In my opinion, having a formal degree can definitely help when starting a DevOps career, but it’s not absolutely essential if you’re willing to put in the effort to build strong practical skills and real-world experience. A degree often gives you a solid foundation in areas like networking, operating systems, and programming, which can make learning DevOps concepts easier, but today there are so many high-quality online courses, certifications, and hands-on platforms that can teach you the same skills in a more practical way. What really matters in DevOps is your ability to work with tools, automate processes, understand CI/CD pipelines, and solve real problems in dynamic environments, and these are things you can learn through projects, labs, and continuous practice. Many successful professionals in this field come from non-traditional backgrounds, which shows that skills, consistency, and a problem-solving mindset often carry more weight than a degree alone, although having both can give you an added advantage.