Beyond Automation: How Rody Transformed his Testing Career
- Nana Janashia
- Mar 24
- 7 min read
Updated: Apr 8
Rody is one of our successful graduates of our DevOps Bootcamp 🙌
For over 13 years, Rody excelled in Test Automation. But as his expertise grew, so did his realization:
Test automation alone wasn't enough without proper CI/CD integration.
This insight, coupled with his desire for new challenges as his work became increasingly routine, led him to explore the world of DevOps.
Let me introduce you to him, so he can tell you his story…
Meet Rody 👋
Hi, I am Rody. I am from the Netherlands 🇳🇱 and currently work for myself as a Test Automation Specialist for different companies. Here's my website.
My previous role was Staff QA Automation Engineer.
What was your level of DevOps experience before enrolling?
I had extensive experience with Docker and Jenkins, which was an integral part of my previous role as an Automation Engineer.
My work involved integrating automation into the full development workflow.
This included creating automation scripts, running tests, storing results, writing bash scripts for integrations between everything, and sharing them via tools like Slack or other version control systems.
Basically integrating everything together.
This approach has naturally aligned my work with some DevOps practices, giving me an understanding that DevOps might be an interesting field for me to pursue.
Was there some specific moment that made you finally decide to transition to a DevOps role?
While working for a company, I was tasked with integrating test automation into their ecosystem, only to realize they had no test environment.
With the guidance of a senior DevOps engineer, I learned the ins and outs of Kubernetes, and together, we built a test environment within a Kubernetes cluster, running in Gitlab.
That experience opened my eyes to the power of DevOps and solidified my decision to make the switch eventually.
That was the trigger to look for a DevOps course which fit my needs.
Why did you choose TechWorld with Nana's DevOps Bootcamp?
I chose this bootcamp, because I was familiar with some of the individual concepts, but I
didn’t fully understand how they work together.
I had come across many courses that cover tools like Kubernetes or Ansible separately, but not how they integrate in a real-world setting.
This bootcamp stood out to me, because it focuses on how these tools function together, which is crucial for practical DevOps work.
I saw a couple of videos from Nana on Youtube, I liked her style of teaching and checked the comments to see if there was a course, and then I came across the DevOps bootcamp.
What did you miss in the other courses exactly?
I tried a couple of courses for Terraform and AWS.
They covered the individual concepts well, but they didn’t explain how they work together in a DevOps environment.
The tools themselves aren’t that complicated — the real challenge is understanding when and how to use them together effectively.
What was your learning experience like?
The bootcamp definitely exceeded my expectations, and I really appreciate how well it’s structured.
It’s designed to teach not just one way to do something, but progressively better methods, all with practical, hands-on experience that brings the tools together seamlessly.
I’ve taken other courses on tools like Terraform or Docker, but they often lack the integration needed to reflect real-world scenarios, and getting answers to questions can take over a week.
In contrast, this bootcamp truly prepares you for real world challenges.
The hands-on projects and the support from the Discord community made a huge difference — having quick answers when I got stuck kept me moving forward.
Which specific tools did you find most challenging, and what helped you finally grasp them?
I found Kubernetes, Terraform, and certain parts of AWS to be the most challenging.
What really helped me grasp them was repeatedly working through them and applying what I learned to my own DevOps projects 🧑🏻💻
For example, I built a Flask application in Python and deployed it into a Kubernetes cluster using YAML files.
Another project I built involved setting up and configuring Jenkins agents on DigitalOcean using Terraform and Ansible.
Terraform provisioned the servers, Ansible installed Docker and deployed the agents, and the agents registered automatically with the Jenkins controller — this helped me understand how to automate infrastructure and integrate CI/CD more smart.
Applying the concepts in real projects with different tech stacks helped my understanding a lot better.
The Power of a Support System: How did we do? 🫡
In the past, I often hit roadblocks while taking courses, and the lack of support would completely disrupt my progress.
That’s why I really appreciated the Discord channel and the support team in this bootcamp.
They were incredibly knowledgable and helpful. I had a few questions that were answered almost instantly, which is incredibly powerful.
It helped me resolve issues and keep progressing without getting stuck.
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Editor Note:
That's actually very important to us.
Beyond the knowledge and skill building, we want you to have a system that guarantees you reach your goals:
🟢 Never Get Stuck: 24/7 support from experienced DevOps engineers incl weekends
🟢 You're not Alone: Fellow learners and graduates, who understand exactly what you're going through
🟢 Personal Guidance System: Like having Nana as a mentor in your inbox (career advice, motivation when you need it to keep going)
🟢 Study Guide: A detailed study. guide to keep you on track when life gets busy
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Looking back, do you think the pace of the bootcamp was right for someone juggling work & personal responsibilities
The pace was manageable, especially since I could pause and resume as needed.
Being able to revisit chapters helped reinforce my learning, allowing me to go over concepts I hadn’t fully grasped the first time.
Anything you would do differently, if you could go back and start your learning journey again?
Since I had to restart the bootcamp a couple of times due to personal circumstances, it ended up being time-consuming and made it harder to maintain momentum and the natural flow of learning.
Sticking with it consistently without interruptions would have definitely made the learning process smoother.
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Editor Note:
That's one reason, why we introduced new support systems, like the accompanying personal messages from Nana or the study guide to help our students stay on track and learn consistently
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What impact on your career did the program has?
Overall, the bootcamp has been a game changer for me.
It really helped me level up my skills and gave me the confidence to handle more complex systems and tools.
One key realization I had was that CI/CD is often seen as a separate concern, but it’s actually essential for ensuring scalable and reliable delivery.
Learning how to better integrate and optimize CI/CD practices—like using shared libraries—has helped improve delivery speed and create a stronger feedback loop for key stakeholders.
So, you're applying what you've learnt at work?
Yes, 100%.
In my current assignment, we manage multiple servers.
Initially, 2 of them were installed manually by someone, but during the course, I created an Ansible playbook to automate the installation and configuration process.
This has helped keep the servers aligned and consistent while reducing the manual effort required for setup.
By applying DevOps concepts like automation and infrastructure as code, I've made the process more efficient, scalable, and easier to maintain.
The impact on my daily tasks has been significant, as it has streamlined server management and reduced the risk of inconsistencies.
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Another achievement was building a Python application that runs within my CI/CD pipeline using Jenkins, hosted on Digital Ocean.
The application integrates multiple APIs from different services, processes the data, stores it in a database after parsing, and automates various tasks.
It also sends a notification to the end user, updating them on the status of their product.
Additionally, it features a Grafana dashboard where clients can monitor the performance of the APIs in real time.
A key takeaway for me was learning how to effectively connect different technologies and services — a skill I applied directly in this project and one I wouldn’t have developed as deeply without the course.
Rody’s Next Steps: Aiming for a DevOps Role
Enrolling in this bootcamp was an eye opener for me —it not only helped me improve my skills, but also allowed me to explore whether I would truly enjoy a DevOps role.
I discovered that I really do! 😊
Before making the transition, I plan to deepen my expertise further by taking a bit more advanced courses, such as DevSecOps, doing Kubernetes CKAD certification and white hat hacking 💪
So I’m planning to enroll into the
DevSecOps bootcamp, because I love the teaching approach and the overall learning experience.
I’m looking forward to putting it all together and making the shift into a full-time
Platform Engineer or Site Reliability Engineer role 💪
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Editor Note:
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What advice would you give other Test Engineers?
I’ve already encouraged a few QA Automation Engineers to explore DevOps, as I see a natural evolution toward a QAOps role.
The industry is shifting, and having DevOps knowledge can be a game-changer for QA professionals:
🔴 Testing is no longer an isolated process—it’s an integrated part of software delivery
🔴 The future of automation is infrastructure, cloud, and DevOps
🔴 DevOps enables you to integrate testing seamlessly into CI/CD pipelines, optimize infrastructure, and enhance automation strategies
For anyone considering a career in DevOps, my advice is to just start.
Get hands-on experience, experiment with tools like Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, and Ansible, and try automating real world processes.
Understanding infrastructure as code, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud environments will open up many opportunities.
Bridging the gap between Testing and DevOps isn’t optional anymore — it’s essential for modern software development.
And for Rody, that gap is no longer a barrier — he’s built the bridge and is already walking across it 🚀
Do YOU want to advance your DevOps and Cloud skills too?
Rody's success story is proof that with the right mindset, dedication, and learning resources, you can transform your career and achieve your goals.
Whether you’re new to DevOps or looking to deepen your expertise, the DevOps Bootcamp might just be the push you need to get to the next level 🚀
So if you too, want to level up your skills with tremendous career opportunities, that's exactly what we do best. We've already helped 1,000s of engineers on this journey with our Bootcamps! 🤗
We can help you go from absolutely zero DevOps knowledge to becoming a senior engineer, who is proficient in DevOps within just few months, with our meticulously structured, fully up-to-date DevOps Bootcamp 🚀
Before starting with the DevOps bootcamp, you can download the extensive syllabus to see how our program can help make YOUR CAREER DREAM come true.