A development operations (DevOps) engineer makes sure that software can be built, tested and released safely and reliably. You’ll write code that automates testing, release and monitoring. This helps development teams release changes often and fix problems quickly when something goes wrong.

You’ll spend your time building the automated processes that move code from development through to live. You’ll also work in cloud infrastructure and investigate issues when something goes wrong. 

You might suit this role if you:

• enjoy working out why something is broken and what to do about it
• like spotting repetitive work and finding ways to automate it
• want to follow code through from being written to running live for users

Where you could start

You could start as an apprentice or junior DevOps engineer.

People move into DevOps from a range of routes, including IT operations, infrastructure roles and other technical backgrounds.

Where it can lead

With experience, you could move up to senior, lead or principal DevOps engineer.

From senior level there are separate technical and management routes. You can keep improving your engineering work or take on a leadership role.

The skills you build also overlap with software developer, infrastructure engineer and application operations engineer roles. 

A frontend developer builds the part of a website or service that people see and interact with. You’ll write the code that turns designs into working pages, including the screens, buttons, forms and content that users click, tap and read.

Frontend developers also make sure services work on any device and are accessible to everyone, including people who use screen readers or other assistive technology.

You might suit this role if you:

• care about how something feels to use, not just whether it works
• notice small details others might not see
• want to make sure what you build works for everyone

Where you could start

You can start as an apprentice or junior frontend developer. 

Apprenticeships combine paid work with study, and many people enter the role this way without a degree. 

Junior roles are also open to graduates and to people changing careers. Knowing some HTML, CSS and JavaScript helps, but many frontend developers come from web design, self-taught backgrounds or other digital roles.

Where it can lead

With experience, you can become a senior frontend developer, then lead frontend developer or head of frontend development. 

Some people specialise in areas like accessibility, web performance or design systems. Others move across into related roles such as software developer, development operations (DevOps) engineer or technical architect.

At the most senior levels, the path can lead to chief technology officer.

A software developer builds and improves the software that government services rely on. You’ll work out what a service needs to do, design how to build it, then write the code to make it work.

You’ll write tests to make sure your code does what it should. When something isn’t working as expected, you’ll investigate and fix it. You’ll also look for ways to make services faster, safer and more reliable.

You might suit this role if you:

• enjoy working out why something isn’t behaving as it should, and figuring out how to fix it
• enjoy building things that help people do their work
• spot the details others miss, like what could go wrong, or the unusual cases that need handling

Where you could start

Many developers have a degree in computer science or software engineering, or a degree apprenticeship. 

Others learn through coding bootcamps, teach themselves and build a portfolio, or move across from a related role like IT support.

Where it can lead

With experience, you could become a senior, lead or principal developer, working on larger or more complex systems. 

Some developers move into technical leadership or become software architects. Others specialise in areas like development operations (DevOps), security or data engineering.