DevOps is one of the highest-paid IT positions. Here’s a roadmap from zero.
What is DevOps¶
DevOps isn’t a position — it’s a culture. But “DevOps engineer” combines development and operations.
Phase 1: Fundamentals (1-3 months)¶
- Linux command line
- Git
- Networking (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP)
- Bash scripting
Phase 2: Containers (1-2 months)¶
- Docker
- Docker Compose
- Container registries
Phase 3: CI/CD (1 month)¶
- GitHub Actions or GitLab CI
- Jenkins (enterprise)
- ArgoCD (GitOps)
Phase 4: Cloud (2-3 months)¶
- AWS / Azure / GCP (choose one)
- Compute, storage, networking, IAM
- Certifications (AWS SAA, AZ-104)
Phase 5: IaC (1-2 months)¶
- Terraform
- Ansible
- Pulumi (alternative)
Phase 6: Kubernetes (2-3 months)¶
- Deployments, services, ingress
- Helm charts
- Monitoring (Prometheus + Grafana)
- CKA certification
Phase 7: Observability¶
- Monitoring (Prometheus, Datadog)
- Logging (ELK, Loki)
- Tracing (Jaeger)
- Alerting
Salaries¶
- Junior DevOps: $45-65K
- Mid-level: $70-100K
- Senior: $100-150K
- Principal/Staff: $130-180K
Tip¶
Start as a developer or sysadmin, then add DevOps skills. Certifications help get your foot in the door.
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