Need Career Advice – DevOps or Data Engineering?

I need some guidance on my next career move. I have 6 years of experience as a Process Automation Developer, primarily working with Ignio, coding in Groovy and PowerShell. Despite my experience, I’m highly underpaid—even freshers earn more than I do.

To improve my prospects, I upskilled myself in Data Engineering, but I’m struggling to crack interviews due to a lack of hands-on experience. I clear the first round but fail the second.

While searching for Groovy-related jobs, I noticed more opportunities in DevOps. I’m also receiving more recruiter calls for DevOps than Data Engineering.

Now, I’m at a crossroads: 1️⃣ Should I pivot to DevOps, where my current skills seem to align better? 2️⃣ Or should I focus on Data Analytics, gain experience, and then transition to Data Engineering later?

Would love to hear from those who have been in a similar situation! What’s the best way forward?