PASV - IT школа в США

When choosing where to work, we usually weigh the pay, the responsibilities and how highly the role is valued in the market. Delivery driving in the USA is in demand, and so is programming. Driving also has the advantage of requiring neither long study nor money spent on learning the skills. But there are particulars that matter enormously when you are building a career.

In this article we compare two popular but diametrically opposed professions to work out which is the better bet: delivery or tech.

What to know about delivery driving and DevOps engineering in the USA

We will look at both from several angles: working conditions, the qualifications required and where each one leads.

The conditions each can expect

As a delivery driver, the work is largely physical. Be ready for hours of driving, and the weather will not always make getting around the city comfortable. The hours are flexible, but you will often work holidays and weekends. Your income depends directly on the hours you put in.

A DevOps engineer's conditions are appreciably better:

you can be in an office or work remotely;
the physical demands are minimal;
the hours are usually fixed, with overtime only in emergencies;
you may get additional benefits such as health insurance, a retirement plan, paid leave and company-funded training.

The qualifications required

Look at delivery driver vacancies and the requirements are cheeringly modest: a car, a driving licence and basic navigation skills. You start work as soon as you hear "you're hired, welcome to the team".

DevOps vacancies ask for a great deal more. You need a set of technical skills:

command of automation tooling;
an understanding of how software is built and run;
the ability to work with cloud services.

Preparing for the profession takes anywhere from a few months to a year. Fortunately, all the knowledge and skills you need can be picked up on a professional course, which cuts the way in to a matter of months.

Where each career leads

Delivery driving in the USA is a reasonable option for temporary or additional income. But there is no career ladder to speak of. Want to earn more? Take more jobs. That costs you personal time, physical effort and money spent maintaining the car.

DevOps engineering is a promising corner of tech. Since modern business depends on digital technology, demand for these specialists will keep rising. The hierarchy is clear: a junior becomes a mid-level engineer, then a senior, then a lead. Your salary in the USA will rise along the way, as will your value in the market and your qualifications.

What a delivery driver earns

Delivery pay is usually hourly. It depends on the company, the region and the kind of jobs. Rates run from $15 to $25 an hour, so working 40 hours a week you can earn $2,400–$4,000 a month. But your net income drops by what you spend on fuel, vehicle maintenance and insurance — anywhere from $300 to $800 a month.

What a DevOps engineer earns in the USA

A DevOps engineer's income is usually a fixed salary. Starting out, that is $6,000–$8,000 a month in the USA. With two years of experience you can expect at least $10,000 a month. Compare the two and the engineer, even with minimal experience, earns twice or three times what the driver does. Even allowing for the money you put into training at the outset, a course can pay for itself in your first month of work.

How to become a DevOps engineer from scratch

A DevOps engineer is, put simply, the specialist who joins up the work of developers, testers and system administrators. At PASV we teach the profession from scratch in four months. Along the way you will gain every skill you need to get hired, work on a real project you can put in your portfolio, and have the chance of an internship at an international company.

Sign up for the DevOps Engineer course to start your career in a promising corner of tech and reach a job in the USA paying from $100,000 a year.