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DevOps Engineer Roadmap
Complete 10-phase roadmap from Linux basics to cloud-native engineering. Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, CI/CD, Terraform, monitoring, and security.
8–12 months
10 phases
FoundationIntermediateAdvancedExpert
Phase 1
Linux & Networking Foundations
The bedrock of all DevOps work
Foundation4–6 weeks
What to learn
- File system navigation, permissions, users
- Process management (ps, top, kill, systemd)
- Networking basics (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, SSH)
- Shell scripting (bash, variables, loops, functions)
- Package managers (apt, yum, brew)
- Text processing (grep, awk, sed, jq)
Key tools
bashvim/nanosshcurl/wgettmux
Phase 2
Git & Version Control
Collaborate on code like a pro
Foundation1–2 weeks
What to learn
- Commits, branches, merging, rebasing
- Pull requests and code review workflow
- Git hooks and conventional commits
- Monorepo vs multi-repo strategies
- Resolving merge conflicts
Key tools
gitGitHub / GitLabpre-commit
Phase 3
Containers with Docker
Package and run anything, anywhere
Intermediate3–4 weeks
What to learn
- Containers vs VMs — how Docker works
- Writing efficient multi-stage Dockerfiles
- Image layers, caching, and optimization
- Docker Compose for local dev environments
- Container networking and volumes
- Container security best practices
Key tools
dockerdocker composedocker hubdistroless/alpine images
Phase 4
Kubernetes
Orchestrate containers at scale
Intermediate6–8 weeks
What to learn
- Control plane and worker node architecture
- Pods, Deployments, StatefulSets, DaemonSets
- Services, Ingress, NetworkPolicies
- ConfigMaps, Secrets, and resource limits
- RBAC, ServiceAccounts, PodSecurityAdmission
- HPA, VPA, Cluster Autoscaler
- Persistent Volumes and StorageClasses
Key tools
kubectlkind / minikubek9sLensHelm
Phase 5
CI/CD Pipelines
Automate build, test, and deploy
Intermediate3–5 weeks
What to learn
- Pipeline design — stages, jobs, artifacts
- GitHub Actions workflows and reusable workflows
- Jenkins pipelines as code (Jenkinsfile)
- Caching, parallelism, and matrix builds
- Secret management in pipelines
- GitOps with ArgoCD / Flux
- Progressive delivery: canary, blue-green
Key tools
GitHub ActionsArgoCDJenkinsTektonFlux
Phase 6
Cloud — AWS
Deploy and scale on the world's largest cloud
Intermediate6–8 weeks
What to learn
- IAM, STS, roles, policies, least-privilege
- VPC, subnets, security groups, NACLs
- EC2, Auto Scaling Groups, ALB/NLB
- S3, lifecycle policies, versioning
- EKS — cluster setup, IRSA, node groups
- Lambda, API Gateway, serverless patterns
- RDS, ElastiCache, DynamoDB basics
Key tools
AWS CLIEKSECRCloudWatchCloudFormation
Phase 7
Infrastructure as Code
Automate your entire infrastructure
Advanced4–6 weeks
What to learn
- Terraform — providers, modules, state, workspaces
- Terraform Cloud / S3 remote state + locking
- Helm charts for Kubernetes deployments
- Kustomize — overlays and patches
- Ansible for configuration management
- Policy as code — OPA, Sentinel
Key tools
TerraformHelmKustomizeAnsiblePulumi
Phase 8
Monitoring & Observability
Know what's happening in production
Advanced3–4 weeks
What to learn
- The 3 pillars: metrics, logs, traces
- Prometheus + Grafana for metrics
- Alertmanager and on-call runbooks
- ELK / Loki stack for log aggregation
- Distributed tracing with Jaeger / Tempo
- SLOs, SLAs, error budgets — SRE concepts
Key tools
PrometheusGrafanaLokiJaegerDatadogNew Relic
Phase 9
Security & DevSecOps
Shift security left — bake it in from day one
Advanced3–4 weeks
What to learn
- SAST / DAST — scan code and running apps
- Container image scanning (Trivy, Snyk)
- Secret scanning — prevent credential leaks
- Kubernetes security hardening (OPA/Gatekeeper)
- Network policies and service mesh (Istio, Cilium)
- Compliance as code — CIS benchmarks
Key tools
TrivySnykOPA / GatekeeperFalcoVaultcert-manager
Phase 10
AI/MLOps & Platform Engineering
The cutting edge of modern DevOps
ExpertOngoing
What to learn
- ML pipeline orchestration (Kubeflow, Airflow)
- Model serving and inference (Triton, KServe)
- GPU workloads on Kubernetes
- Internal Developer Platforms (Backstage)
- Platform engineering and golden paths
- Cost engineering and FinOps
Key tools
KubeflowMLflowBackstageCrossplaneKEDA
Interview Prep
DevOps Interview Prep Bundle — 1000+ Q&A
Every topic on this roadmap has interview questions in the bundle — Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, CI/CD, Linux, SRE, FinOps, System Design. Grab it before your next interview.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the DevOps Engineer roadmap
1How long does it take to become a DevOps engineer?
With consistent learning, most people can become job-ready in 8–12 months. The roadmap covers Linux, Git, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, Terraform, cloud (AWS), monitoring, and security — in a structured order so each phase builds on the last.
2Do I need a CS degree to start DevOps?
No. Most DevOps engineers come from sysadmin, developer, or IT backgrounds. What matters is hands-on experience with Linux, scripting, containers, and cloud services. This roadmap starts from zero.
3What is the best order to learn DevOps tools?
Start with Linux and Git fundamentals, then move to Docker containers, followed by CI/CD pipelines, Kubernetes orchestration, Infrastructure as Code (Terraform), cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure), and finally monitoring and security.
4What salary can a DevOps engineer expect in 2026?
In the US, junior DevOps engineers earn $90K–$120K, mid-level $130K–$170K, and senior/staff roles $180K–$250K+. In India, the range is ₹8L–₹40L+ depending on experience and company.
5Is DevOps still in demand in 2026?
Yes. DevOps roles are among the most in-demand in tech. With the rise of platform engineering, SRE, and cloud-native development, DevOps skills are essential for modern software teams.