major security risk waiting to blow up.

      thread here on OzBargain I receive mysterious downvotes because people don't understand the reality of how passkeys work.

      I had similar experience on Twitter, the replies were insane like you got amnesia and don't remember where you put it lmao

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