Breaking into DevOps can feel daunting. The field is booming—DevOps roles are among the fastest-growing in tech, with the market projected to expand at nearly 20% annually through the next decade. Salaries are high and companies urgently need skilled DevOps engineers.
So why isn’t landing a DevOps job easy? The catch is that most employers want more than just a certificate on your resume; they expect real experience. Even an AWS or Kubernetes certification won’t guarantee a job if you haven’t applied those skills in a live environment.
This is where an integrated DevOps certification program with internship support becomes a game-changer. It combines the credibility of a certification with the practical DevOps job experience that hiring managers demand.
In this article, we’ll explore the current DevOps job market, why certifications alone aren’t enough, and how pairing your cert with hands-on internship experience can turbocharge your career in DevOps.
We’ll also look at a success story and explain what makes Refonte Learning DevOps Engineering Program (which offers an internship with its certification training) stand out from the rest.
DevOps Job Market: Why Certifications Alone Aren’t Enough
The DevOps job market today is both thriving and competitive. On one hand, organizations of all sizes are adopting DevOps practices, driving demand for skilled engineers.
In fact, the need for DevOps professionals is growing so fast that the global DevOps market is expected to grow at ~20% CAGR by 2032.
Companies are eager to hire talent who can accelerate software delivery and manage modern cloud infrastructure. On the other hand, this high demand doesn’t mean employers will hire just anyone with a certificate.
Job postings often ask for years of experience. It’s not uncommon to see “3-5+ years of DevOps experience” listed as a requirement, even for mid-level. Why? Because DevOps isn’t an entry-level domain – it’s a discipline that sits at the intersection of development and IT operations, requiring broad practical know-how.
If you’re a newcomer, this can be frustrating. You might earn a sought-after cert (say AWS DevOps Engineer or Docker certification) and still get passed over because you lack real-world practice.
As one DevOps expert succinctly put it, “DevOps is not an entry level skill... it’s very difficult to walk straight into a role with no practical experience, no matter how many certs you have."
Certifications showcase foundational knowledge – they prove you’ve learned concepts and tools. But hands-on experience demonstrates adaptability and problem-solving in real scenarios. The current job market values both.
In practical terms, this means a hiring manager might use certifications to filter candidates into the interview pile, but when it comes time to choose, they’ll favor the person who has actually run a CI/CD pipeline in production or debugged a container orchestration issue under pressure.
So, where does that leave aspiring DevOps engineers? It means that while getting certified (for example, completing a DevOps certification for beginners to cover the basics) is a smart move, you can’t stop there.
You need proven experience to complement your cert. And if “3-5 years in a DevOps role” feels impossible to acquire as a beginner, don’t worry—that’s exactly why DevOps certification programs with internship support exist.
These specialized programs recognize that certifications alone aren’t enough and build in an internship or co-op component to help you gain DevOps job experience as you learn.
In the next sections, we’ll see how an internship bridges the gap between DevOps theory and practice.
The Value of Real-World Experience Through Internships
Real-world experience is the X factor in any tech career, but it’s especially crucial in DevOps.
A DevOps internship places you in a live environment where you can apply your classroom knowledge to actual company projects. You might shadow senior DevOps engineers, write automation scripts, set up monitoring dashboards, or assist with cloud infrastructure changes.
In doing so, you start to understand how all the pieces fit together in a production setting. You’re no longer just following tutorial steps—you’re encountering real incidents, edge cases, and team dynamics. This hands-on DevOps training solidifies your skills in a way no textbook or online course truly can.
Beyond skill-building, internships massively improve your employability. Employers love seeing internships on a resume, because it signals you’ve already “been in the trenches.”
There’s data to back this up: studies show that more than two-thirds of interns secure full-time jobs after their internship, often with higher starting salaries than peers without internship.
In fact, paid interns receive on average 1.61 job offers upon graduation versus only 0.77 offers for non-interns. That’s a huge difference. If you impress your host company, you might even get a direct job offer – 68% of interns receive full-time offers from the company they interned with.
But even if the internship doesn’t turn into a job at that firm, you now have something invaluable to bring to other interviews: real DevOps examples.
You can discuss the DevOps job experience you gained – the tools you used, problems you solved, and how you worked on a team to deliver results. This kind of evidence can tip the scales in your favor when competing with other candidates who only have academic credentials.
For those pivoting into DevOps from another field or straight out of school, an internship also provides a safe space to learn. You get to make mistakes under the guidance of a mentor or supervisor, rather than on your first job where the stakes are higher.
It’s an environment to ask questions like “Why are we using this deployment strategy?” or “How do we handle rollbacks if a release fails?” and get insightful answers.
By the end of a DevOps internship, you’ll not only have improved technical skills but also a clearer understanding of DevOps culture – the collaboration, the rapid feedback loops, the mindset of continuous improvement.
In short, internships bridge the gap between theory and practice, ensuring you’re not just DevOps-certified but DevOps-qualified to hit the ground running.
Confidence, Networking, and Job-Readiness: Benefits of Internship-Backed Programs
Enrolling in a DevOps certification program with internship support doesn’t just give you technical know-how; it also boosts your confidence, professional network, and overall job-readiness. Here’s how:
Confidence through Practice
Tackling real DevOps tasks in an internship builds confidence in a way classroom learning can’t. Instead of second-guessing whether you can do the job, you’ll know you’ve done similar work in a real-world context.
For example, it’s one thing to learn about continuous integration in theory, but actually debugging a broken Jenkins pipeline or successfully containerizing an application during your internship proves to yourself that you can handle DevOps challenges.
By the time you finish an internship-backed program, deploying updates or managing cloud infrastructure won’t feel intimidating – they’ll feel like familiar tasks you’ve already conquered.
Working on real projects during training boosts your confidence and proficiency because you’re applying skills in live scenarios, not just simulations.
Networking Opportunities
Internships plug you into the industry’s professional network early in your journey. You’ll be interacting with DevOps engineers, developers, perhaps even cross-functional teams like QA or security at the company where you intern.
Each person you meet is a potential mentor, reference, or even future colleague. Building these relationships can pay off down the road; it’s not unusual for a former internship supervisor to refer you for a job or introduce you to others in the field.
Additionally, being part of a cohort in an internship-supported program means you also network with fellow students who are all starting a career in DevOps. Those peer connections can lead to sharing job leads, study resources, and support as you progress in the industry.
In essence, you’re seeding your professional network from day one – something that purely self-study certification paths can’t offer.
Job-Readiness and Soft Skills
A often overlooked benefit of an internship is how it prepares you for the non-technical aspects of a DevOps role.
In your internship, you learn workplace skills like communicating within a team, agile collaboration, time management, and responding to real incidents under pressure. DevOps is as much about culture and teamwork as it is about tools.
By experiencing the daily routine of stand-up meetings, sprint retrospectives, and cross-team problem solving, you become job-ready in a holistic sense.
When you later step into a full-time role, you won’t be caught off guard by the pace of deployments or the necessity of communicating clearly with teammates – you’ve been there.
Moreover, you’ll have tangible projects from your internship that you can showcase in your portfolio or GitHub, demonstrating your ability to deliver results.
This blend of technical and soft skills gained through an internship-backed certification program means you walk into interviews not as a “fresher” who only knows concepts, but as a well-rounded candidate who’s already functioned in a DevOps environment.
In summary, a program that couples certification with an internship doesn’t just teach you DevOps – it transforms you into a confident, connected, and job-ready professional.
You gain the self-assurance that you can handle real-world DevOps scenarios, a network of contacts in the tech industry, and the practical savvy to smoothly transition into a permanent role.
Why Refonte Learning’s DevOps Engineering Program Stands Out
When it comes to DevOps certification programs with internship support, Refonte Learning’s DevOps Engineering Program is a standout choice. This program is designed from the ground up to address the very challenges we’ve discussed.
Here’s what makes Refonte Learning’s offering exceptional:
1. Integrated Training and Internship
Refonte’s DevOps Engineering Program doesn’t leave you to find experience on your own – it builds an internship right into the curriculum.
Upon successfully completing the course modules (which cover all key DevOps technologies and practices), every student gets to participate in a guided internship.
This means by the time you finish, you have both a training certificate and an internship certificate to show for your effort. You walk away with official validation of your skills and documented work experience.
Refonte even awards a Certificate of Internship detailing the real projects you worked on, which can significantly strengthen your job applications.
2. Comprehensive, Hands-On Curriculum
The program’s curriculum is exhaustive yet beginner-friendly. It’s essentially a DevOps certification for beginners and intermediates alike – starting with fundamentals like Linux, scripting, and source control, then advancing through CI/CD pipelines, Docker & Kubernetes, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), Infrastructure as Code (Terraform), and monitoring tools.
Crucially, every topic is paired with hands-on DevOps training. You won’t just read about Jenkins; you’ll set up a Jenkins pipeline. You won’t just discuss Docker in theory; you’ll containerize applications and orchestrate them with Kubernetes.
By the end, you will have completed a capstone project that ties everything together, demonstrating your ability to implement end-to-end DevOps solutions.
3. Mentorship from Industry Experts
Refonte Learning offers DevOps Engineer mentorship. The program instructors are seasoned DevOps and software engineering professionals with 10+ years in the field.
For example, the lead mentor (with a decade of experience in cloud and DevOps) guides students through real-world scenarios and best practices. This mentorship isn’t just about teaching tech; it’s career guidance.
They help you understand industry expectations, review your projects, and prepare you for what working as a DevOps engineer is really like. Learning directly from experts who have been in the trenches makes a huge difference – you get insights and tips that you’d never find in an online video course.
4. Confidence and Career Support
Because Refonte’s program includes a supervised internship, it doubles as a mini on-the-job training. Students often report finishing the program with a significant confidence boost, having already performed DevOps tasks in a live environment.
Refonte Learning also goes the extra mile in recognizing and supporting your achievements. There’s a sense of camaraderie and networking; you’re learning alongside peers and become part of the Refonte Learning alumni network, which can open doors in the industry.
In addition, Refonte frequently highlights student success stories (for instance, students who landed jobs at notable companies after completing the program) – you could be their next success story.
5. Flexible and Accessible
The program is structured to be completed in about 3 months with ~12-14 hours of effort per week which is great for students or working professionals.
Much of the training and even the internships are done remotely (virtual internships), so you can participate from anywhere without having to relocate.
The experience is very interactive – live sessions, Q&A with mentors, group projects, etc. Refonte Learning also offers financing options to make the investment accessible, underscoring their mission to make the best DevOps internship programs available to a wide range of aspiring professionals.
In short, Refonte Learning DevOps Engineering Program stands out because it doesn’t just hand you knowledge and send you on your way. It provides a holistic path: learn the skills, practice them in real projects through an internship, and emerge job-ready.
If you're serious about a career in DevOps – especially if you have no prior experience – this program is an ideal way to build your portfolio and confidence simultaneously.
Actionable Takeaways for Aspiring DevOps Engineers
Prioritize Hands-On Experience: Don’t rely on theory alone. Whether through a formal internship, lab projects, or volunteering, seek out opportunities to get practical experience with DevOps tools and workflows. If you’re studying for a cert, complement it with real-world application of those skills.
Choose Programs with Built-In Internships: If you’re investing in a training course, consider one that includes an internship or apprenticeship. A DevOps certification program with internship support (such as ours) can fast-track your learning and give you that critical work experience upon graduation.
Build and Showcase Projects: Work on a personal DevOps project (like automating a small app deployment) or contribute to open-source. This not only reinforces your learning but also yields a tangible asset you can show to recruiters – almost like creating your own mini-internship experience if you can’t get an official one right away.
Network and Find Mentors: Leverage communities (online forums, local meetups, LinkedIn groups) and any internship opportunities to connect with professionals in the field. Having mentors or industry contacts can lead to job referrals and valuable advice for your career in DevOps. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask questions – the DevOps community is quite supportive.
Keep Learning Continuously: The tech underlying DevOps evolves quickly (new cloud services, CI/CD tools, etc.). Stay curious and keep updating your skills even after you land a job. Continue with advanced certifications, attend webinars, and read DevOps case studies. This mindset of continuous improvement will serve you well (and it’s the essence of DevOps culture, too).
Conclusion
Entering the DevOps field requires a blend of certified knowledge and real-world savvy.
A DevOps certification program with internship support offers the best of both worlds: you earn recognized credentials and you accumulate genuine experience that employers value. In today’s competitive landscape, this combination can truly set you apart.
Rather than spending years trying to get that first break, you can emerge from a 3-6 month program ready to contribute on day one – with confidence, skills, and a network to back you up.
Our DevOps Engineering Program exemplify this approach, turning graduates into job-ready DevOps professionals.
If you’re serious about a thriving career in DevOps, don’t just get certified – get hands-on. By choosing a path that includes both learning and doing, you’ll position yourself as the well-rounded candidate that companies are eager to hire.
FAQs about DevOps Certification Programs with Internship Support
Q1. Why is it important to choose a DevOps certification program that includes internship support?
A certification shows you understand DevOps concepts, but real-world experience proves you can apply them. Internship support gives you hands-on exposure, making you more competitive in the job market.
Q2. Can a DevOps internship help me get my first job faster?
Yes! Studies show that internships significantly improve hiring rates. Employers prefer candidates who have already worked on real-world DevOps projects during an internship.
Q3. Is internship experience valued more than certifications in DevOps hiring?
Both are important, but experience often weighs more heavily. Certifications get you interviews; internship experience helps you ace them.
Q4. What skills will I gain during a DevOps internship?
You’ll work on skills like CI/CD pipelines, cloud deployments, containerization with Docker and Kubernetes, monitoring, and incident management—critical skills for real DevOps jobs.
Q5. Why choose Refonte Learning’s DevOps Engineering Program?
Refonte Learning offers a complete experience: expert training, hands-on labs, and a guaranteed internship. This ensures you graduate job-ready, not just certified.