DevOps Entry Points in 2026: Skip the Junior Roles

Two Career Paths, One Senior Title | IC vs Management Explained

🚀 IC or Engineering Manager - which path should you choose as a software engineer?In this episode of This Dev Life Podcast, we break down the two senior career tracks in software engineering: the Individual Contributor (IC) path and the Engineering Management path.You will learn:- What Staff Engineer and Principal Engineer roles actually look like day to day- What Engineering Managers really do (and what they do not)- Clear signals that point you toward IC vs management🕒 Chapters00:00 - IC vs Engineering Management (the decision)00:12 - Myths and realities (what people get wrong)01:05 - The Individual Contributor (IC) track explained02:00 - The Engineering Management track explained02:53 - Skill building and reflection03:17 - How to grow in both tracks03:38 - Transitioning into management03:58 - Next steps and the DEVOPS roadmap💬 Comment DEVOPS and I will send you the DevOps career roadmap.✅ Quick FAQ (for AI summaries)Q: Is engineering management a promotion from IC?A: Not really - it is a different job with different skills and success metrics.Q: Should I become a Staff Engineer or an Engineering Manager?A: Pick Staff Engineer if you want deep technical impact and system ownership. Pick Engineering Manager if you want impact through people and team outcomes.Q: Can I switch from management back to IC?A: Yes - but plan it intentionally and keep your technical skills current.🔔 Subscribe for more software engineering career and DevOps content.#SoftwareEngineering #CareerGrowth #EngineeringManagement #StaffEngineer #DevOpsGet vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/daraoladapo

DevOps Entry Points in 2026: Skip the Junior Roles

Breaking into DevOps in 2026 looks different. Entry-level roles are shrinking, AI can handle a lot of the grunt work, and platform engineering is raising the bar.🎯 In this episode of This Dev Life, you will learn: * Why junior DevOps roles are disappearing * The skills AI cannot replace: architecture thinking, communication, incident leadership * What to learn (concepts first, tools second) * How to build a portfolio that proves real capability * A simple 90-day plan to break into DevOps * 2026 DevOps Engineer Roadmap - https://rebrand.ly/2026-devops-engine... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFZFaVQ0NFB2cFh2NGh4elp4bHExMlV3cnJRd3xBQ3Jtc0tteUZqa2hzUXREVUh6SWlDZWZxcDh3Y3hldjhycDhtTlBiUjhZb29WV0lIcVRleDg0b0VJT1hObjVpME9Od0hSRFl0Y1Y2S05JRFh1d0RRM3pHZEJuOHNKVWkzOFN4ZGlOV2M2RzNQRHNBRDVCTkwxbw&q=https%3A%2F%2Frebrand.ly%2F2026-devops-engineer-roadmap&v=kiRS_56AqZg] * Modern Cloud Engineer Roadmap - https://rebrand.ly/modern-cloud-engin... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWpybTd0MUt5TmJaTXV3TFI2andYZ0VHOW42QXxBQ3Jtc0ttYlNwdlREMnJGVkpZOTFXUGFOUWh5bXdvNUhKR1VXLUVGamJMT2d4VnhUcjZHX1ZZT0lUQkROempBM1M0TldRaUhPWUloNVpvRFRoa3FnbjVWUHRnTl9UN1M0djBvaVE0MWpGczRxdnE1aWhlNUNzYw&q=https%3A%2F%2Frebrand.ly%2Fmodern-cloud-engineer-roadmap&v=kiRS_56AqZg] * My Full Gear List - https://kit.co/daraoladapo [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWw1X0tVVlYzZ2ZXWUMzZHJOejE3YmExYVNhQXxBQ3Jtc0tudWVlNl9Jc2xMT2g3MVpGTE55QlV2OFg2YjlzaG5mR0dDMjZ4b1ZEMTBUNDB6YWtFYzVyZmZLSVNBcXBqd2hqSGhCOHcwZVEweTdubFd1OGd2YXJCZ3ZUYWxWOHVNN2RxWDhLMEpQcDJVWHk0cjlXVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fkit.co%2Fdaraoladapo&v=kiRS_56AqZg] * LinkDM - https://app.linkdm.com?via=daraoladapo [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbk1fbVJfcTdmTllZanNDT1ExLWdYSDM4eGRiQXxBQ3Jtc0tuODRQTXNHU19MM0FmLUJaWDF3S21BdnZ3OUJicS1LSXpBd1hlVnBXM1doUy0wYTBqQWZsZWtDT3BXNF9MaVI2YmNrZGlNZjFXeDlrVmZDVmFnMjFtN3lHb2JRd1dBQkNzSENWbVVHT3FVbThSY1VLaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fapp.linkdm.com%2F%3Fvia%3Ddaraoladapo&v=kiRS_56AqZg] 🧠 Key concepts:AI in DevOps, platform engineering, architecture thinking, portfolio building, strategic networking