I remember the first time I heard DevOps—it felt like this distant, magical realm where developers and operations folks collaborated seamlessly, releasing features at lightning speed. Spoiler: It’s not magic. It’s a disciplined skill set that anyone can learn. But trust me, the journey to mastering DevOps was anything but straightforward.
In this post, I want to share 7 tried-and-tested resources that transformed my approach to DevOps. Whether you’re a developer itching to understand infrastructure or a sysadmin wanting to automate better, these materials have something for you. Along the way, I’ll offer personal insights and practical takeaways you can apply right now.
1. Educative’s “DevOps for Developers
When I first dipped my toes into container orchestration, Kubernetes felt like an endless maze.
- Why this helps: The course breaks down complex concepts into layered, interactive lessons. It’s hands-on with real code snippets, making abstract ideas concrete.
- What to focus on: Pay special attention to the sections on pods, services, and deployments. This foundation saved me countless hours debugging in real projects.
- How to apply it: Try replicating simple deployments after each chapter. Hands-on repetition is key.
Pro tip: Kubernetes is vast. Don’t rush to learn everything. Aim for a strong grasp of the basics before moving to advanced topics.
2. ByteByteGo’s System Design and DevOps Video Series
When preparing for my first DevOps engineer interview, I struggled to articulate system design decisions with operational concerns in mind.
- Why this helps: ByteByteGo expertly mixes system design with operational realities—scalability, monitoring, failure recovery.
- Real-world insight: I vividly remember their explanation of trade-offs between blue-green deployment vs. canary releases—it helped me describe deployment strategies clearly during an interview.
- Immediate takeaway: Understand the “why” behind deployment patterns, not just the “how.”
Pro tip: Watch the videos with notepad in hand and pause frequently to jot down questions or ideas.
3. DesignGurus.io’s DevOps Interview Preparation Course
When I started mentoring juniors, many asked how to crack DevOps interviews.
- Why this helps: This platform’s interview prep material covers real questions—from CICD pipelines to cloud infrastructure fundamentals.
- What sets it apart: It includes scenario-based questions that challenge problem-solving beyond rote memorization.
- How I used it: I ran mock interviews with mentees using their questions, which boosted their confidence and sharpened their intuition.
Lesson: Mastering interview questions helps—but deeply understanding underlying principles is what sets you apart.
4. “The Phoenix Project” by Gene Kim — The DevOps Novel
OK, this one’s a curveball.
- Why it helped me emotionally: When overwhelmed with endless tooling and processes, this novel put a human face on DevOps challenges—teams stuck in silos, communication breakdowns, and continuous improvement struggles.
- Takeaway: DevOps is as much about culture as it is about tech.
- How to read: Absorb it like a story, then reflect on your workplace’s pain points.
Lesson: Tools don’t solve problems alone. Focus on people and processes first.
📚 Grab it here on Amazon or your favorite book retailer.
5. HashiCorp Learn — Hands-on Terraform Tutorials
Once I began automating infrastructure, Terraform quickly became my north star—immutable infrastructure was a game-changer.
- Why this helps: The tutorials go from zero to advanced topics like modules, workspaces, and state management with clear, interactive labs.
- What I learned: Managing infrastructure as code isn’t just syntax; it requires planning dependencies and team workflows.
- How to apply: Use Terraform to automate simple setups—like spinning up a VPC and EC2 instances—then gradually add complexity.
Pro tip: Pair Terraform learning with cloud provider documentation for full context.
6. Official Docker Documentation & Tutorials
Docker was another initial bump on my DevOps road.
- Why this helped: Instead of jumping to complex orchestration, the official docs break down container basics cleanly—images, containers, volumes, networking.
- What I did: Built personal projects containerized with Docker, which made Kubernetes less scary later.
- Takeaway: Get comfortable with Docker CLI and Dockerfiles before diving into the deeper ecosystem.
Lesson: Strong foundational understanding avoids mysterious deployment failures.
7. Community & Mentorship — The Underestimated Resource
Finally, the most impactful resource wasn’t a course or book—it was the community.
- Why: Conferences, Slack groups, and forums introduced me to varied experiences and troubleshooting stories.
- Example: Once, a colleague helped me debug a tricky GitLab CI/CD pipeline issue that had me stuck for days.
- How to find yours: Join DevOps-focused communities like DevOps Subreddit, HashiCorp Discuss, or the Kubernetes Slack.
Pro tip: Be active. Asking questions openly builds far more knowledge than silent reading.
Wrapping Up: The DevOps Learning Framework I Wish I Had
Looking back, my DevOps journey accelerated when I followed this simple cycle:
- Learn the foundational concept (e.g., what is a container? What problem does Terraform solve?)
- Experiment hands-on (build tiny projects to cement knowledge)
- Apply learnings in real or simulated environments (practice running pipelines or managing infrastructure)
- Reflect on failures and adaptations (debug, iterate, and journal lessons)
- Engage with community and mentorship (share, ask, teach)
You’re closer to mastering DevOps than you think. Lean into resources, build progressively, and don’t fear mistakes—they’re part of the process.
Got other favorite resources or war stories? Drop a comment below—I’d love to learn alongside you.
Happy DevOps journey! 🚀
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