Complete DevOps Roadmap: From Beginner to Advanced

For developers, sysadmins, and tech-curious minds. No fluff, just battle-tested steps.

Phase 1: Build Your Foundation

1.Linux CLI & Scripting
-Learn: grep, awk, sed, permissions, process management.
-Project: Automate server cleanup with a Bash script.
-dev.to Picks: Linux Command Line 101

2.Git Like a Pro
-Learn: Rebasing, resolving conflicts, .gitignore, Git hooks.
-Project: Contribute to an open-source repo on GitHub.
-Tip: Use git reflog when disaster strikes.

3.Networking Basics
-Learn: Subnets, firewalls, DNS, HTTP status codes, curl.
-dev.to Picks: Networking for Developers

Phase 2: Automate Everything

4.CI/CD Pipelines
-Learn: YAML syntax, test automation, pipeline stages.
-Tools: GitHub Actions (free!), GitLab CI, BuildPiper.
-Project: Build/test a Python app on every git push.

5.Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
-Learn: Declarative vs. imperative, state management.
-Tools:
- Terraform (cloud-agnostic) → Start with AWS/Azure/GCP free tier.
- Pulumi (if you hate YAML & love Python/TS).

• Project: Provision an AWS S3 bucket + EC2 via code.

6.Configuration Management
-Learn: Idempotency, inventory management.
-Tools: Ansible (agentless, SSH-based) → Easy for beginners.
-Project: Automate Nginx setup on 2 VMs.

Phase 3: Containers & Orchestration

Docker Deep Dive

• Learn: Images vs. containers, layers, Dockerfiles, volumes.
• Project: Containerize a Node.js app + Redis.
• Gotcha: Don’t run as root!

Kubernetes (K8s)

• Learn: Pods, Deployments, Services, Ingress, Helm.
• Tools: -Minikube (local) → kubectl → Helm (package manager).
• Project: Deploy a 3-tier app (frontend/backend/db) on K8s.

Phase 4: Cloud & Observability

• Cloud Provider (Pick 1!)
  -AWS: EC2, S3, IAM, Lambda, EKS.
  -Azure: VMs, Blob Storage, AKS, Functions.
  -Project: Serverless API (AWS Lambda + API Gateway).

• Monitoring & Logging
  -Learn: Metrics, alerts, distributed tracing.
  -Tools:
  -FREE Stack: Prometheus (metrics) + Grafana (dashboards) + Loki (logs).
  -Cloud-Native: AWS CloudWatch, Azure Monitor.

• Project: Monitor CPU/RAM of your K8s cluster → Trigger email alert.

Phase 5: Level Up

Security (DevSecOps)

• Learn: SAST/DAST, secret scanning, OWASP Top 10.
• Tools: Trivy (container scans), Vault (secrets), GitGuardian.
• Project: Scan a Docker image for CVEs.

Advanced Patterns

• GitOps (Argo CD/Flux)
• Service Mesh (Istio/Linkerd)
• Chaos Engineering (Chaos Mesh)
• Serverless (AWS Lambda)

Learning Strategy for dev.to Peers

• Build Publicly: Document your journey in dev.to posts!
• Projects > Certs: A GitHub repo > a certificate.
• Join Communities:
  • #devops on dev.to
  • Kubernetes Slack, DevOps subreddit.

Avoid These Traps

• Tool Hypetrain: Master fundamentals before jumping on Terraform + K8s + Argo.
• "It Works On My Machine": Always ship via CI/CD.
• Ignoring Logs: Logs are your superpower.

Sample 6-Month Plan
Month Focus
1 Linux, Git, Networking
2 Python + GitHub Actions
3 Docker + AWS Basics
4 Terraform + Ansible
5 Kubernetes + Monitoring
6 Security + Real Project

For More Info Visit Here: what is devops and how it works.