Salary of DevOps Engineer in India for Freshers: A Complete Guide

Related Courses

The Indian IT sector is also going through a rapid digital makeover, and the most sought-after job at present is a DevOps Engineer. Organizations from all types of businesses—be it startup companies, mid-level businesses, or technology giants—are embracing DevOps culture to increase software delivery speed, automate, and make systems more reliable. With this growth, DevOps engineering has emerged as a very lucrative profession for those entering the software industry, particularly freshers.

One of the most asked questions among students and job aspirants is: What does a DevOps engineer earn in India for freshers? Knowing the salary trends, career prospect, skills needed, and growth possibilities can assist upcoming professionals in making the right career choice.

Here are the points we will discuss in this blog:

  1. What is the work of a DevOps Engineer?
  2. Why DevOps is needed in India
  3. Average salary of DevOps Engineer in India for freshers
  4. Factors that affect DevOps salaries in India
  5. Comparing salaries between cities and companies
  6. Career progression for a DevOps fresher
  7. Skills affecting the salary of a fresher
  8. How to become an Indian DevOps Engineer
  9. What Does a DevOps Engineer Do?

A DevOps Engineer facilitates the middle ground between software development and IT operations. Their aim is to integrate development and operations groups so that they could collaborate to develop, test, and release applications faster and more effectively.

Primary tasks of a DevOps Engineer are:

  • Automation of software development and deployment pipelines.
  • Cloud infrastructure and containerization tool management.
  • Enforcing continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD).
  • System performance and reliability monitoring.
  • Facilitating collaboration among development and operations teams.

Freshers in the field typically get training in the fundamentals of automation, cloud technologies, coding, and system administration before they can assume responsibilities in live projects.

Why DevOps is in High Demand in India

India has turned into an IT global hub, with thousands of organizations outsourcing their operations and software development. This results in a huge need for experts to streamline delivery pipelines, cut downtime, and automate operations.

Drivers of DevOps demand in India:

  • Adoption of cloud by enterprises from various industries.
  • Digital and agile transformation programs.
  • Increased needs for faster product delivery in competitive environments.
  • More emphasis on automation and AI-based operations.
  • High demand for scalable solutions across banking, e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, and IT services.

Following this, businesses are making investments in new talent and giving competitive DevOps salaries in India, even for fresh engineers.

Average Salary of DevOps Engineer in India for Freshers

For freshers, salary expectations are dependent on skills, location, and company size. Yet, the average salary of a DevOps Engineer in India for freshers is between ₹4 LPA to ₹8 LPA.

  • Entry-level Salary of DevOps Engineer: ₹4,00,000 – ₹5,50,000 annually.
  • Freshers with specialized skills (Cloud, Kubernetes, Docker, Python): ₹6,00,000 – ₹8,00,000 annually.
  • Internship to Full-time conversion: Most companies begin freshers on stipends (₹15,000 – ₹30,000/month) before full-time salaries are given.

This is much better than some of the conventional IT job roles such as support engineers or testing, making DevOps one of the top-paying initial career choices.

Factors Affecting DevOps Engineer Salary in India

The pay of a fresher DevOps engineer also depends on various factors:

  • Educational Background – The graduates from Computer Science, IT, or Electronics streams typically receive better packages as they have their technical base.
  • Skill Set – Understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), coding languages, automation tools, and CI/CD pipelines enhances salary prospects
  • Location – Metropolitan cities such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, and Gurgaon provide better packages than Tier 2 cities.
  • Company Type – MNCs, product-based organizations, and unicorn startups tend to pay more than small-scale industries.
  • Certifications – Professional certifications in AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, or Docker gives credibility and improves fresher salaries.

DevOps Engineer Salary in India for Freshers by Location

Salary levels differ across Indian cities based on demand and the cost of living.

  1. Bangalore: ₹5.5 – ₹8 LPA (highest demand because it is an IT hub).
  2. Hyderabad: ₹5 – ₹7.5 LPA.
  3. Pune: ₹4.5 – ₹7 LPA.
  4. Chennai: ₹4.5 – ₹6.5 LPA.
  5. Gurgaon & Noida: ₹5 – ₹7 LPA.
  6. Tier 2 Cities: ₹3.5 – ₹5 LPA.

Freshers in Hyderabad and Bangalore tend to receive 20–30% more than other cities because of the availability of international IT companies and startups.

Salary of DevOps Engineer in India for Freshers and Experienced

DevOps has one of the strongest growth trends in IT. While freshers receive an average of ₹4–8 LPA, experienced engineers receive much more.

  • 1–3 years experience: ₹6 – ₹12 LPA.
  • 3–5 years experience: ₹10 – ₹18 LPA.
  • 5–8 years experience: ₹15 – ₹25 LPA.
  • 10+ years (Architect/Manager level): ₹25 – ₹45 LPA+.

This indicates how career growth in DevOps is highly rewarding, making it a wise option for freshers.

Skills That Affect a DevOps Engineer's Salary for Freshers

Freshers with the correct skills receive higher salaries compared to those with basic knowledge only.

Essential DevOps skills for a better fresher salary:

  • Cloud Computing: AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
  • Containerization: Docker, Kubernetes.
  • Programming/Scripting: Python, Shell, Go, or Ruby.
  • Version Control: Git and GitHub/GitLab.
  • CI/CD Tools: Jenkins, GitLab CI, CircleCI.
  • Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Terraform, Ansible.
  • Monitoring Tools: Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk.

Freshers who gain DevOps certifications and hands-on projects during training are most likely to get remuneration at the upper end of the scale.

How Freshers Can Maximize Their Salary in DevOps

To get the best possible earnings, freshers can do the following:

  • Gain hands-on project experience during training or internships
  • Create a robust portfolio on GitHub with DevOps projects.
  • Get globally accepted certifications in cloud and DevOps.
  • Keep oneself updated with new tools and trends.
  • Join product-based companies and startups offering better pay.

Career Growth of Freshers in DevOps

DevOps is not merely a career role; it is a career path with huge growth prospects. Freshers can progress to mid-level positions in a matter of two or three years.

Career ladder in DevOps

  • DevOps Intern / Associate Engineer – ₹3–4.5 LPA.
  • Junior DevOps Engineer – ₹4.5–6 LPA.
  • DevOps Engineer – ₹6–10 LPA.
  • Senior DevOps Engineer – ₹10–18 LPA.
  • DevOps Architect / Cloud Engineer – ₹20–35 LPA.
  • DevOps Manager / Consultant – ₹25–45 LPA.

With increasing cloud usage, DevOps engineers also switch to positions such as Site Reliability Engineer (SRE), Cloud Solutions Architect, and Platform Engineer, which have even higher salary packages.

Future Scope of DevOps in India

The prospects of DevOps in India are very bright, with wider adoption in various industries. Industry reports indicate that the Indian DevOps market will grow at a CAGR of 20–25% over the next few years.

  • Greater numbers of companies are moving to cloud-native apps.
  • Automation and AI are becoming more a part of DevOps.
  • Cybersecurity integration in DevOps is increasing.

Both startups and large enterprises are onboarding new talent in order to create DevOps teams.

This will give freshers joining DevOps today long-term career security and financial development.

Conclusion

So is DevOps a good career option for freshers in India? Yes absolutely. Freshers' salary of DevOps engineer in India is already quite high relative to many other IT jobs, starting from ₹4–8 LPA, where the chances are to double or triple within a couple of years.

Freshers who spend time studying DevOps skills, cloud platforms, automation tools, and certifications are able to get better packages and speed up their career development.

All in all, DevOps is among the best career options in India for freshers in 2025 and later, providing not only competitive pay but also a fascinating career opportunity in the years to come.