Software development is a field where opportunities are abundant. Due to the nature of the industry, organizations look for talent everywhere. If you keep an eye out for the right job and put yourself out there, you might find yourself working for a company that has challenges you’ve not yet faced on another continent with a new culture to experience in and outside of work. I know because I’ve done it—it’s not easy, but it’s definitely possible!
In this blog post, I share my story of building a career as a DevOps consultant abroad. I will share insights and tips that will hopefully help you achieve your aspiration of building a career that can be done from anywhere in the world.
For anyone who’s not considered it, I hope my story inspires you.
From India to Denmark
As with most areas of software development, there are various ways to get into DevOps and build a career. I started out by going to university, where I obtained a degree from the University of Mumbai and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering.
I always had an interest in computers and, with my qualifications, decided to interview for an IT consultancy firm in Mumbai. There, I was offered a job and invited to live in Chennai to train for two months. After rigorous preparation, I moved back to Mumbai to start working on real customer assignments. There I had the opportunity to join the DevOps team.
I still remember how I was introduced to DevOps; it was described using the acronym CIA:
Collaboration of people
Integration of tools
Automation of processes
Containerization was something I had never heard of and it blew my mind how easy it is to containerize applications and run them seamlessly. That sparked an interest in learning more about the container world and cloud, which is when I knew I wanted to pursue a career in DevOps.
To me, the continuous learning of new technologies to keep up with the ever-changing trends in DevOps was fascinating. I soon started using new technologies to work on customer assignments when an opportunity knocked on my door to travel to Denmark—my first-ever international trip!
It was a difficult decision as I had to step out of my comfort zone and move away from family and friends, but I did it, and I was welcomed warmly by the people of Denmark. I soon fell in love with the culture and was amazed by how well people balance their personal and professional lives.
As most people find when moving to a new country, I had to adjust to the differences. For example, in Denmark, everyone is referred to on a first-name basis, including at work, regardless of their position; I was used to referring to my seniors as sir/ma’am in India, so this took some time to get used to.
Expressing myself was also hard in the beginning due to the language barrier, but this only encouraged me to work on my communication skills. It’s something I’ve continued to work on, as while English is spoken by the majority in Denmark, I’m also in the process of learning Danish.
Three years into my move, I got a job at Eficode. I’m now a further three years in and am working with cloud-native technologies, helping teams build platform engineering capabilities. I take a lot of pride in teaching Docker and Kubernetes, in particular, to our customers, who are the core of our consultancy work.
Experiencing culture while working as a consultant
You don’t always have to be abroad to experience different cultures; working on projects that are based around the world helps prepare you for work in other countries.
For example, in India, I worked for a customer based in Singapore, which involved a project overseeing farms in Africa. It was a remote assignment, and I was the only DevOps engineer on the team. This gave me an excellent opportunity to learn and lead.
When I first joined Eficode, I immediately saw how different it was and still is from other consultancies. The focus is on helping customers with their DevOps journeys while remaining honest and transparent, ensuring they are capable of managing everything on their own when the project is complete.
To really contribute to a customer's growth, you need to understand them and become part of their team. Since DevOps assignments are relatively short, you have to repeat this cycle every time you join a new customer project. Saying goodbye can be difficult, but you can hold your head high, knowing you’ve left the project stable and maintainable for the customer.
Working as a consultant gives you an open-mind in dealing with customer setups where you will have experienced such a variety. Customers might have built their infrastructure in a certain way and gotten used to it, causing them to remain unaware of alternatives. A consultant with experience working with different customers and setups can provide a fresh set of ideas and best practices.
Life at Eficode
One of the things that I most appreciate about working at Eficode is my awesome colleagues, who are always willing to help. Psychological safety is not just a word but something that is practiced at Eficode. We focus on self-growth and learning together.
A perfect example is when I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and become a trainer. I started by taking on small sessions of training and have since built up to deliver up to eight hours of courses to our customers!
Growth such as this is encouraged and seen as crucial in our space, given the rapid development of technology and practices.
Attending conferences and obtaining certifications are considered important at Eficode as a lot of customer assignments are based on the latest technologies, making the learning curve high. Eficode also hosts events, including The DevOps Conference, which takes place every year and offers opportunities to network and learn.
Steps to help you take the leap
Enjoying what you do is the most important part of the journey. As long as you are motivated to wake up in the morning and work, you are in the right place.
If you’ve been inspired by my story, I have outlined five steps to help you take the leap:
- Step out of your comfort zone, and don’t be afraid to try out new experiences. Sometimes they turn out to be the best of your life!
- Trust your instincts. If you know in your gut what you are about to do is in your best interest, or it simply feels right, do it.
- Try different DevOps tools. There are loads of applications that serve a variety of purposes; what might suit one organization might not work for another.
- Be open to learning different cultures, and respect them. Being open-minded helps with settling into a new place and accepting new ways of life.
- Keep up with the latest trends. DevOps is constantly changing and evolving, and you need to stay in the know.
The more I work with different DevOps technologies, the more I enjoy it. Each assignment offers something new to add to my experience. I wish you the best on your journey and hope you find fulfillment in whatever path you choose.
Published: Sep 25, 2024
