From working in Siberian oil fields to a home lab: my path to Linux and DevOps.

Alexander Kozariychuk — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:07:15 +0000

Hello everyone. My name is Alexander.

A few years ago, I worked as a fitter in Siberia, working month-long shifts—far from any city, without internet. One day before my shift, I downloaded a Linux webinar, made a bootable USB drive, installed Linux on my laptop, and went to work. This allowed me to start learning offline. Now I can confidently say that this was my first real encounter with Linux.

This experience taught me discipline and independence. But more importantly, it showed me that I want to create things not only with my hands, but also with my mind.

Today, I'm building a multi-hop VPN infrastructure (AmneziaWG, Xray, Ansible, Terraform, Prometheus) to bypass strict censorship in my region. This is my home lab, my portfolio, and proof that self-study works.

I'm looking for my first junior position—either DevOps or Linux systems administrator. I know I still have a lot to learn, but I'm ready to work hard.

🔗 My project:
https://github.com/alexanderkozariychuk-pixel/vpn-infrastructure-showcase

If you've made a similar transition from a non-traditional field to IT, I'd love to hear your story. What helped you land that first opportunity?

Thank you for your attention. 🙌

DEV Community: Alexander Kozariychuk

From working in Siberian oil fields to a home lab: my path to Linux and DevOps.