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DevOps Engineer Roadmap

Your complete guide to becoming a DevOps Engineer. Bridge development and operations, automate everything and build the systems that power modern software delivery.

What is DevOps Engineering?

DevOps Engineers bridge the gap between software development and IT operations. You'll automate deployment pipelines, manage infrastructure as code, implement monitoring and logging, ensure system reliability and enable teams to ship code faster and more safely.

This role combines skills from multiple disciplines: system administration, cloud engineering, software development and automation. You'll work with CI/CD pipelines, containers (Docker, Kubernetes), infrastructure as code (Terraform, Ansible), cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and monitoring tools.

DevOps Engineers are among the most in-demand and highest-paid tech professionals. Every company moving to modern software practices needs DevOps expertise. This career offers excellent growth, technical depth and the satisfaction of building systems that directly impact how software reaches users.

Key Facts

Entry Level
Advanced (requires experience)
Prerequisites
Linux, networking, scripting, cloud
Learning Time
12-18 months to job-ready
Work Style
Automation, problem-solving
Demand
Extremely high, top salaries

Career Progression Path

Your journey from beginner to expert

0-1 Years

Junior DevOps Engineer

Learn CI/CD basics, assist with deployments, maintain build pipelines, write automation scripts, support infrastructure.

1-3 Years

DevOps Engineer

Build CI/CD pipelines, manage cloud infrastructure, implement IaC, containerize applications, set up monitoring independently.

3-5 Years

Senior DevOps Engineer

Design complex systems, lead infrastructure projects, implement platform solutions, mentor juniors, optimize costs and performance.

5-8 Years

Staff/Principal DevOps Engineer

Architect enterprise platforms, define DevOps strategy, lead multiple teams, make technology decisions affecting entire organization.

8+ Years

Specialization Options

Branch into Platform Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Cloud Architecture, DevOps Architect or Engineering Leadership.

Complete Learning Path

Follow this step-by-step roadmap to become job-ready

0

Prerequisites (Essential Foundation)

Duration: 3-6 months if starting fresh

Required Before Starting DevOps

What You Need:
Linux Administration: Command line proficiency, file systems, user management, services, package management, SSH, shell scripting (Bash)

Networking: TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP/HTTPS, load balancing, firewalls

Programming: Python or Go basics, understanding of version control (Git)

System Administration: Server management, troubleshooting, monitoring basics

Cloud Basics: AWS/Azure/GCP fundamentals, virtual machines, storage
Recommendation:
Complete the System Administrator or Cloud Engineer roadmap first! DevOps builds on these skills. Most companies require 2-3 years of operations experience before hiring for DevOps roles.
1

Version Control & CI/CD Fundamentals

Duration: 6-8 weeks

Advanced Git & GitHub/GitLab

What to Learn:
Git branching strategies (Git Flow, GitHub Flow), rebasing and cherry-picking, resolving merge conflicts, pull requests and code review workflows, Git hooks, GitLab CI/CD vs GitHub Actions, monorepos vs multirepos, semantic versioning and tagging
Free Resources:
  • Git documentation and Pro Git book
  • GitHub Actions documentation
  • GitLab CI/CD tutorials
Hands-On Practice:
Practice complex branching scenarios, set up Git hooks for linting, create pull request templates, implement code review workflows

CI/CD Pipeline Basics

What to Learn:
CI/CD concepts and benefits, build automation, automated testing (unit, integration, e2e), artifact management, deployment strategies (blue-green, canary, rolling), GitHub Actions workflows, GitLab CI pipelines, Jenkins basics (optional)
Free Resources:
  • GitHub Actions complete course
  • GitLab CI/CD documentation
  • CI/CD best practices guides
Hands-On Practice:
Create CI pipeline that builds and tests code, implement automated deployments, set up artifact storage, configure notifications
2

Containers & Orchestration

Duration: 8-10 weeks

Docker Mastery

What to Learn:
Dockerfile best practices (multi-stage builds, layer caching), Docker Compose for local development, container registries (Docker Hub, ECR, ACR, GCR), image optimization and security scanning, Docker networking deep dive, volume management, container security best practices
Free Resources:
  • Docker official documentation
  • Docker security best practices
  • Dockerfile optimization guide
Hands-On Practice:
Containerize full-stack applications, optimize image sizes (reduce from 1GB to 100MB), implement multi-stage builds, scan for vulnerabilities

Kubernetes Deep Dive

What to Learn:
Kubernetes architecture (control plane, worker nodes), pods, deployments, services, ingress, ConfigMaps and Secrets, StatefulSets and DaemonSets, persistent volumes, namespaces and RBAC, resource limits and requests, liveness and readiness probes, horizontal pod autoscaling
Free Resources:
  • Kubernetes official tutorials
  • Kubernetes the Hard Way
  • CKA exam prep resources
Hands-On Practice:
Deploy applications to Kubernetes, implement rolling updates, configure auto-scaling, set up ingress with SSL, practice troubleshooting scenarios

Helm & Kubernetes Package Management

What to Learn:
Helm charts and templating, values files and overrides, chart repositories, creating custom Helm charts, Helmfile for managing multiple releases, Kustomize as alternative to Helm
Free Resources:
  • Helm official documentation
  • Helm chart best practices
  • Kustomize tutorials
Hands-On Practice:
Create Helm charts for applications, use Helm to deploy to multiple environments, implement chart versioning and rollbacks
3

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Duration: 8-10 weeks

Terraform Deep Dive

What to Learn:
Terraform architecture and workflow, providers and resources, variables and outputs, modules and reusability, remote state with S3/Azure Storage, state locking, workspaces, Terraform Cloud/Enterprise, import existing infrastructure, best practices and patterns
Free Resources:
  • HashiCorp Terraform tutorials
  • Terraform best practices guide
  • Terraform AWS/Azure examples
Hands-On Practice:
Build complete cloud infrastructure with Terraform, create reusable modules, implement remote state, manage multiple environments (dev/staging/prod)

Configuration Management - Ansible

What to Learn:
Ansible playbooks and roles, inventory management (static and dynamic), variables and facts, handlers and notifications, templates (Jinja2), Ansible Vault for secrets, integrating Ansible with Terraform, Ansible Galaxy
Free Resources:
  • Ansible documentation
  • Ansible for DevOps book (sample chapters)
  • Ansible best practices
Hands-On Practice:
Use Terraform to provision infrastructure, use Ansible to configure it, create reusable roles, implement secrets management with Vault

GitOps & Infrastructure Automation

What to Learn:
GitOps principles, ArgoCD for Kubernetes deployments, Flux CD, infrastructure CI/CD pipelines, automated testing for IaC (Terratest), policy as code (OPA, Sentinel), drift detection and remediation
Free Resources:
  • GitOps with ArgoCD tutorial
  • Flux documentation
  • IaC testing strategies
Hands-On Practice:
Implement GitOps workflow with ArgoCD, automate Terraform deployments via CI/CD, write tests for infrastructure code
4

Monitoring, Logging & Observability

Duration: 6-8 weeks

Prometheus & Grafana

What to Learn:
Prometheus architecture and data model, PromQL query language, exporters and service discovery, alerting rules and Alertmanager, Grafana dashboards and visualizations, recording rules, federation and remote storage, monitoring Kubernetes with Prometheus Operator
Free Resources:
  • Prometheus official documentation
  • PromQL tutorial
  • Grafana dashboard examples
Hands-On Practice:
Deploy Prometheus in Kubernetes, create custom metrics and exporters, build comprehensive Grafana dashboards, set up intelligent alerting

Centralized Logging - ELK/EFK Stack

What to Learn:
Elasticsearch fundamentals, Logstash pipelines and filters, Fluentd/Fluent Bit for log collection, Kibana for log visualization and analysis, log aggregation patterns, structured logging, log retention and management, searching and querying logs
Free Resources:
  • ELK stack documentation
  • Fluentd tutorials
  • Log aggregation best practices
Hands-On Practice:
Deploy EFK stack in Kubernetes, collect logs from all applications, create Kibana dashboards for log analysis, implement log-based alerting

Distributed Tracing & APM

What to Learn:
Distributed tracing concepts, OpenTelemetry standard, Jaeger for tracing, service mesh observability (Istio, Linkerd), application performance monitoring, SLIs, SLOs and SLAs, error budgets, on-call and incident management
Free Resources:
  • OpenTelemetry documentation
  • Jaeger tutorials
  • SRE workbook (Google)
Hands-On Practice:
Implement distributed tracing with Jaeger, instrument applications with OpenTelemetry, define SLOs for services, create observability strategy
5

Security & Best Practices

Duration: 6-8 weeks

DevSecOps Fundamentals

What to Learn:
Security in CI/CD pipelines, SAST and DAST tools, container security scanning (Trivy, Clair), secrets management (Vault, AWS Secrets Manager), infrastructure security scanning, vulnerability management, compliance as code, security policies and governance
Free Resources:
  • OWASP DevSecOps guidelines
  • Container security best practices
  • HashiCorp Vault tutorials
Hands-On Practice:
Implement security scanning in CI/CD, use Vault for secrets management, scan IaC for security issues, implement least privilege access

Cloud Security & Compliance

What to Learn:
IAM best practices, network security (security groups, NACLs, firewalls), encryption (at rest and in transit), compliance frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA basics), AWS Security Hub/Azure Security Center, CloudTrail/Activity Logs, cost optimization and governance
Free Resources:
  • AWS/Azure security best practices
  • Cloud security fundamentals
  • Compliance frameworks overview
Hands-On Practice:
Implement cloud security controls, enable security logging and monitoring, create security baselines with IaC, conduct security audits

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

What to Learn:
Backup strategies and automation, disaster recovery planning (RTO/RPO), multi-region architectures, chaos engineering (Chaos Monkey), incident response and post-mortems, runbooks and documentation
Free Resources:
  • Disaster recovery best practices
  • Chaos engineering principles
  • Incident response guides
Hands-On Practice:
Create DR plan and test it, implement automated backups, conduct chaos experiments, write incident runbooks
6

Portfolio & Job Preparation

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Build Your DevOps Portfolio

What to Create:
Complete end-to-end DevOps projects on GitHub, comprehensive documentation with architecture diagrams, IaC code for all infrastructure, working CI/CD pipelines, monitoring and logging implementation, blog posts explaining your projects and decisions
Portfolio Projects:
  • Complete CI/CD pipeline for microservices
  • Kubernetes platform with GitOps
  • Full observability stack implementation
  • Multi-cloud infrastructure with Terraform
  • Automated security scanning pipeline

Certifications (Highly Valuable)

Recommended Path:
Cloud: AWS Solutions Architect Associate or Azure Administrator
Kubernetes: CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator)
Optional: Terraform Associate, AWS DevOps Professional, CKS (Security)

DevOps roles highly value certifications - they validate your practical knowledge.

Interview Preparation

What to Prepare:
CI/CD pipeline design discussions, Kubernetes troubleshooting scenarios, IaC best practices, monitoring and alerting strategies, incident response examples, system design questions, real projects you've built and lessons learned
Common Questions:
  • "Design a CI/CD pipeline for a microservices application"
  • "How would you troubleshoot a pod that's crashing?"
  • "Explain blue-green vs canary deployments"
  • "How do you ensure zero-downtime deployments?"
  • "Describe your monitoring and alerting strategy"

Essential Tech Stack

Master these technologies to become job-ready

Version Control & CI/CD

  • Git (advanced)
  • GitHub Actions
  • GitLab CI/CD
  • Jenkins (optional)

Containers & Orchestration

  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Helm
  • ArgoCD / Flux CD

Infrastructure as Code

  • Terraform
  • Ansible
  • CloudFormation / ARM (optional)
  • Terratest

Cloud Platforms

  • AWS (EC2, S3, EKS, RDS, Lambda)
  • Azure or GCP (one additional)
  • Cloud networking
  • IAM and security

Monitoring & Logging

  • Prometheus & Grafana
  • ELK / EFK Stack
  • Jaeger / OpenTelemetry
  • CloudWatch / Azure Monitor

Programming & Scripting

  • Python (advanced)
  • Go (recommended)
  • Bash scripting
  • YAML/JSON

Portfolio Projects to Build

Build these projects to showcase your skills to employers

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Complete CI/CD Pipeline for Microservices

Build full CI/CD pipeline for microservices application with automated testing, security scanning, Docker image builds, deployment to Kubernetes with different strategies (canary, blue-green). Include rollback mechanisms.

CI/CD Docker Kubernetes Security
☸️

Production-Grade Kubernetes Platform

Deploy complete Kubernetes platform on EKS/AKS with GitOps (ArgoCD), service mesh (Istio), monitoring stack (Prometheus/Grafana), logging (EFK), ingress controller with SSL and comprehensive documentation.

Kubernetes GitOps Observability Service Mesh
🏗️

Multi-Cloud Infrastructure with Terraform

Design infrastructure across AWS and Azure using Terraform with reusable modules, remote state, automated testing, CI/CD for infrastructure changes and complete networking setup with VPNs.

Terraform Multi-Cloud IaC Testing Networking
📊

Full Observability Stack Implementation

Build complete observability solution with Prometheus for metrics, EFK for logs, Jaeger for distributed tracing. Create comprehensive Grafana dashboards, intelligent alerting and SLO tracking.

Prometheus EFK Stack Tracing SLOs
🔒

Automated Security Scanning Pipeline

Implement DevSecOps pipeline with SAST/DAST tools, container security scanning (Trivy), IaC security checks, secrets scanning, vulnerability management and automated security reports.

DevSecOps Security Scanning Compliance Automation
🌍

Disaster Recovery & High Availability Setup

Design and implement multi-region DR solution with automated failover, backup automation, database replication, chaos engineering tests and detailed DR documentation with RTO/RPO metrics.

High Availability Disaster Recovery Chaos Engineering Multi-Region

Free Learning Resources

Best free resources to master DevOps engineering

🎓 Complete Courses

  • DevOps Roadmap (roadmap.sh)
  • freeCodeCamp DevOps course
  • TechWorld with Nana (YouTube)
  • Kubernetes documentation
  • AWS/Azure free tier hands-on

📺 YouTube Channels

  • TechWorld with Nana
  • That DevOps Guy
  • DevOps Toolkit
  • Cloud Native Skunkworks
  • NetworkChuck

📖 Documentation

  • Kubernetes official docs
  • Terraform documentation
  • Docker documentation
  • Prometheus docs
  • AWS/Azure documentation

💻 Hands-On Practice

  • Kubernetes the Hard Way
  • AWS/Azure free tier labs
  • KillerCoda scenarios
  • GitHub Actions examples
  • Terraform tutorials

💬 Communities

  • Reddit r/devops
  • CNCF Slack
  • DevOps Discord servers
  • Kubernetes community
  • Cloud provider forums

📚 Books & Guides

  • The Phoenix Project
  • Site Reliability Engineering (Google)
  • Kubernetes Up & Running
  • Terraform: Up & Running
  • DevOps Handbook

Ready to Start Your DevOps Journey?

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