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A Guide to DevOps

About the Writer​

Priscilla Celine Setiawan

Priscilla Celine Setiawan

Computer Science
Batch 2025
DevSecOps Engineer
minden.ai
Hydra X

Hi, I am Priscilla Celine Setiawan, a Computer Science student graduating in 2025. I am excited to share insights about DevOps Engineering based on my past experiences interning in this industry. I recently completed an internship as a DevSecOps Engineer at minden.ai, where I worked on automating infrastructure deployment, enhancing security monitoring, and optimizing cloud resources. As I approach graduation, I'm passionate about helping fellow students navigate their own paths in the ever-evolving tech landscape. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.

What is DevOps?​

DevOps is a multidisciplinary field that bridges the gap between software development and IT operations, focusing on automating and streamlining the processes between code creation and deployment. In today's fast-paced digital landscape, DevOps has become essential for organizations seeking to deliver software more rapidly, reliably, and efficiently. The role supports modern software development practices by enabling continuous integration, delivery, and deployment while ensuring system reliability and scalability.

How is this field important in today's industry?​

DevOps Engineers are in high demand across various sectors—from tech company to financial institutions, healthcare organizations, and government agencies. Startups particularly value DevOps expertise as it allows them to scale quickly with limited resources. The versatility of this role means you can find DevOps professionals wherever software needs to be built and maintained efficiently—essentially, in almost every modern company with a digital presence.

Personal Journey​

My path to DevOps began unexpectedly during my second year at NTU when I secured I stumbled into DevOps during my second year at NTU. I didn't know much about it - it wasn't even covered in our classes - but I managed to get an internship in the field anyway.

At Hydra X, I worked on creating Grafana dashboards to monitor Kubernetes clusters. It was rewarding to see how these dashboards transformed complex system data into actionable insights for the team. I also developed Python scripts to automate the dashboard setup process, which significantly reduced manual work and allowed the team to focus on higher-priority tasks.

Later, at minden.ai, I took on bigger challenges. I led the migration to a more efficient dependency management system across multiple repositories, which streamlined our workflow and reduced manual effort. I also automated deployment processes using infrastructure as code and GitHub Actions, making our software releases more reliable and consistent. Additionally, I optimized our AWS EC2 instances, which significantly reduced operational costs. It was exciting to see how technical improvements could lead to real, measurable impact for the company.

If you're interested in DevOps, here's a roadmap to help you build a strong foundation and grow your skills:

  1. Start with Linux and the Command Line Learn the basics of Linux and how to use the command line. These are essential for almost all DevOps tasks.

  2. Learn a Scripting Language Pick up Python or Bash. These are great for writing automation scripts that save time and reduce errors.

  3. Get Comfortable with Git and GitHub Understand version control, branching, and collaboration. These are key for working in teams and building CI/CD pipelines.

  4. Explore Docker and Containers Start with simple apps in Docker. Then move on to microservices. Containers help create reliable and consistent environments.

  5. Understand Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Use tools like Terraform to define and manage infrastructure with code. This makes setups repeatable and consistent.

  6. Learn About Cloud Platforms Explore AWS, Azure, or GCP. They offer certifications and are used widely for hosting modern applications.

  7. Focus on Monitoring and Observability Learn tools like Grafana and Datadog. They help to keep systems reliable and spot problems early.

  8. Level Up with Kubernetes Dive into Kubernetes to manage and scale containerized apps. It's powerful and widely used in DevOps environments.

Interview Preparation​

Want a DevOps internship? Here's how to stand out:

  • 🚀 Build your own projects Try deploying apps on cloud platforms (like AWS, Azure, or GCP). Share it on GitHub with clear note as proof of your hands-on skills.

  • ☁️ Get cloud-certified Earning certifications (AWS, Azure, or GCP) shows you've got the tech know-how and are serious about DevOps.

  • 💬 Work on soft skills too Being able to explain and communicate complex stuff in simple terms is a superpower. It helps when talking to teammates, especially non-tech folks. Also, being a good problem-solver = gold when things break (which they will!).

  • 🔧 Prep for interviews smartly Know your CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (IaC), and tools like Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, etc. Practice explaining how you'd build a system or solve real-life DevOps problems

  • 🧠 Ask the right questions during interviews Like: How often do you deploy? What's your incident response like? How do you monitor your systems? These show you know your stuff and care about how they work.

  • 📚 Keep learning DevOps tools and trends change fast. Stay updated through blogs, YouTube, podcasts, or bite-sized online courses.

  • 🌱 Be adaptable Honestly, you don't need to know everything from the start. What really matters is your ability to learn, pivot, and grow. DevOps is all about figuring things out as you go.