These numbers annualize list prices only, so tax and discounts sit outside them. The Snyk pricing breakdown covers the plan tiers in more detail. The GitHub Enterprise pricing per user guide covers a larger GitHub seat.
Which one should you learn first, and how do you get hired?
Roadmap.sh says DevSecOps enhances DevOps. Most teams hire one engineer who owns the pipeline and the security checks inside it. The rule below depends on where you stand.
| If your situation is | Pick | Why |
|---|
| You cannot yet run a continuous integration and continuous delivery pipeline | DevOps first | Every DevSecOps tool sits inside a pipeline, so without one there is nothing to secure |
| Your target postings ask for both pipeline and security tooling | DevSecOps | It is one role with two skill sets, so you apply once and get both |
| Your employer is audited under SOC 2, ISO 27001 or PCI DSS | DevSecOps | The NIST SP 800-218 practices map directly onto those audits |
| Your budget for courses sits under $1,000 | Neither course yet | A SANS DevSecOps course costs $8,780 |
That is the devsecops vs devops rule in short form. Learn the pipeline, then add one automated security check at each stage of it. The best DevOps certifications guide covers what to study first on the pipeline side.
Prove it on one public project. Wire a pipeline around it. Add static code scanning to the build step, then dependency scanning and container scanning to later steps. Then add a certificate if you want the badge.
Do DevSecOps engineers earn more than DevOps engineers?
The devsecops vs devops pay comparison rests on three aggregators. Each counts pay in its own way, so read the numbers as direction, not a league table. Every figure here carries its own source and a date, checked on November 11, 2026.
| Role or occupation | Pay figure | Source and date |
|---|
| DevSecOps Engineer, title average | $137,483 a year, with a 25th to 75th band of $126,060 to $145,854 and a 90th percentile of $153,475 | Salary.com, updated November 1, 2026 |
| DevOps Engineer, average base | $133,817 | Built In, 2026 |
| Security Engineer, average base | $130,139 | Built In, 2026 |
| Information Security Analysts, BLS median | $129,180, 21% growth, 192,900 jobs to 233,400 | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 |
| Software Developers, BLS median | $135,980, 10% growth, 1,717,800 jobs | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 |
Job growth tells a different story than pay. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook puts information security analyst jobs at 192,900 in 2025. It puts them at 233,400 by 2035. That is a 21% increase, which BLS calls much faster than average.
BLS projects 10% growth for software developers over the same decade. The what a DevOps engineer does guide covers the day-to-day work.
Is a DevSecOps certification worth the money?
The main dedicated course is SANS SEC540, called Cloud Native Security and DevSecOps Automation. It costs $8,780. You can take it as five days in a classroom. You can also take 38 self-paced hours with four months of access.
The course prepares you for the GCSA exam, which stands for GIAC Cloud Security Automation. GIAC is the Global Information Assurance Certification program. The exam attempt is a separate add-on you pay for on top.
Employers care about security because breaches cost money. The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2026 puts the average breach cost at $4.99 million. That figure is up 12% on the year before. The same report says organizations using security automation and AI extensively save $1.93 million per breach.
Verizon's 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 31% of breaches start with software vulnerabilities. It covers incidents from November 1, 2024 to October 31, 2025.
Employers look for proof before they look for a badge. You need static code scanning, dependency scanning, container scanning and secret scanning on a live pipeline. The best cyber security certifications page lists the certificates that carry weight.
What should you do next?
Start with the pipeline. Learn containers, continuous integration and continuous delivery, and infrastructure as code. Infrastructure as code means writing your servers as files that a tool applies.
Then add security one stage at a time. Map each stage to a practice group in NIST SP 800-218 and put a scan behind it. Read the framework before you buy a course.
If your course budget sits under $1,000, hold off on the course. Build a pipeline and read NIST SP 800-218 first. If your company is audited under SOC 2, ISO 27001 or PCI DSS, ask which controls apply.
Either way, the pipeline comes first. The security checks sit inside it, and you can add them one at a time.
Photo: jamesmarkosborne, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/photos/code-html-digital-coding-web-1076536/)
Fazlur Rahman
