{"id":5447,"date":"2024-02-28T12:14:05","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T06:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/?p=5447"},"modified":"2026-11-04T12:55:17","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T07:25:17","slug":"devops-roadmap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/devops-roadmap\/","title":{"rendered":"DevOps Roadmap 2026: A Stage-Wise Plan to Become a DevOps Engineer in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>TL;DR:<\/strong> A DevOps roadmap takes you through 7 stages: <br>(1) Linux &amp; networking <br>|(2) Bash &amp; Python scripting<br>(3) Git<br>(4) Docker, <br>(5) CI\/CD<br>(6) cloud &amp; Terraform<br>(7) Kubernetes &amp; monitoring, followed by projects and interview prep. <br><br>A complete beginner needs about 9\u201312 months at 10\u201312 hours a week. A developer or sysadmin needs about 4\u20136 months. This guide gives you the month-by-month plan, the tools for each stage, a project per stage, India salaries and interview prep.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Companies are moving toward cloud-native systems, faster release cycles, AI-assisted operations, and platform engineering&nbsp; and they need engineers who can automate infrastructure, reduce deployment failures, and help teams ship faster without compromising security.<\/p>\n\n\n<meta charset=\"UTF-8\">\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0\">\n<title>Scaler Carousel<\/title>\n\n<!-- Plus Jakarta Sans Font -->\n<link href=\"https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css2?family=Plus+Jakarta+Sans:wght@400;500;600;700&amp;display=swap\" rel=\"stylesheet\">\n<!-- Swiper CSS -->\n<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/swiper@11\/swiper-bundle.min.css\">\n\n<style>\n.scaler-carousel {\n  font-family: 'Plus Jakarta Sans', sans-serif;\n  max-width: 900px;\n  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cards, ignoring the pagination space below *\/\n  transform: translateY(-50%);\n  margin-top: 0;\n}\n.scaler-swiper .swiper-button-prev { left: 10px; }\n.scaler-swiper .swiper-button-next { right: 10px; }\n\/* hide Swiper's default font-icon arrow and draw the topics chevron via a mask *\/\n.scaler-swiper .swiper-button-next::after,\n.scaler-swiper .swiper-button-prev::after {\n  content: \"\";\n  width: 20px;\n  height: 20px;\n  background-color: #61738e;\n  -webkit-mask: url(\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 32 32'%3E%3Cpath d='M5.313 16l10.688-10.688 10.688 10.688-1.938 1.875-7.438-7.438v16.25h-2.625v-16.25l-7.5 7.438z'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\") no-repeat center \/ contain;\n  mask: url(\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 32 32'%3E%3Cpath d='M5.313 16l10.688-10.688 10.688 10.688-1.938 1.875-7.438-7.438v16.25h-2.625v-16.25l-7.5 7.438z'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\") no-repeat center \/ 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padding: 12px 16px;\n  border: none;\n  border-radius: 10px;\n  background-color: #255aad;\n  color: #ffffff;\n  font-family: 'Plus Jakarta Sans', sans-serif;\n  font-size: 14px;\n  font-weight: 600;\n  cursor: pointer;\n  text-decoration: none;\n  transition: opacity 0.15s ease;\n}\n.scaler-card-btns button:hover,\n.scaler-card-btns button:focus {\n  opacity: 0.88;\n  color: #ffffff;\n}\n.scaler-card-btns button svg {\n  flex-shrink: 0;\n}\n\n@media (max-width: 1000px) {\n  .scaler-carousel { max-width: 96vw; }\n}\n<\/style>\n\n\n<div class=\"scaler-carousel\">\n  <div class=\"scaler-header\">\n    <h2 class=\"scaler-header-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"transform-your-career\"><\/span>Transform Your Career<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p class=\"scaler-header-subtitle\">Choose from our industry-leading programs designed for career success<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"swiper scaler-swiper\">\n    <div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n\n      <!-- CARD 1 -->\n      <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n        <div class=\"scaler-card\">\n          <div class=\"scaler-badge\">NSDC Certified<\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-top\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-icon-wrap\">\n              <svg width=\"26\" height=\"26\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><polyline points=\"16 18 22 12 16 6\"><\/polyline><polyline points=\"8 6 2 12 8 18\"><\/polyline><\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-card-top-content\">\n              <h3 class=\"scaler-title\">Modern Software and AI Engineering Program<\/h3>\n              <p class=\"scaler-desc\">Master full-stack development with AI integration<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-stats\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">12 Months<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Duration<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">AI-Led<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Curriculum<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">Career Support<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Support<\/span><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-logos\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/2\/2f\/Google_2015_logo.svg\" alt=\"Google\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/a\/a9\/Amazon_logo.svg\" alt=\"Amazon\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/4\/42\/Paytm_logo.png\" alt=\"Paytm\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <span class=\"scaler-logo-more\">+1000 more<\/span>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-btns\">\n            <button onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/academy\/', '_blank')\">\n              Go to Program\n              <svg width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M3 8H13M13 8L9 4M13 8L9 12\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><\/path><\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n <!-- CARD 2 -->\n      <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n        <div class=\"scaler-card\">\n          <div class=\"scaler-badge\">NSDC Certified<\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-top\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-icon-wrap\">\n              <svg width=\"26\" height=\"26\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><polyline points=\"16 18 22 12 16 6\"><\/polyline><polyline points=\"8 6 2 12 8 18\"><\/polyline><\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-card-top-content\">\n              <h3 class=\"scaler-title\">AI Forward Deployed Engineer with Specialisation in AI applications<\/h3>\n              <p class=\"scaler-desc\">Build and deploy AI solutions for real-world business problems<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-stats\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">12 Months<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Duration<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">AI-Led<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Curriculum<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">Career Support<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Support<\/span><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-logos\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/2\/2f\/Google_2015_logo.svg\" alt=\"Google\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/a\/a9\/Amazon_logo.svg\" alt=\"Amazon\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/4\/42\/Paytm_logo.png\" alt=\"Paytm\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <span class=\"scaler-logo-more\">+1000 more<\/span>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-btns\">\n            <button onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/ai-forward-deployed-engineer-course\/', '_blank')\">\n              Go to Program\n              <svg width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M3 8H13M13 8L9 4M13 8L9 12\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><\/path><\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <!-- CARD 3 -->\n      <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n        <div class=\"scaler-card\">\n          <div class=\"scaler-badge\">NSDC Certified<\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-top\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-icon-wrap\">\n              <svg width=\"26\" height=\"26\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><ellipse cx=\"12\" cy=\"5\" rx=\"9\" ry=\"3\"><\/ellipse><path d=\"M3 5v14c0 1.66 4.03 3 9 3s9-1.34 9-3V5\"><\/path><path d=\"M3 12c0 1.66 4.03 3 9 3s9-1.34 9-3\"><\/path><\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-card-top-content\">\n              <h3 class=\"scaler-title\">Modern Data Science and ML with specialisation in AI<\/h3>\n              <p class=\"scaler-desc\">Advanced data science techniques with AI specialization<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-stats\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">12 Months<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Duration<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">AI-Led<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Curriculum<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">Career Support<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Support<\/span><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-logos\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/2\/2f\/Google_2015_logo.svg\" alt=\"Google\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/a\/a9\/Amazon_logo.svg\" alt=\"Amazon\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/4\/42\/Paytm_logo.png\" alt=\"Paytm\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <span class=\"scaler-logo-more\">+1000 more<\/span>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-btns\">\n            <button onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/data-science-course\/', '_blank')\">\n              Go to Program\n              <svg width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M3 8H13M13 8L9 4M13 8L9 12\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><\/path><\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <!-- CARD 4 -->\n      <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n        <div class=\"scaler-card\">\n          <div class=\"scaler-badge\">NSDC Certified<\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-top\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-icon-wrap\">\n              <svg width=\"26\" height=\"26\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><path d=\"M12 2L13.5 8.5L20 10L13.5 11.5L12 18L10.5 11.5L4 10L10.5 8.5L12 2Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-card-top-content\">\n              <h3 class=\"scaler-title\">Advanced AIML with Specialisation in Agentic AI<\/h3>\n              <p class=\"scaler-desc\">Deep dive into AIML with focus on Agentic systems<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-stats\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">12 Months<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Duration<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">AI-Led<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Curriculum<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">Career Support<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Support<\/span><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-logos\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/2\/2f\/Google_2015_logo.svg\" alt=\"Google\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/a\/a9\/Amazon_logo.svg\" alt=\"Amazon\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/4\/42\/Paytm_logo.png\" alt=\"Paytm\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <span class=\"scaler-logo-more\">+1000 more<\/span>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-btns\">\n            <button onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/ai-machine-learning-course\/', '_blank')\">\n              Go to Program\n              <svg width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M3 8H13M13 8L9 4M13 8L9 12\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><\/path><\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <!-- CARD 5 -->\n      <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n        <div class=\"scaler-card\">\n          <div class=\"scaler-badge\">NSDC Certified<\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-top\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-icon-wrap\">\n              <svg width=\"26\" height=\"26\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\">\n                <path d=\"M17.5 19H9a7 7 0 1 1 6.71-9h1.79a4.5 4.5 0 1 1 0 9Z\"><\/path>\n                <path d=\"M9.2 15.2a3 3 0 1 0 4.24-4.24\"><\/path>\n              <\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-card-top-content\">\n              <h3 class=\"scaler-title\">DevOps, Cloud &amp; AI Platform Engineering<\/h3>\n              <p class=\"scaler-desc\">Build and manage AI-powered cloud infrastructure<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-stats\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">12 Months<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Duration<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">AI-Led<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Curriculum<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">Career Support<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Support<\/span><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-logos\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/2\/2f\/Google_2015_logo.svg\" alt=\"Google\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/a\/a9\/Amazon_logo.svg\" alt=\"Amazon\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-company-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/4\/42\/Paytm_logo.png\" alt=\"Paytm\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <span class=\"scaler-logo-more\">+1000 more<\/span>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-btns\">\n            <button onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/devops-course\/', '_blank')\">\n              Go to Program\n              <svg width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M3 8H13M13 8L9 4M13 8L9 12\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><\/path><\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <!-- CARD 6 -->\n      <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n        <div class=\"scaler-card\">\n          <div class=\"scaler-badge\">NSDC Certified<\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-top\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-icon-wrap\">\n              <svg width=\"26\" height=\"26\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\">\n                <line x1=\"3\" y1=\"22\" x2=\"21\" y2=\"22\"><\/line>\n                <line x1=\"6\" y1=\"18\" x2=\"6\" y2=\"11\"><\/line>\n                <line x1=\"10\" y1=\"18\" x2=\"10\" y2=\"11\"><\/line>\n                <line x1=\"14\" y1=\"18\" x2=\"14\" y2=\"11\"><\/line>\n                <line x1=\"18\" y1=\"18\" x2=\"18\" y2=\"11\"><\/line>\n                <polygon points=\"12 2 20 7 4 7\"><\/polygon>\n              <\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-card-top-content\">\n              <h3 class=\"scaler-title\">AI Engineering Advanced Certification by IIT-Roorkee<\/h3>\n              <p class=\"scaler-desc\">Premier AI engineering certification from IIT-Roorkee<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-stats\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">3 Months<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Duration<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">AI-Led<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Curriculum<\/span><\/div>\n            <div class=\"scaler-stat\"><span class=\"scaler-stat-value\">Career Support<\/span><span class=\"scaler-stat-label\">Support<\/span><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-logos\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-logo-strip\" src=\"https:\/\/scaler-blog-prod-wp-content.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08135139\/iitr-icons-strip.png\" alt=\"Program highlights\" loading=\"lazy\">\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"scaler-card-btns\">\n            <button onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/iit-roorkee-advanced-ai-engineering-course\/', '_blank')\">\n              Go to Program\n              <svg width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M3 8H13M13 8L9 4M13 8L9 12\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><\/path><\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <!-- Continue for remaining cards (6\u20138) using same pattern -->\n\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"swiper-button-next\"><\/div>\n    <div class=\"swiper-button-prev\"><\/div>\n    <div class=\"swiper-pagination\"><\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- Swiper.js -->\n<script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/swiper@11\/swiper-bundle.min.js\"><\/script>\n<script>\ndocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function () {\n  const pathParts = window.location.pathname.split(\"\/\").filter(Boolean);\n  const slug = 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});\n});\n<\/script>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><strong><strong>Who This DevOps Roadmap Is For<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This roadmap is designed for learners who want a practical, job-focused path into DevOps, cloud infrastructure, SRE, or platform engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Complete Beginners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are new to tech or switching careers, start with Linux, networking, Git, and Python\/Bash scripting before jumping into Docker or Kubernetes. A beginner can become job-ready in <strong>in 9\u201312 months<\/strong> with consistent hands-on practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. System Administrators<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you already manage servers manually, your next step is automation. Focus on scripting, Git, Docker, CI\/CD, Terraform, and Kubernetes. Sysadmins can often transition faster because they already understand operating systems, networking, and production environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Backend Developers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you already write backend code, focus on infrastructure, Linux administration, cloud networking, containers, deployment pipelines, and observability. Developers can often become DevOps-ready in <strong>4\u20136  months<\/strong> with targeted upskilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>4. CS\/IT Students<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are a student, DevOps gives you a strong career path beyond traditional frontend\/backend development. Build portfolio projects using GitHub Actions, Docker, Terraform, AWS, and Kubernetes to stand out in internships and entry-level roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch: The DevOps career roadmap<br>How to move into DevOps step by step: the skills, tools and projects to focus on at each stage.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Complete Career Roadmap for DevOps, Mobile App Development, and Software Engineering | @SCALER\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gTwMrX28z1E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Prerequisite Checklist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before starting this roadmap, you should have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Basic command-line familiarity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Logical problem-solving ability<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Willingness to write scripts and debug errors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Basic understanding of how web applications work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Interest in automation, infrastructure, cloud, and reliability<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You do <strong>not<\/strong> need to be an expert programmer before starting DevOps, but you must be willing to learn scripting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"devops-roadmap-at-a-glance\"><\/span><strong>DevOps Roadmap at a Glance<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 7 stages below assume 10\u201312 hours of study a week. Each stage has one milestone project&nbsp; finish it before moving on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Stage \u00b7 months (beginner)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>What you learn \u00b7 core tools<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Milestone project \u00b7 done when\u2026<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 1: Linux, networking &amp; CLI (M1\u20132)<\/td><td>File system, permissions, services, text processing, DNS\/HTTP\/TCP, SSH \u00b7 Linux, Bash, grep\/awk\/sed, ssh<\/td><td>Bash script for log backup and server health checks \u00b7 you can SSH into a VM, manage services with systemctl and write a cron job<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 2: Scripting with Bash &amp; Python (M3)<\/td><td>Automation scripts, API calls, JSON\/YAML handling \u00b7 Python, Bash, VS Code<\/td><td>Version-controlled automation script \u00b7 your script reads a log file and writes an error summary<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 3: Git &amp; branching workflows (M3\u20134)<\/td><td>Commits, branches, merges, PRs, protection rules \u00b7 Git, GitHub<\/td><td>Repo with branch protection and a first Actions workflow \u00b7 you can resolve a merge conflict calmly<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 4: Containers with Docker (M4\u20135)<\/td><td>Dockerfiles, layers, volumes, Compose, registries \u00b7 Docker, Docker Hub<\/td><td>Multi-container app with Docker Compose \u00b7 your app runs identically on another machine<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 5: CI\/CD pipelines (M5\u20136)<\/td><td>Build\/test\/deploy automation, GitOps intro \u00b7 GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Argo CD<\/td><td>Pipeline that builds, scans and pushes a Docker image \u00b7 a push to main deploys automatically<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 6: Cloud (AWS) &amp; Terraform (M6\u20138)<\/td><td>EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS; providers, state, modules \u00b7 AWS CLI, Terraform, (Ansible)<\/td><td>Secure VPC + EC2 + RDS provisioned by Terraform \u00b7 you can rebuild your infra from code<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 7: Kubernetes &amp; monitoring (M8\u201310)<\/td><td>Pods, deployments, services, Helm; Prometheus, Grafana; DevSecOps \u00b7 kubectl, Helm, Minikube<\/td><td>Monitored K8s app with security scanning \u00b7 you can debug a CrashLoopBackOff without googling everything<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Interview prep (M10\u201312)<\/td><td>Fundamentals revision, scenarios, mock interviews \u00b7 your own portfolio<\/td><td>3\u20135 documented projects \u00b7 you can whiteboard a CI\/CD design for a 3-tier app<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bridge your roadmap to real practice: attend a free live DevOps masterclass by industry engineers.<\/h3>\n\n\n<meta charset=\"UTF-8\">\n    <meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0\">\n\n    <!-- Source Sans Pro (topics font) -->\n    <link href=\"https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css2?family=Source+Sans+3:wght@400;600;700&#038;display=swap\" rel=\"stylesheet\">\n    <link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/swiper@11\/swiper-bundle.min.css\">\n    <script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/swiper@11\/swiper-bundle.min.js\"><\/script>\n\n    <style>\n      :root {\n        \/* topics design tokens (variables.scss) *\/\n        --scaler-primary: #005bb3;          \/* primary-color-80 *\/\n        --scaler-primary-30: #8acaff;       \/* primary-color-30 *\/\n        --scaler-brand-blue: #255aad;\n        --scaler-live: #ee001d;             \/* accent-v5-60 *\/\n        --scaler-live-bg: #ffe6e9;          \/* accent-v5-10 *\/\n        --scaler-card-bg: #ffffff;          \/* neutral-scale-0 *\/\n        --scaler-surface: #f4f6f9;          \/* neutral-scale-2 *\/\n        --scaler-text-primary: #1a2c47;     \/* neutral-scale-12 *\/\n        --scaler-text-secondary: #61738e;   \/* neutral-scale-9 *\/\n        --scaler-border: #d6dee5;           \/* neutral-scale-4 *\/\n        --scaler-radius: 16px;\n        --scaler-radius-sm: 8px;\n        --scaler-shadow: 0 8px 16px 0 rgba(50, 71, 102, 0.16);\n      }\n\n      .scaler-events-carousel * { box-sizing: border-box; }\n\n      .scaler-events-carousel {\n        font-family: \"Source Sans 3\", \"Source Sans Pro\", \"Roboto\", Arial, sans-serif;\n        padding: 24px;\n        position: relative;\n        width: 100%;\n      }\n      .scaler-events-carousel__inner {\n        max-width: 1000px;\n        margin: 0 auto;\n        position: relative;\n        width: 100%;\n      }\n\n      \/* Header \u2014 calendar icon + \"Live Masterclasses\" *\/\n      .scaler-events-header {\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        gap: 8px;\n        margin-bottom: 8px;\n        padding: 8px 0;\n      }\n      .scaler-events-header__icon { display: inline-flex; color: var(--scaler-text-primary); }\n      .scaler-events-header__icon svg { width: 24px; height: 24px; }\n      .scaler-events-header__title {\n        font-size: 18px;\n        font-weight: 700;\n        color: var(--scaler-text-primary);\n        line-height: 1.3;\n        margin: 0;\n      }\n\n      \/* Swiper wrap (holds side arrows) *\/\n      .scaler-events-swiper-wrap { position: relative; }\n      .scaler-events-carousel .swiper { width: 100%; padding: 4px; }\n      .scaler-event-swiper .swiper-slide {\n        width: 296px;          \/* topics card_container width *\/\n        height: auto;\n        display: flex;\n      }\n\n      \/* Event Card \u2014 matches topics EventCard *\/\n      .scaler-event-card {\n        background: var(--scaler-card-bg);\n        border: 1px solid var(--scaler-border);\n        border-radius: var(--scaler-radius);\n        padding: 16px;\n        display: flex;\n        flex-direction: column;\n        height: 100%;\n        width: 100%;\n        cursor: pointer;\n      }\n\n      \/* Header row: headshot + title\/name *\/\n      .scaler-event-card__header { display: flex; align-items: flex-start; }\n      .scaler-event-card__image-wrapper {\n        position: relative;\n        width: 88px;\n        height: 88px;\n        min-width: 88px;\n        border-radius: var(--scaler-radius-sm);\n        overflow: hidden;\n        background: var(--scaler-primary-30);\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__image {\n        position: absolute;\n        top: 0; left: 0;\n        width: 100%; height: 100%;\n        object-fit: cover;\n      }\n      \/* attendee-count footer (default) *\/\n      .scaler-event-card__img-footer {\n        position: absolute;\n        left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0;\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        justify-content: center;\n        gap: 4px;\n        padding: 1px 8px;\n        background: var(--scaler-surface);\n        color: var(--scaler-text-primary);\n        font-size: 13px;\n        line-height: 22px;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__img-footer svg { width: 14px; height: 14px; }\n      \/* live chip (shown when status === current) *\/\n      .scaler-event-card__live-badge {\n        position: absolute;\n        left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0;\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        justify-content: center;\n        gap: 5px;\n        padding: 1px 8px;\n        background: var(--scaler-live-bg);\n        color: var(--scaler-live);\n        font-size: 12px;\n        line-height: 22px;\n        text-transform: uppercase;\n        letter-spacing: 0.18em;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__live-badge::before {\n        content: \"\";\n        width: 6px; height: 6px;\n        background: var(--scaler-live);\n        border-radius: 50%;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__text { margin-left: 16px; min-width: 0; }\n      .scaler-event-card__title {\n        font-size: 20px;\n        font-weight: 600;\n        color: var(--scaler-text-primary);\n        margin: 0;\n        line-height: 1.4;\n        display: -webkit-box;\n        -webkit-line-clamp: 2;\n        -webkit-box-orient: vertical;\n        overflow: hidden;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__speaker {\n        margin-top: 8px;\n        font-size: 14px;\n        line-height: 1.4;\n        color: var(--scaler-text-primary);\n      }\n\n      \/* Takeaways *\/\n      .scaler-event-card__takeaways {\n        margin-top: 12px;\n        min-height: 50px;\n        max-height: 50px;\n        overflow: hidden;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__takeaway-item {\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: flex-start;\n        gap: 6px;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__dot {\n        width: 4px; height: 4px;\n        min-width: 4px;\n        border-radius: 50%;\n        background: var(--scaler-text-secondary);\n        margin-top: 11px;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__takeaway-text {\n        flex: 1;\n        min-width: 0;\n        font-size: 14px;\n        line-height: 24px;\n        color: var(--scaler-text-primary);\n        white-space: nowrap;\n        overflow: hidden;\n        text-overflow: ellipsis;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__knowmore,\n      .scaler-event-card__knowmore:link,\n      .scaler-event-card__knowmore:visited {\n        flex-shrink: 0;\n        font-size: 14px;\n        line-height: 24px;\n        color: var(--scaler-primary) !important;\n        text-decoration: none;\n        white-space: nowrap;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__knowmore:hover { text-decoration: underline; }\n\n      \/* Date + duration *\/\n      .scaler-event-card__meta {\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        justify-content: space-between;\n        margin-top: 20px;\n        font-size: 13px;\n        line-height: 24px;\n        color: var(--scaler-text-primary);\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__duration {\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        gap: 4px;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__duration svg { width: 15px; height: 15px; }\n\n      .scaler-event-card__spacer { flex-grow: 1; min-height: 4px; }\n\n      \/* CTA \u2014 outlined \"Register with 1-Click\" *\/\n      .scaler-event-card__cta,\n      .scaler-event-card__cta:link,\n      .scaler-event-card__cta:visited {\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        justify-content: center;\n        width: 100%;\n        margin-top: 16px;\n        padding: 8px;\n        background: transparent;\n        color: var(--scaler-primary) !important;\n        font-family: inherit;\n        font-size: 14px;\n        font-weight: 600;\n        line-height: 24px;\n        text-decoration: none;\n        border: 1px solid var(--scaler-primary);\n        border-radius: var(--scaler-radius-sm);\n        cursor: pointer;\n        transition: background 0.2s ease, color 0.2s ease;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card__cta:hover,\n      .scaler-event-card__cta:focus {\n        background: var(--scaler-primary);\n        color: #fff !important;\n      }\n\n      \/* Side navigation arrows *\/\n      .scaler-events-nav__btn {\n        position: absolute !important;\n        top: 50% !important;\n        transform: translateY(-50%) !important;\n        z-index: 2;\n        width: 46px !important;\n        height: 46px !important;\n        min-width: 46px;\n        display: flex !important;\n        align-items: center;\n        justify-content: center;\n        padding: 0 !important;\n        background: var(--scaler-card-bg) !important;\n        border: none !important;\n        border-radius: var(--scaler-radius-sm) !important;\n        box-shadow: var(--scaler-shadow) !important;\n        color: var(--scaler-text-secondary) !important;\n        cursor: pointer;\n        transition: opacity 0.2s ease, visibility 0.2s ease;\n      }\n      .scaler-nav-prev { left: 8px !important; }\n      .scaler-nav-next { right: 8px !important; }\n      .scaler-events-nav__btn svg {\n        width: 20px !important;\n        height: 20px !important;\n        fill: var(--scaler-text-secondary) !important;\n      }\n      .scaler-events-nav__btn.swiper-button-disabled {\n        opacity: 0;\n        visibility: hidden;\n        pointer-events: none;\n      }\n\n      \/* View All Events *\/\n      .scaler-events-viewall,\n      .scaler-events-viewall:link,\n      .scaler-events-viewall:visited {\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        justify-content: center;\n        gap: 6px;\n        margin-top: 12px;\n        font-size: 14px;\n        font-weight: 600;\n        color: var(--scaler-brand-blue) !important;\n        text-decoration: none;\n      }\n      .scaler-events-viewall:hover { text-decoration: underline; }\n      .scaler-events-viewall svg { width: 16px; height: 16px; fill: var(--scaler-brand-blue); }\n\n      \/* hide swiper defaults *\/\n      .scaler-events-pagination { display: none; }\n      .scaler-events-carousel .swiper-button-prev,\n      .scaler-events-carousel .swiper-button-next { display: none; }\n\n      \/* Skeleton & Empty States *\/\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton { pointer-events: none; }\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__image-wrapper,\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__title,\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__speaker,\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__takeaways,\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__meta,\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__cta {\n        background: linear-gradient(90deg, var(--scaler-border) 25%, var(--scaler-surface) 50%, var(--scaler-border) 75%);\n        background-size: 200% 100%;\n        animation: shimmer 1.5s infinite;\n        color: transparent !important;\n        border-color: transparent !important;\n        border-radius: 4px;\n      }\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__title { min-height: 44px; }\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__speaker { min-height: 16px; }\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__meta { min-height: 24px; }\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__cta { min-height: 40px; }\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__image,\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__img-footer,\n      .scaler-event-card--skeleton .scaler-event-card__live-badge { display: none; }\n\n      @keyframes shimmer {\n        0% { background-position: 200% 0; }\n        100% { background-position: -200% 0; }\n      }\n\n      .scaler-events-empty {\n        text-align: center;\n        padding: 40px 20px;\n        color: var(--scaler-text-secondary);\n        font-size: 15px;\n      }\n\n      @media (max-width: 768px) {\n        .scaler-events-carousel { padding: 16px; }\n        .scaler-event-swiper .swiper-slide { width: calc(100vw - 52px); }\n        .scaler-events-nav__btn { display: none; }\n      }\n    <\/style>\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"scaler-events-carousel js-scaler-carousel\">\n\n      <template class=\"js-event-card-template\">\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <article class=\"scaler-event-card\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-event-card__header\">\n              <div class=\"scaler-event-card__image-wrapper\">\n                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\" alt=\"\" class=\"scaler-event-card__image\" loading=\"lazy\">\n                <div class=\"scaler-event-card__img-footer\">\n                  <svg fill=\"currentColor\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M11.199 7.957c-3.086 0-5.588 2.502-5.588 5.588s2.502 5.588 5.588 5.588c3.086 0 5.588-2.502 5.588-5.588s-2.502-5.588-5.588-5.588zM3.611 13.545c0-4.191 3.397-7.588 7.588-7.588s7.588 3.397 7.588 7.588c0 4.191-3.397 7.588-7.588 7.588s-7.588-3.397-7.588-7.588z\"\/><path d=\"M21.090 6.369h0.003c1.989 0 3.897 0.79 5.303 2.197s2.197 3.314 2.197 5.303-0.79 3.897-2.197 5.303c-1.406 1.407-3.314 2.197-5.303 2.197-0.552 0-1-0.448-1-1s0.448-1 1-1c1.459 0 2.858-0.579 3.889-1.611s1.611-2.43 1.611-3.889c0-1.459-0.58-2.858-1.611-3.889s-2.429-1.611-3.888-1.611c-0.507 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class=\"scaler-event-card__takeaways js-event-takeaways\"><\/div>\n\n            <div class=\"scaler-event-card__spacer\"><\/div>\n\n            <div class=\"scaler-event-card__meta\">\n              <span class=\"js-event-date\"><\/span>\n              <span class=\"scaler-event-card__duration\">\n                <svg fill=\"currentColor\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M16 6.333c6.443 0 11.667 5.223 11.667 11.667s-5.223 11.667-11.667 11.667c-6.443 0-11.667-5.223-11.667-11.667v0c0.008-6.44 5.226-11.659 11.666-11.667h0.001zM16 28.333c5.707 0 10.333-4.626 10.333-10.333s-4.626-10.333-10.333-10.333c-5.707 0-10.333 4.626-10.333 10.333v0c0.007 5.704 4.629 10.326 10.333 10.333h0.001z\"\/><path d=\"M16 18.667c-0 0-0.001 0-0.001 0-0.184 0-0.35-0.074-0.471-0.195v0c-0.121-0.121-0.195-0.287-0.195-0.471s0.075-0.351 0.195-0.471l4.951-4.952c0.121-0.121 0.287-0.195 0.471-0.195s0.351 0.075 0.471 0.195v0c0.121 0.121 0.195 0.287 0.195 0.471s-0.075 0.351-0.195 0.471l-4.949 4.951c-0.121 0.121-0.288 0.196-0.472 0.196v0z\"\/><path d=\"M19 3.667h-6c-0.368 0-0.667-0.298-0.667-0.667v0c0-0.368 0.298-0.667 0.667-0.667v0h6c0.368 0 0.667 0.298 0.667 0.667v0c0 0.368-0.298 0.667-0.667 0.667v0z\"\/><\/svg>\n                <span class=\"js-event-duration\"><\/span>\n              <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n\n            <a href=\"#\" class=\"scaler-event-card__cta js-event-cta\">Register with 1-Click<\/a>\n          <\/article>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/template>\n\n      <div class=\"scaler-events-carousel__inner\">\n        <header class=\"scaler-events-header\">\n          <span class=\"scaler-events-header__icon\">\n            <svg fill=\"currentColor\" viewBox=\"0 0 33 32\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M6.406 6.8c-0.11 0-0.2 0.090-0.2 0.2v20c0 0.11 0.090 0.2 0.2 0.2h20c0.11 0 0.2-0.090 0.2-0.2v-20c0-0.11-0.090-0.2-0.2-0.2h-20zM4.606 7c0-0.994 0.806-1.8 1.8-1.8h20c0.994 0 1.8 0.806 1.8 1.8v20c0 0.994-0.806 1.8-1.8 1.8h-20c-0.994 0-1.8-0.806-1.8-1.8v-20z\"\/><path d=\"M22.406 3.2c0.442 0 0.8 0.358 0.8 0.8v4c0 0.442-0.358 0.8-0.8 0.8s-0.8-0.358-0.8-0.8v-4c0-0.442 0.358-0.8 0.8-0.8z\"\/><path d=\"M10.406 3.2c0.442 0 0.8 0.358 0.8 0.8v4c0 0.442-0.358 0.8-0.8 0.8s-0.8-0.358-0.8-0.8v-4c0-0.442 0.358-0.8 0.8-0.8z\"\/><path d=\"M4.606 12c0-0.442 0.358-0.8 0.8-0.8h22c0.442 0 0.8 0.358 0.8 0.8s-0.358 0.8-0.8 0.8h-22c-0.442 0-0.8-0.358-0.8-0.8z\"\/><path d=\"M21.488 16.451c0.303 0.322 0.288 0.828-0.034 1.131l-5.838 5.5c-0.309 0.291-0.791 0.29-1.099-0.002l-3.162-3c-0.321-0.304-0.334-0.81-0.030-1.131s0.81-0.334 1.131-0.030l2.614 2.48 5.287-4.981c0.322-0.303 0.828-0.288 1.131 0.034z\"\/><\/svg>\n          <\/span>\n          <h2 class=\"scaler-events-header__title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"live-masterclasses\"><\/span>Live Masterclasses<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n        <\/header>\n\n        <div class=\"scaler-events-swiper-wrap\">\n          <div class=\"swiper scaler-event-swiper\">\n            <div class=\"swiper-wrapper scaler-events-wrapper\"><\/div>\n            <div class=\"swiper-pagination scaler-events-pagination\"><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n\n          <button class=\"scaler-events-nav__btn scaler-nav-prev\" aria-label=\"Previous slide\">\n            <svg fill=\"currentColor\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" style=\"transform: rotate(-90deg);\"><path d=\"M5.313 16l10.688-10.688 10.688 10.688-1.938 1.875-7.438-7.438v16.25h-2.625v-16.25l-7.5 7.438z\"\/><\/svg>\n          <\/button>\n          <button class=\"scaler-events-nav__btn scaler-nav-next\" aria-label=\"Next slide\">\n            <svg fill=\"currentColor\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" style=\"transform: rotate(90deg);\"><path d=\"M5.313 16l10.688-10.688 10.688 10.688-1.938 1.875-7.438-7.438v16.25h-2.625v-16.25l-7.5 7.438z\"\/><\/svg>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <a class=\"scaler-events-viewall\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/events\/\">\n          <span>View All Events<\/span>\n          <svg fill=\"currentColor\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" style=\"transform: rotate(90deg);\"><path d=\"M5.313 16l10.688-10.688 10.688 10.688-1.938 1.875-7.438-7.438v16.25h-2.625v-16.25l-7.5 7.438z\"\/><\/svg>\n        <\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <script>\n    document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", () => {\n\n      const monthNames = [\"January\",\"February\",\"March\",\"April\",\"May\",\"June\",\"July\",\"August\",\"September\",\"October\",\"November\",\"December\"];\n\n      function formatTime(st) {\n        const t = new Date(st);\n        const date = t.getDate();\n        const month = monthNames[t.getMonth()];\n        const year = t.getFullYear();\n        const h = t.getHours();\n        const m = String(t.getMinutes()).padStart(2, \"0\");\n        let time;\n        if (h === 0) time = `12:${m} 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class=\"scaler-events-empty\">Failed to load events.<\/div>`;\n            }\n          }\n\n          fetchEvents();\n      });\n    });\n    <\/script>\n\n\n<p><!-- scaler-insert:agentic_ai_banner --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/scaler-insert:agentic_ai_banner --><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-is-devops\"><\/span><strong>What is DevOps?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DevOps is a cultural and technical approach that brings together <strong>software development (Dev)<\/strong> and <strong>IT operations (Ops)<\/strong>. Its goal is to help teams build, test, release, deploy, monitor, and improve software faster and more reliably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of developers writing code and operations teams manually deploying it later, DevOps encourages both teams to collaborate throughout the software development lifecycle. Automation is central to DevOps: infrastructure is defined as code, builds and tests run automatically, containers package applications consistently, and monitoring systems provide continuous feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The modern DevOps lifecycle works as a continuous loop:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Plan \u2192 Code \u2192 Build \u2192 Test \u2192 Release \u2192 Deploy \u2192 Monitor \u2192 Feedback<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When done well, DevOps helps organizations achieve faster releases, fewer production failures, better scalability, stronger security, and faster recovery from incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"stage-1-month-1%e2%80%932-linux-networking-and-the-command-line\"><\/span><strong>Stage 1 (Month 1\u20132): Linux, Networking and the Command Line<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Linux comes first because every tool in the rest of this roadmap Docker, Kubernetes, CI\/CD runners, cloud servers is a Linux machine underneath. Start by understanding the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/topics\/features-of-linux-operating-system\/\">Linux operating system features<\/a> that make it the default for servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most production servers, containers, and Kubernetes nodes run on Linux. DevOps engineers must be comfortable working inside Linux systems without relying on a graphical interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Key Linux Concepts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn the Linux file system structure, permissions, users and groups, environment variables, package managers, system services, and process management. Understand commands such as ls, cd, chmod, chown, ps, top, kill, systemctl, journalctl, df, du, and free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also learn how Linux handles networking. You should know how to inspect open ports, test connectivity, view IP addresses, read routing tables, and troubleshoot DNS issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Shell Scripting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bash scripting helps you automate tasks such as log rotation, disk cleanup, backups, service restarts, and system checks. Learn variables, loops, conditions, functions, exit codes, and scheduled jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DevOps engineers spend a large part of their day inside terminals. You must be able to navigate, inspect, edit, search, transfer, and automate files entirely through the command line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CLI Skills to Practise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start with file navigation and manipulation: pwd, ls, cd, cp, mv, rm, mkdir, touch, cat, less, and tail. Then learn text processing with grep, awk, sed, sort, uniq, and cut. These tools help you analyze logs quickly during production debugging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next, practise process and network commands such as ps, top, htop, kill, netstat, ss, curl, ping, traceroute, and dig. These commands are essential when debugging why a service is slow, unreachable, or failing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, learn remote access and file transfer using ssh, scp, and rsync. These are used to access servers, copy logs, and automate remote tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Networking Basics for DevOps<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(moved here from old Step 9 \u2014 networking belongs with Linux fundamentals, before you touch cloud)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cloud platforms are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/topics\/computer-network\/\">computer networking<\/a> with a console on top, so revise the concepts now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn DNS, HTTP\/HTTPS, TCP\/IP, TLS, ports, load balancers, reverse proxies, firewalls, NAT, VPNs, CIDR ranges, and subnets. These concepts help you debug failed deployments, slow APIs, blocked traffic, and misconfigured infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, when a user opens a website, the browser performs DNS resolution, establishes a connection, negotiates TLS, sends an HTTP request, reaches a load balancer or reverse proxy, and finally routes to an application service. DevOps engineers must understand each layer to troubleshoot production issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tools in This Stage<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use case \u00b7 priority<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Ubuntu\/CentOS VM<\/strong><\/td><td>Linux practice environment \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Bash<\/strong><\/td><td>Shell scripting and automation \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>grep\/awk\/sed<\/strong><\/td><td>Log parsing and text processing \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>systemctl<\/strong><\/td><td>Service management \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>curl<\/strong><\/td><td>API and endpoint testing \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>ssh<\/strong><\/td><td>Remote server access \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>journalctl<\/td><td>System log inspection \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>cron<\/td><td>Scheduled automation \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>rsync\/scp<\/td><td>Secure file transfer \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>AWS CLI<\/td><td>Cloud automation from terminal \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Free Resource:<\/strong> Use Scaler&#8217;s Linux Tutorial.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Milestone:<\/strong> You are ready to move on when you can create a Bash script that checks disk usage, CPU usage, and service status, then writes the output to a log file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"stage-2-month-3-scripting-with-bash-and-python\"><\/span><strong>Stage 2 (Month 3): Scripting with Bash and Python<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scripting comes second because Stage 1 taught you the terminal&nbsp; now you automate it. This is automation scripting, not application development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DevOps engineers automate repetitive work. That means you must be able to write scripts that interact with servers, APIs, files, cloud services, and CI\/CD tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What to Learn<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start with Python because it is beginner-friendly, widely used in automation, and supported by cloud SDKs such as Boto3 for AWS. Learn variables, functions, file handling, JSON\/YAML parsing, API requests, error handling, and writing reusable scripts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also learn Bash because Linux administration depends heavily on shell scripting. Bash is essential for writing deployment scripts, automating log cleanup, checking services, and running commands inside CI\/CD pipelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Python and Bash, learn the basics of Go if you want to move deeper into cloud-native engineering. Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, and many infrastructure tools are written in Go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tools in This Step<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use case \u00b7 priority<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Python<\/strong><\/td><td>Automation scripts, API calls, cloud SDKs \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Bash<\/strong><\/td><td>Linux automation, deployment scripts \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>VS Code<\/strong><\/td><td>Writing and debugging scripts \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Go<\/td><td>Cloud-native tooling and advanced automation \u00b7 Good to know<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Free Resource: Start with Scaler&#8217;s Python Tutorial.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Milestone: You are ready to move on when you can write a Python script that reads a log file, finds error lines, and writes a summary report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<meta charset=\"UTF-8\">\n    <meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0\">\n\n    <!-- Source Sans Pro (topics font) -->\n    <link href=\"https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css2?family=Source+Sans+3:wght@400;600;700&#038;display=swap\" rel=\"stylesheet\">\n    <link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/swiper@11\/swiper-bundle.min.css\">\n    <script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/swiper@11\/swiper-bundle.min.js\"><\/script>\n\n    <style>\n      :root {\n        --cl-primary: #005bb3;\n        --cl-brand-blue: #255aad;\n        --cl-card-bg: #ffffff;\n        --cl-surface: #f6f7f8;\n        --cl-border: #d6dee5;\n        --cl-text-primary: #1a2c47;   \/* neutral-scale-12 *\/\n        --cl-text-secondary: #61738e; \/* neutral-scale-9 *\/\n        --cl-radius: 16px;\n        --cl-radius-sm: 8px;\n        --cl-shadow: 0 8px 16px 0 rgba(50, 71, 102, 0.16);\n      }\n\n      .scaler-courses * { box-sizing: border-box; }\n\n      .scaler-courses {\n        font-family: \"Source Sans 3\", \"Source Sans Pro\", \"Roboto\", Arial, sans-serif;\n        padding: 24px;\n        width: 100%;\n      }\n      .scaler-courses__inner {\n        max-width: 1000px;\n        margin: 0 auto;\n        position: relative;\n        width: 100%;\n      }\n\n      \/* Header *\/\n      .scaler-courses__header {\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        gap: 8px;\n        margin-bottom: 8px;\n        padding: 8px 0;\n      }\n      .scaler-courses__header-icon { display: inline-flex; color: var(--cl-text-primary); }\n      .scaler-courses__header-icon svg { width: 24px; height: 24px; }\n      .scaler-courses__title {\n        font-size: 18px;\n        font-weight: 700;\n        color: var(--cl-text-primary);\n        line-height: 1.3;\n        margin: 0;\n      }\n\n      \/* Swiper *\/\n      .scaler-courses__swiper-wrap { position: relative; }\n      .scaler-courses .swiper { width: 100%; padding: 4px; }\n      .scaler-courses-swiper .swiper-slide {\n        width: 296px;\n        height: auto;\n        display: flex;\n      }\n\n      \/* Card *\/\n      .scaler-course-card {\n        display: flex;\n        flex-direction: column;\n        width: 100%;\n        height: 100%;\n        min-height: 336px;\n        background: var(--cl-card-bg);\n        border: 1px solid var(--cl-border);\n        border-radius: var(--cl-radius);\n        overflow: hidden;\n        text-decoration: none;\n        cursor: pointer;\n        transition: box-shadow 0.2s ease;\n      }\n      .scaler-course-card:hover { box-shadow: 0 2px 12px rgba(50, 71, 102, 0.12); }\n\n      .scaler-course-card__image {\n        width: 100%;\n        height: 128px;\n        min-height: 128px;\n        object-fit: cover;\n        background: var(--cl-surface);\n        display: block;\n      }\n\n      .scaler-course-card__detail {\n        display: flex;\n        flex-direction: column;\n        flex: 1 1 auto;\n        padding: 16px 16px 8px;\n      }\n      .scaler-course-card__heading,\n      .scaler-course-card__heading:link,\n      .scaler-course-card__heading:visited {\n        font-size: 20px;\n        font-weight: 600;\n        line-height: 1.4;\n        color: var(--cl-text-primary) !important;\n        margin: 0 0 8px;\n        white-space: nowrap;\n        overflow: hidden;\n        text-overflow: ellipsis;\n      }\n      .scaler-course-card__instructor {\n        font-size: 14px;\n        line-height: 1.86;\n        color: var(--cl-text-primary);\n        white-space: nowrap;\n        overflow: hidden;\n        text-overflow: ellipsis;\n      }\n      .scaler-course-card__instructor b { font-weight: 700; }\n      .scaler-course-card__desc {\n        flex-grow: 1;\n        margin-top: 8px;\n        margin-bottom: 12px;\n        font-size: 16px;\n        line-height: 1.5;\n        color: var(--cl-text-secondary);\n        display: -webkit-box;\n        -webkit-line-clamp: 2;\n        -webkit-box-orient: vertical;\n        overflow: hidden;\n      }\n\n      .scaler-course-card__footer {\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        justify-content: space-between;\n        width: 100%;\n      }\n      .scaler-course-card__stat {\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        gap: 4px;\n        font-size: 14px;\n        color: var(--cl-text-primary);\n      }\n      .scaler-course-card__stat svg { width: 18px; height: 18px; flex-shrink: 0; }\n      .scaler-course-card__stat img { width: 20px; height: 20px; flex-shrink: 0; }\n\n      \/* Side arrows *\/\n      .scaler-courses__nav {\n        position: absolute !important;\n        top: 50% !important;\n        transform: translateY(-50%) !important;\n        z-index: 2;\n        width: 46px !important; height: 46px !important; min-width: 46px;\n        display: flex !important; align-items: center; justify-content: center;\n        padding: 0 !important;\n        background: var(--cl-card-bg) !important;\n        border: none !important;\n        border-radius: var(--cl-radius-sm) !important;\n        box-shadow: var(--cl-shadow) !important;\n        color: var(--cl-text-secondary) !important;\n        cursor: pointer;\n        transition: opacity 0.2s ease, visibility 0.2s ease;\n      }\n      .scaler-courses__nav--prev { left: 8px !important; }\n      .scaler-courses__nav--next { right: 8px !important; }\n      .scaler-courses__nav svg { width: 20px !important; height: 20px !important; fill: var(--cl-text-secondary) !important; }\n      .scaler-courses__nav.swiper-button-disabled { opacity: 0; visibility: hidden; pointer-events: none; }\n\n      .scaler-courses .swiper-button-prev,\n      .scaler-courses .swiper-button-next,\n      .scaler-courses .swiper-pagination { display: none; }\n\n      \/* Skeleton *\/\n      .scaler-course-card--skeleton { pointer-events: none; }\n      .scaler-course-card--skeleton .scaler-course-card__image,\n      .scaler-course-card--skeleton .scaler-course-card__heading,\n      .scaler-course-card--skeleton .scaler-course-card__instructor,\n      .scaler-course-card--skeleton .scaler-course-card__desc,\n      .scaler-course-card--skeleton .scaler-course-card__footer {\n        background: linear-gradient(90deg, var(--cl-border) 25%, var(--cl-surface) 50%, var(--cl-border) 75%);\n        background-size: 200% 100%;\n        animation: cl-shimmer 1.5s infinite;\n        color: transparent !important;\n        border-radius: 4px;\n      }\n      .scaler-course-card--skeleton .scaler-course-card__heading { height: 24px; margin: 0 0 8px; }\n      .scaler-course-card--skeleton .scaler-course-card__instructor { height: 16px; }\n      .scaler-course-card--skeleton .scaler-course-card__footer { height: 20px; }\n      @keyframes cl-shimmer { 0% { background-position: 200% 0; } 100% { background-position: -200% 0; } }\n\n      .scaler-courses__empty { display: none; }\n\n      @media (max-width: 768px) {\n        .scaler-courses { padding: 16px; }\n        .scaler-courses-swiper .swiper-slide { width: 260px; }\n        .scaler-courses__nav { display: none !important; }\n      }\n    <\/style>\n\n\n    <div class=\"scaler-courses js-scaler-courses\">\n\n      <template class=\"js-course-card-template\">\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <a class=\"scaler-course-card js-course-link\" href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaler-course-card__image js-course-image\" src=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <div class=\"scaler-course-card__detail\">\n              <div class=\"scaler-course-card__heading js-course-title\"><\/div>\n              <div class=\"scaler-course-card__instructor js-course-instructor\"><\/div>\n              <div class=\"scaler-course-card__desc js-course-desc\"><\/div>\n              <div class=\"scaler-course-card__footer\">\n                <span class=\"scaler-course-card__stat js-course-star\">\n                  <svg fill=\"currentColor\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M14.83 2.868c0.342-0.239 0.75-0.368 1.168-0.368s0.826 0.128 1.168 0.368c0.338 0.236 0.596 0.569 0.741 0.955l2.759 6.936c0.003 0.007 0.007 0.013 0.013 0.017s0.013 0.007 0.020 0.007l7.402 0.476c0.411 0.036 0.802 0.194 1.124 0.452s0.559 0.607 0.683 1 0.127 0.815 0.011 1.211c-0.116 0.396-0.347 0.748-0.664 1.013l-5.655 4.714c-0.013 0.011-0.022 0.025-0.028 0.040s-0.006 0.032-0.002 0.047l1.821 7.163c0.107 0.395 0.094 0.812-0.037 1.2-0.133 0.391-0.38 0.734-0.71 0.983s-0.727 0.393-1.14 0.413c-0.413 0.020-0.822-0.084-1.175-0.3l-0.015-0.009-6.307-4.005c-0.004-0.003-0.009-0.004-0.014-0.004s-0.009 0.001-0.013 0.004l-5.876 3.721c-0.389 0.235-0.839 0.347-1.292 0.323s-0.889-0.184-1.251-0.459c-0.361-0.275-0.632-0.652-0.777-1.082-0.143-0.426-0.157-0.885-0.038-1.319l1.684-6.629c0.004-0.016 0.003-0.033-0.002-0.049s-0.015-0.030-0.027-0.040l-5.653-4.714c-0.317-0.264-0.548-0.617-0.664-1.013s-0.112-0.817 0.011-1.211c0.124-0.394 0.361-0.742 0.683-1s0.713-0.416 1.124-0.452l0.023-0.002 7.38-0.476c0.007-0 0.014-0.003 0.020-0.007s0.010-0.010 0.013-0.017l0.008-0.020 2.746-6.913c0.145-0.386 0.403-0.719 0.741-0.956z\"\/><\/svg>\n                  <span class=\"js-course-star-val\"><\/span>\n                <\/span>\n                <span class=\"scaler-course-card__stat\">\n                  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d19zaobb0foqu6.cloudfront.net\/topics\/images\/user-check-dark.svg\" alt=\"Enrolled\" loading=\"lazy\">\n                  <span class=\"js-course-reg\"><\/span>\n                <\/span>\n              <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/template>\n\n      <div class=\"scaler-courses__inner\">\n        <div class=\"scaler-courses__header\">\n          <span class=\"scaler-courses__header-icon\">\n            <svg fill=\"currentColor\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M26.259 23.289h-20.518c-1.193 0-2.16-0.967-2.16-2.16v0-14.588c0-1.193 0.967-2.16 2.16-2.16v0h20.518c1.193 0 2.16 0.967 2.16 2.16v0 14.588c0 1.193-0.967 2.16-2.16 2.16v0zM5.741 5.501c-0.574 0-1.040 0.466-1.040 1.040v0 14.588c0 0.574 0.466 1.040 1.040 1.040v0h20.518c0.574 0 1.040-0.466 1.040-1.040v0-14.588c0-0.574-0.466-1.040-1.040-1.040v0z\"\/><path d=\"M19.764 27.619h-7.53c-0.309 0-0.56-0.251-0.56-0.56v0c0-0.309 0.251-0.56 0.56-0.56h7.53c0.309 0 0.56 0.251 0.56 0.56v0c0 0.309-0.251 0.56-0.56 0.56v0z\"\/><path d=\"M14.023 9.322c0.116 0 0.223 0.035 0.312 0.096l-0.002-0.001 5.93 3.953c0.151 0.102 0.249 0.272 0.249 0.466s-0.098 0.364-0.247 0.465l-0.002 0.001-5.93 3.953c-0.087 0.059-0.195 0.094-0.31 0.094-0.309 0-0.56-0.25-0.56-0.559v-7.906c0-0.309 0.251-0.56 0.56-0.56v0zM18.943 13.835l-4.36-2.906v5.813z\"\/><\/svg>\n          <\/span>\n          <h2 class=\"scaler-courses__title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"free-courses-by-top-scaler-instructors\"><\/span>Free Courses by top Scaler instructors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"scaler-courses__swiper-wrap\">\n          <div class=\"swiper scaler-courses-swiper\">\n            <div class=\"swiper-wrapper js-courses-wrapper\"><\/div>\n            <div class=\"swiper-pagination\"><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n\n          <button class=\"scaler-courses__nav scaler-courses__nav--prev js-courses-prev\" aria-label=\"Previous\">\n            <svg fill=\"currentColor\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" style=\"transform: rotate(-90deg);\"><path d=\"M5.313 16l10.688-10.688 10.688 10.688-1.938 1.875-7.438-7.438v16.25h-2.625v-16.25l-7.5 7.438z\"\/><\/svg>\n          <\/button>\n          <button class=\"scaler-courses__nav scaler-courses__nav--next js-courses-next\" aria-label=\"Next\">\n            <svg fill=\"currentColor\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" style=\"transform: rotate(90deg);\"><path d=\"M5.313 16l10.688-10.688 10.688 10.688-1.938 1.875-7.438-7.438v16.25h-2.625v-16.25l-7.5 7.438z\"\/><\/svg>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <script>\n    document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", () => {\n      const EXTRA_COUNT_ADDED = 1000;\n\n      \/\/ Mirrors getInstructorStar(): first token of the headline.\n      function getInstructorStar(headline) {\n        return (headline || \"\").toString().split(\" \")[0] || \"\";\n      }\n\n      document.querySelectorAll(\".js-scaler-courses\").forEach(container => {\n        if (container.dataset.initialized === \"true\") return;\n        container.dataset.initialized = \"true\";\n\n        const swiperElement = container.querySelector(\".scaler-courses-swiper\");\n        const wrapper = container.querySelector(\".js-courses-wrapper\");\n        const template = container.querySelector(\".js-course-card-template\");\n        const nextBtn = container.querySelector(\".js-courses-next\");\n        const prevBtn = container.querySelector(\".js-courses-prev\");\n\n        if (!wrapper || !template) return;\n\n        const swiper = new Swiper(swiperElement, {\n          slidesPerView: \"auto\",\n          spaceBetween: 16,\n          grabCursor: true,\n          observer: true,\n          observeParents: true,\n          navigation: { nextEl: nextBtn, prevEl: prevBtn },\n        });\n\n        const pathParts = location.pathname.split(\"\/\").filter(Boolean);\n        const currentSlug = pathParts.length > 0 ? pathParts[pathParts.length - 1] : \"homepage\";\n\n        function showSkeletons(count = 4) {\n          wrapper.innerHTML = \"\";\n          for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {\n            const clone = template.content.cloneNode(true);\n            clone.querySelector(\".scaler-course-card\").classList.add(\"scaler-course-card--skeleton\");\n            wrapper.appendChild(clone);\n          }\n          swiper.update();\n        }\n\n        function renderCourses(courses) {\n          wrapper.innerHTML = \"\";\n          if (!courses.length) { container.style.display = \"none\"; return; }\n\n          courses.forEach(item => {\n            const a = item.attributes || {};\n            const clone = template.content.cloneNode(true);\n            const instructor = (a.instructors_data && a.instructors_data[0]) || {};\n\n            clone.querySelector(\".js-course-link\").href =\n              `https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/topics\/course\/${a.slug}\/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=free_courses&utm_content=${currentSlug}`;\n\n            const img = clone.querySelector(\".js-course-image\");\n            img.src = a.cover_image_thumbnail || a.featured_image || \"\";\n            img.alt = a.title || \"\";\n\n            clone.querySelector(\".js-course-title\").textContent = a.title || \"\";\n\n            const instrEl = clone.querySelector(\".js-course-instructor\");\n            if (instructor.name) {\n              instrEl.innerHTML = \"A Course by <b><\/b>\";\n              instrEl.querySelector(\"b\").textContent = instructor.name;\n            } else {\n              instrEl.style.display = \"none\";\n            }\n\n            clone.querySelector(\".js-course-desc\").textContent = a.description || \"\";\n\n            \/\/ Star\n            const star = getInstructorStar(instructor.star_headline);\n            const starWrap = clone.querySelector(\".js-course-star\");\n            if (star && star !== \"0\") clone.querySelector(\".js-course-star-val\").textContent = star;\n            else starWrap.style.display = \"none\";\n\n            \/\/ Enrolled count (+1000 like topics)\n            clone.querySelector(\".js-course-reg\").textContent =\n              ((a.user_registration_count || 0) + EXTRA_COUNT_ADDED).toLocaleString(\"en-US\");\n\n            wrapper.appendChild(clone);\n          });\n\n          swiper.update();\n          swiper.slideTo(0);\n        }\n\n        async function fetchCourses() {\n          try {\n            showSkeletons();\n            \/\/ Public same-origin endpoint (topics course search). Returns 6 free courses.\n            const res = await fetch(\"\/topics\/api\/v1\/search\/courses\", {\n              method: \"POST\",\n              headers: {\n                \"Content-Type\": \"application\/json\",\n                \"Accept\": \"application\/json\",\n                \"X-Requested-With\": \"XMLHttpRequest\",\n              },\n              body: JSON.stringify({\n                filters: {\n                  q: \"\",\n                  page: { limit: 6, current_page: 1 },\n                  sort: { key: \"user_registration_count\", order: \"desc\" },\n                  filter_type: null,\n                  tags: [],\n                  program: [],\n                  level: [],\n                  category_type: [],\n                },\n              }),\n            });\n            const json = await res.json();\n            const courses = (json && json.data) || [];\n            renderCourses(courses);\n          } catch (error) {\n            console.error(\"Failed to load courses:\", error);\n            container.style.display = \"none\";\n          }\n        }\n\n        fetchCourses();\n      });\n    });\n    <\/script>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"stage-3-month-3%e2%80%934-git-github-and-branching-workflows\"><\/span><strong>Stage 3 (Month 3\u20134): Git, GitHub and Branching Workflows<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Git comes now because everything after this stage&nbsp; pipelines, Terraform, Kubernetes manifests&nbsp; lives in a repository.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Version control is the foundation of DevOps because modern teams treat everything as code: application code, infrastructure code, Kubernetes manifests, CI\/CD pipelines, documentation, and configuration files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Git Fundamentals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn commands such as git init, git add, git commit, git status, git log, git branch, git checkout, git merge, git rebase, git pull, and git push. You should understand how branches work, how merge conflicts happen, and how to resolve them safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GitHub and GitLab for DevOps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GitHub and GitLab are more than code hosting platforms. They trigger CI\/CD pipelines, enforce branch protection, manage pull requests, store workflow files, and integrate with deployment tools. Learn pull requests, merge requests, code reviews, branch protection rules, issue tracking, and repository secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Branching Strategies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn the difference between GitFlow and trunk-based development. GitFlow is structured and common in release-heavy environments. Trunk-based development is faster and common in modern CI\/CD teams where developers merge small changes frequently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tools in This Step<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use case \u00b7 priority<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Git<\/strong><\/td><td>Version control \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>GitHub<\/strong><\/td><td>Repositories, PRs, Actions \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Branch protection<\/strong><\/td><td>Prevent unsafe merges \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>GitLab<\/td><td>Repositories and GitLab CI \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Pull request templates<\/td><td>Standardize reviews \u00b7 Good to know<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Free Resource &#8211; Learn Scaler&#8217;s Git Tutorial<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Milestone: Create a GitHub repository with branch protection rules, a pull request template, and a basic GitHub Actions workflow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"stage-4-month-4%e2%80%935-containers-with-docker\"><\/span><strong>Stage 4 (Month 4\u20135): Containers with Docker<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Docker comes before cloud on purpose: you can containerise apps locally for free, and everything you deploy to AWS in Stage 6 will ship as a container anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Docker solves the common &#8220;works on my machine&#8221; problem by packaging an application, runtime, dependencies, and configuration into a portable container image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Key Docker Concepts<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn Docker images, containers, layers, volumes, networks, Dockerfiles, Docker Compose, and registries. Understand the difference between an image and a running container. Learn how Docker layers affect image size and build speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dockerfiles and Multi-Stage Builds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Dockerfile defines how an image is built. Learn instructions such as FROM, WORKDIR, COPY, RUN, ENV, EXPOSE, and CMD. Multi-stage builds help create smaller and more secure production images by separating build dependencies from runtime dependencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Docker Compose and Registries<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Docker Compose lets you run multi-container applications locally, such as a backend service, database, cache, and message queue. Registries such as Docker Hub and AWS ECR store images that CI\/CD pipelines can push and Kubernetes clusters can pull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tools in This Step<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use case \u00b7 priority<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Docker<\/strong><\/td><td>Container build and runtime \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Docker Compose<\/strong><\/td><td>Local multi-container apps \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Docker Hub<\/td><td>Public image registry \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>AWS ECR<\/td><td>Private container registry \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Podman<\/td><td>Docker alternative \u00b7 Good to know<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Free Resource: Use Scaler&#8217;s Docker Tutorial.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Milestone: Containerize a web application with a database using Docker Compose and push the application image to Docker Hub or AWS ECR.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"stage-5-month-5%e2%80%936-cicd-pipelines-with-github-actions-and-jenkins\"><\/span><strong>Stage 5 (Month 5\u20136): CI\/CD Pipelines with GitHub Actions and Jenkins<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CI\/CD comes after containers because modern pipelines build and ship container images&nbsp; there is nothing to automate until you have an artefact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CI\/CD is the heart of DevOps automation. It helps teams test, build, scan, package, and deploy code automatically whenever changes are made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CI\/CD Concepts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Continuous Integration means every code change is automatically built and tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Continuous Delivery means the code is always in a deployable state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Continuous Deployment means successful changes are automatically released to production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A typical pipeline includes stages such as linting, unit testing, integration testing, Docker image building, vulnerability scanning, artifact publishing, and deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and GitLab CI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GitHub Actions is beginner-friendly because workflows are written in YAML and live inside the same GitHub repository. Jenkins is common in enterprise environments and supports complex pipelines through plugins and declarative pipeline syntax. GitLab CI is strong when teams already use GitLab for source control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GitOps and ArgoCD: The Modern Deployment Pattern<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GitOps treats Git as the single source of truth for infrastructure and application state. Instead of a CI\/CD tool pushing changes directly into a Kubernetes cluster, tools like ArgoCD or Flux continuously compare the live cluster state with the desired state stored in Git.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A simple GitOps workflow looks like this: a developer opens a pull request, the team reviews and merges it, ArgoCD detects the change, and then ArgoCD syncs the Kubernetes cluster to match the repository. If someone manually changes the cluster, ArgoCD detects drift and can revert or flag the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Companies prefer GitOps because it improves auditability, rollback safety, environment consistency, and deployment visibility. ArgoCD is also a common DevOps and SRE interview topic in Kubernetes-heavy roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tools in This Step<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use case \u00b7 priority<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>GitHub Actions<\/strong><\/td><td>Beginner-friendly CI\/CD \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Jenkins<\/td><td>Enterprise pipelines \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>GitLab CI<\/td><td>CI\/CD inside GitLab \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>ArgoCD<\/td><td>GitOps CD for Kubernetes \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CircleCI<\/td><td>Startup CI\/CD workflows \u00b7 Good to know<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Flux<\/td><td>GitOps alternative \u00b7 Good to know<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milestone: Build a pipeline that runs tests on every pull request, builds a Docker image after merge, scans the image, and pushes it to a registry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"stage-6-month-6%e2%80%938-cloud-aws-and-infrastructure-as-code-with-terraform\"><\/span><strong>Stage 6 (Month 6\u20138): Cloud (AWS) and Infrastructure as Code with Terraform<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cloud comes after Docker because your first cloud project is running the container stack you already built \u2014 now with real networking, IAM and a bill attached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cloud computing allows companies to create servers, databases, storage, networks, and security policies without buying physical hardware. DevOps engineers must know how cloud systems are designed, provisioned, secured, and monitored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>AWS Services to Learn First<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Start with AWS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AWS is a strong first cloud provider because it has broad market adoption and a large number of DevOps job requirements. Learn EC2 for virtual servers, S3 for object storage, RDS for managed databases, VPC for networking, IAM for access control, CloudWatch for monitoring, Lambda for serverless functions, and EKS for Kubernetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Understand Azure and GCP Too<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After AWS basics, learn how the same cloud concepts map to Azure and GCP. Azure is especially common in enterprise and Microsoft-stack companies, while GCP is popular in data-heavy, analytics, and ML-adjacent workloads. Azure DevOps and Google Cloud Build are also common CI\/CD tools in enterprise environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Cloud Networking and IAM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cloud networking is a major DevOps interview topic. Learn subnets, route tables, NAT gateways, internet gateways, load balancers, security groups, and private\/public networking. Also learn IAM users, roles, policies, least privilege, and temporary credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Free resource: start with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/topics\/course\/aws-free-course\/\">free AWS course<\/a> before you spend on a personal account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Terraform and Ansible<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Infrastructure as Code (IaC) lets you define cloud resources using configuration files instead of manually clicking through cloud consoles. This makes infrastructure repeatable, reviewable, version-controlled, and easier to audit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Terraform Fundamentals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Terraform is the most widely used IaC tool. Learn providers, resources, variables, outputs, state files, modules, workspaces, remote state, and state locking. Understand the difference between terraform init, terraform plan, terraform apply, and terraform destroy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Terraform State and Collaboration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Terraform state tracks the real infrastructure created from your code. In team environments, remote state storage and state locking are critical because two engineers applying changes at the same time can corrupt infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Alternatives and Complements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ansible is often used for configuration management, while Terraform is used for provisioning infrastructure. Pulumi is an IaC alternative that lets engineers define infrastructure using programming languages such as Python, TypeScript, and Go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tools in This Stage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use case \u00b7 priority<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>AWS Console<\/strong><\/td><td>Cloud resource exploration \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>AWS CLI<\/strong><\/td><td>Automating AWS operations \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>IAM<\/strong><\/td><td>Access control \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>VPC<\/strong><\/td><td>Cloud networking \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Terraform<\/strong><\/td><td>Cloud infrastructure provisioning \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Terraform Cloud \/ S3 backend<\/td><td>Remote state management \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CloudWatch<\/td><td>Logs and metrics \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ansible<\/td><td>Configuration automation \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Pulumi<\/td><td>Code-first IaC alternative \u00b7 Good to know<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Free Resource: Read Scaler&#8217;s AWS DevOps guide.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milestone: Use Terraform to create an AWS VPC, EC2 instance, security group, S3 bucket, and RDS database using reusable modules&nbsp; and connect the EC2 instance to RDS without exposing the database publicly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Serverless Basics (Optional)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Serverless computing lets you run code without managing servers directly. Cloud providers automatically handle provisioning, scaling, and runtime management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Serverless Platforms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Common serverless platforms include AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, and Azure Functions. These services run small functions in response to events such as API requests, file uploads, database changes, message queue events, or scheduled timers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>When to Use Serverless<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Serverless is useful for lightweight APIs, background jobs, automation tasks, event-driven workflows, and cost-sensitive workloads with unpredictable traffic. Containers are better when you need long-running processes, custom runtimes, complex networking, or more control over infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Workflow Orchestration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AWS Step Functions can orchestrate multi-step serverless workflows such as approval systems, ETL pipelines, and automated remediation tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tools in This Step<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use case \u00b7 priority<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>AWS Lambda<\/td><td>Serverless functions \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>API Gateway<\/td><td>Expose serverless APIs \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Step Functions<\/td><td>Workflow orchestration \u00b7 Good to know<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cloud Functions<\/td><td>GCP serverless \u00b7 Good to know<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Azure Functions<\/td><td>Azure serverless \u00b7 Good to know<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Milestone:<\/strong> Build a Lambda function triggered by an S3 upload that processes a file and writes metadata to a database or log stream.<\/p>\n\n\n<meta charset=\"UTF-8\">\n    <meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0\">\n\n    <!-- Source Sans Pro (topics font) -->\n    <link href=\"https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css2?family=Source+Sans+3:wght@400;600;700&amp;display=swap\" rel=\"stylesheet\">\n    <link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/swiper@11\/swiper-bundle.min.css\">\n    <script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/swiper@11\/swiper-bundle.min.js\"><\/script>\n\n    <style>\n      :root {\n        --ss-primary: #005bb3;        \/* primary-color-80 *\/\n        --ss-card-bg: #ffffff;\n        --ss-border: #e6e6e6;\n        --ss-quote-bg: #f6f6f6;\n        --ss-text-dark: 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Learn it once the rest is solid and it will actually make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Kubernetes Essentials<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Docker is great for running containers on one machine. Kubernetes is used when you need to run containers across clusters of machines with scaling, self-healing, service discovery, and rolling deployments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Kubernetes Fundamentals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn Kubernetes architecture: control plane, worker nodes, pods, deployments, services, replicasets, config maps, secrets, namespaces, ingress, and persistent volumes. Understand how Kubernetes schedules pods, restarts failed containers, and routes traffic to healthy instances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Helm, Ingress, and Scaling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes. It helps you install and manage complex applications using reusable charts. Ingress controllers expose services to external traffic, and Horizontal Pod Autoscaler adjusts pod counts based on load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Debugging Kubernetes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn commands such as kubectl get, kubectl describe, kubectl logs, kubectl exec, and kubectl apply. Practise debugging CrashLoopBackOff, pending pods, image pull errors, failed readiness probes, and resource constraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a deeper path to CKA, follow our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/kubernetes-roadmap\/\">Kubernetes roadmap<\/a>. Free resource: the official <a href=\"https:\/\/kubernetes.io\/docs\/tutorials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kubernetes tutorials<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tools in This Step<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use case \u00b7 priority<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Kubernetes<\/strong><\/td><td>Container orchestration \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>kubectl<\/strong><\/td><td>Kubernetes CLI \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Minikube \/ Kind<\/strong><\/td><td>Local Kubernetes practice \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Helm<\/td><td>Kubernetes packaging \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>EKS \/ AKS \/ GKE<\/td><td>Managed Kubernetes \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Milestone:<\/strong> Deploy a containerized app on Kubernetes with deployment, service, ingress, config map, secret, and autoscaling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By this stage you can run containers, pipelines and monitoring in production. These are also the skills companies want in forward deployed engineers, who deploy AI systems inside client infrastructure. If you want to extend this roadmap toward AI delivery, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/ai-forward-deployed-engineer-course\/\">FDE course<\/a> for DevOps engineers adds LLM integration, evaluation and client communication to what you already know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Monitoring and Observability (Prometheus, Grafana)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once software is live, DevOps engineers must monitor performance, detect failures, and help teams respond quickly. Observability answers three questions: what is happening, why it is happening, and how users are affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Metrics, Logs, and Traces<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Metrics measure system behavior such as CPU usage, memory, latency, request rate, and error rate. Logs provide event-level details from applications and servers. Traces show how a request moves through multiple services in a distributed system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Prometheus and Grafana<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prometheus collects time-series metrics from applications and infrastructure. Grafana visualizes those metrics in dashboards. Alertmanager can send alerts to Slack, email, PagerDuty, or other incident response tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Logging and OpenTelemetry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ELK Stack or OpenSearch helps teams centralize and search logs. OpenTelemetry is becoming a standard for collecting traces, metrics, and logs across distributed systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tools in This Step<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use case \u00b7 priority<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Prometheus<\/strong><\/td><td>Metrics collection \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Grafana<\/strong><\/td><td>Dashboards \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Alertmanager<\/td><td>Alert routing \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>ELK \/ OpenSearch<\/td><td>Log search and analysis \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>OpenTelemetry<\/td><td>Distributed tracing \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Datadog<\/td><td>Managed observability platform \u00b7 Good to know<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milestone: Create a dashboard that tracks CPU, memory, request latency, error rate, and uptime for a containerized application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Security Basics (DevSecOps)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(moved here from old Step 9&nbsp; security belongs with production readiness, not in an isolated step)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DevOps engineers must understand how to protect infrastructure from unsafe access. Learn least privilege, IAM roles, secret management, SSH hardening, security groups, RBAC, container scanning, dependency scanning, and secure pipeline design. Avoid exposing SSH to the public internet and never store credentials in Git repositories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tools in This Step<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use case \u00b7 priority<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Nginx<\/strong><\/td><td>Reverse proxy and routing \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>SSH<\/strong><\/td><td>Secure server access \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>IAM<\/strong><\/td><td>Cloud access control \u00b7 Essential<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Vault<\/td><td>Secrets management \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Trivy<\/td><td>Container vulnerability scanning \u00b7 Important<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Milestone:<\/strong> Secure a cloud-hosted application behind Nginx with HTTPS, restricted SSH access, and environment variables stored outside source code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"beyond-the-roadmap-gitops-platform-engineering-and-devsecops\"><\/span><strong>Beyond the Roadmap: GitOps, Platform Engineering and DevSecOps<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reference table below shows when each advanced area earns its place&nbsp; none of them belong in your first 8 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Advanced area \u00b7 tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>What it does<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>When to learn<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>GitOps deep-dive \u00b7 Argo CD, Flux<\/td><td>Declarative deployments with drift detection<\/td><td>After Stage 7, on the job or via the GitOps project<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Platform engineering \u00b7 Backstage<\/td><td>Internal developer platforms and self-service infra<\/td><td>After 2\u20133 years of DevOps\/SRE experience<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>DevSecOps depth \u00b7 SonarQube, OWASP ZAP, Snyk<\/td><td>SAST\/DAST and dependency scanning in pipelines<\/td><td>Right after Stage 7&#8217;s security basics<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>AIOps \u00b7 Datadog, Dynatrace AI features<\/td><td>Anomaly detection and alert correlation<\/td><td>Once you run production monitoring daily<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>FinOps \u00b7 tagging, rightsizing, spot instances<\/td><td>Cloud cost control<\/td><td>When you own a real cloud bill<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>SRE practices \u00b7 SLOs, error budgets<\/td><td>Reliability targets and incident discipline<\/td><td>With Stage 7, before senior roles<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After learning the core roadmap, move into advanced disciplines that separate junior engineers from senior DevOps, SRE, and platform engineering professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Site Reliability Engineering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SRE applies software engineering principles to operations. Learn SLIs, SLOs, SLAs, error budgets, incident response, blameless post-mortems, toil reduction, and automated remediation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DevSecOps: Integrating Security into the Pipeline<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DevSecOps means shifting security earlier into the software delivery process. Instead of waiting until production to find vulnerabilities, teams scan code, dependencies, containers, infrastructure files, and secrets during development and CI\/CD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A practical DevSecOps pipeline may look like this:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Code commit \u2192 SAST scan \u2192 dependency scan \u2192 unit tests \u2192 Docker build \u2192 Trivy image scan \u2192 IaC scan \u2192 deploy to staging \u2192 DAST scan \u2192 production approval<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Important DevSecOps tools include Trivy for container vulnerability scanning, SonarQube for static code analysis, OWASP ZAP for dynamic application security testing, HashiCorp Vault for secrets management, and Snyk for dependency and container security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DevOps engineers do not need to become full-time security analysts, but they must understand secure defaults, least-privilege IAM, secrets management, vulnerability scanning, and RBAC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AIOps and AI-Assisted DevOps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AIOps uses AI and machine learning to improve operations through anomaly detection, predictive alerting, log analysis, incident correlation, and automated remediation. Tools such as Datadog, Dynatrace, and cloud-native monitoring platforms increasingly include AI-assisted features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AI also helps DevOps engineers write and review infrastructure code. GitHub Copilot can assist with Terraform, Kubernetes YAML, Bash scripts, and CI\/CD workflows, but engineers must still review the output carefully for correctness and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2026, AI is not replacing DevOps engineers. It is reducing repetitive work and increasing the value of engineers who understand systems deeply enough to validate and improve AI-generated suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Platform Engineering and Internal Developer Platforms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platform engineering focuses on building self-service tools for developers. Instead of developers repeatedly asking DevOps teams to provision databases, clusters, pipelines, or environments, platform teams create reusable templates and internal developer portals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tools such as Backstage, Terraform, Kubernetes, ArgoCD, Crossplane, and service catalogs are common in platform engineering. This is a strong career path after gaining DevOps and SRE experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>FinOps and Cloud Cost Optimization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cloud cost optimization is now a major DevOps responsibility. Learn rightsizing, autoscaling, reserved instances, spot instances, storage lifecycle policies, tagging strategies, and cost dashboards. Engineers who can reduce cloud bills while improving reliability are highly valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Milestone:<\/strong> Build a production-style platform project that includes Kubernetes deployment, Terraform infrastructure, GitOps with ArgoCD, monitoring, alerting, and security scanning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>[Template widget: Free Courses by top Scaler instructors \u2014 KEEP; must not parent any stage]<\/em> <em>[Template widget: Scaler Placement Report and Statistics \u2014 KEEP; must not parent any stage]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"devops-projects-to-build-at-each-stage\"><\/span><strong>DevOps Projects to Build at Each Stage<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Projects are the best way to turn theory into interview-ready proof. Add these projects to GitHub with clear README files, architecture diagrams, setup steps, screenshots, and lessons learned. Two starter projects from the stage milestones open the list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Stage \u00b7 project<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Stack \u00b7 difficulty<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>What it proves \u00b7 show it on your r\u00e9sum\u00e9 as<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 1\u20132 \u00b7 Bash server health-check + log-rotation script<\/td><td>Bash + cron \u00b7 Beginner<\/td><td>Linux and scripting discipline \u00b7 &#8220;Wrote cron-driven Bash automation for server health checks and log rotation&#8221;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 4 \u00b7 Docker Compose multi-container app<\/td><td>Docker + Compose \u00b7 Beginner<\/td><td>Container fundamentals \u00b7 &#8220;Containerised a 3-service app with Docker Compose&#8221;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 5 \u00b7 CI\/CD Pipeline for a Web App<\/td><td>GitHub Actions + Docker + AWS EC2 or Render \u00b7 Beginner\u2013Intermediate<\/td><td>Pipeline basics, deployment automation \u00b7 &#8220;Built a GitHub Actions pipeline that cut deploy time from manual to about 4 minutes&#8221;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 7 \u00b7 Kubernetes Cluster with Helm<\/td><td>Minikube or AWS EKS + Helm + Ingress + HPA \u00b7 Intermediate<\/td><td>K8s networking, scaling, packaging \u00b7 &#8220;Deployed a Helm-managed, autoscaled app on Kubernetes&#8221;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 6 \u00b7 Infrastructure with Terraform<\/td><td>Terraform + AWS VPC, EC2, S3, RDS, IAM \u00b7 Intermediate<\/td><td>IaC, state management \u00b7 &#8220;Provisioned a secure multi-tier AWS environment entirely in Terraform&#8221;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stage 7 \u00b7 Full Monitoring Stack<\/td><td>Prometheus + Grafana + Alertmanager + Node Exporter \u00b7 Intermediate<\/td><td>Observability and alerting \u00b7 &#8220;Instrumented full metrics\/alerting for a containerised app&#8221;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Beyond \u00b7 GitOps Pipeline<\/td><td>GitHub + ArgoCD + Kubernetes + multiple environments \u00b7 Advanced<\/td><td>GitOps workflow, drift detection \u00b7 &#8220;Implemented GitOps with automated environment promotion&#8221;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Beyond \u00b7 DevSecOps Pipeline<\/td><td>GitHub Actions + Trivy + SonarQube + Docker + Slack alerts \u00b7 Advanced<\/td><td>Security scanning, SAST \u00b7 &#8220;Shifted security left with automated image and code scanning&#8221;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Example phrasing only \u2014 write your own r\u00e9sum\u00e9 line from what you actually built. Push every project to GitHub with a README that includes an architecture diagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DevOps Tools Every Engineer Should Know in 2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(kept as a reference under this section)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Category \u00b7 tool<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Purpose<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Must-know? \u00b7 free?<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Version Control \u00b7 Git + GitHub \/ GitLab<\/td><td>Code versioning, collaboration, CI\/CD triggers<\/td><td>Essential \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CI\/CD \u00b7 GitHub Actions<\/td><td>Automated test\/build\/deploy workflows<\/td><td>Essential \u00b7 Yes, limited<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CI\/CD \u00b7 Jenkins<\/td><td>Enterprise-grade self-hosted pipelines<\/td><td>Important \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CI\/CD \u00b7 GitLab CI<\/td><td>Built-in CI\/CD for GitLab repositories<\/td><td>Important \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Containers \u00b7 Docker<\/td><td>Package applications into portable containers<\/td><td>Essential \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Containers \u00b7 Podman<\/td><td>Daemonless container engine<\/td><td>Good to know \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Orchestration \u00b7 Kubernetes<\/td><td>Manage containers at scale<\/td><td>Essential \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Orchestration \u00b7 OpenShift<\/td><td>Enterprise Kubernetes platform<\/td><td>Good to know \u00b7 Limited<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>GitOps \u00b7 ArgoCD<\/td><td>Declarative Kubernetes deployment using Git<\/td><td>Important \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>GitOps \u00b7 Flux<\/td><td>GitOps alternative to ArgoCD<\/td><td>Good to know \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>IaC \u00b7 Terraform<\/td><td>Provision cloud infrastructure as code<\/td><td>Essential \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>IaC \u00b7 Ansible<\/td><td>Configuration management and automation<\/td><td>Important \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>IaC \u00b7 Pulumi<\/td><td>IaC using programming languages<\/td><td>Good to know \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cloud \u00b7 AWS<\/td><td>EC2, S3, RDS, IAM, EKS, Lambda, VPC<\/td><td>Essential \u00b7 Free tier<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cloud \u00b7 Azure<\/td><td>Enterprise cloud, Azure DevOps, AKS<\/td><td>Important \u00b7 Free tier<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cloud \u00b7 GCP<\/td><td>Data-heavy workloads, GKE, Cloud Build<\/td><td>Good to know \u00b7 Free tier<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Monitoring \u00b7 Prometheus + Grafana<\/td><td>Metrics collection and visualization<\/td><td>Essential \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Logging \u00b7 ELK Stack \/ OpenSearch<\/td><td>Centralized log management and search<\/td><td>Important \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Security \u00b7 Trivy<\/td><td>Container vulnerability scanning<\/td><td>Important \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Security \u00b7 SonarQube<\/td><td>Static code analysis<\/td><td>Important \u00b7 Community edition<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Security \u00b7 HashiCorp Vault<\/td><td>Secrets management<\/td><td>Important \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Scripting \u00b7 Python \/ Bash<\/td><td>Automation scripts and custom tooling<\/td><td>Essential \u00b7 Yes<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"month-10%e2%80%9312-devops-interview-preparation\"><\/span><strong>Month 10\u201312: DevOps Interview Preparation<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the stage competitors skip entirely. Four steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. <strong>Revise the fundamentals.<\/strong> Linux commands, networking (DNS, TLS, load balancing) and Git internals \u2014 interviewers test Stage 1 knowledge hardest because it cannot be faked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2. <strong>Rehearse scenario questions out loud:<\/strong> &#8220;A pod is in CrashLoopBackOff \u2014 how do you debug it?&#8221; (kubectl describe \u2192 logs \u2192 probes \u2192 resources), &#8220;The pipeline passes but the deploy fails \u2014 where do you look?&#8221; (registry auth, manifests, cluster events), &#8220;How would you do a zero-downtime deployment?&#8221; (rolling updates, blue-green, canary).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3. <strong>Practise the hands-on round:<\/strong> writing a Dockerfile, a Terraform module or a GitHub Actions workflow live, with an interviewer watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4. <strong>Prepare for system-design-lite:<\/strong> sketch CI\/CD plus infrastructure for a 3-tier app \u2014 repo \u2192 Actions \u2192 registry \u2192 Kubernetes \u2192 monitoring \u2192 secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Typical interview rounds and how to prepare:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Round<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>What&#8217;s tested<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>How to prepare<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Screening \/ online test<\/td><td>Core MCQs, basic coding<\/td><td>Revise arrays\/strings; re-read Stage 1\u20132 notes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Linux &amp; networking<\/td><td>Commands, troubleshooting, DNS\/TCP<\/td><td>Rebuild the Stage 1 milestone from memory<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Tools deep-dive<\/td><td>Docker\/K8s\/Terraform internals<\/td><td>Rebuild the Stage 4\u20137 projects; skim official docs<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Scenario \/ troubleshooting<\/td><td>Incident-style questions<\/td><td>Rehearse the debugging loops out loud<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>System design (lite)<\/td><td>CI\/CD + infra for a 3-tier app<\/td><td>Sketch the full pipeline on paper twice<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>HR \/ managerial<\/td><td>Projects, ownership, growth<\/td><td>One STAR story per portfolio project<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Five questions worth pre-answering:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">* <strong>Docker image vs container?<\/strong> The image is the immutable template; the container is a running instance of it. * <strong>Blue-green vs canary deployment?<\/strong> Blue-green switches all traffic between two identical environments; canary shifts a small percentage of traffic first and grows it. * <strong>What is Terraform state?<\/strong> The file mapping your configuration to real infrastructure; remote state plus locking prevents two engineers from corrupting it. * <strong>Kubernetes Service types?<\/strong> ClusterIP (cluster-internal), NodePort (port on every node), LoadBalancer (cloud load balancer), with Ingress for HTTP routing in front. * <strong>What is an SLO?<\/strong> A target reliability level (for example 99.9% uptime) that your error budget is measured against.<br><br><strong>Are You Interview-Ready?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Use this checklist to identify your current level and decide what to learn next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Skill area \u00b7 level required<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Core skills to know<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>OS &amp; Linux \u00b7 Expert<\/td><td>File system navigation, process management, Bash scripting, cron jobs, SSH<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Networking \u00b7 Proficient<\/td><td>DNS, HTTP\/HTTPS, TCP\/IP, load balancers, VPNs, subnets, firewalls<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Programming \u00b7 Proficient<\/td><td>Python scripting, Bash, basics of Go<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Version Control \u00b7 Expert<\/td><td>Git branching, merging, rebasing, GitHub\/GitLab, PR workflows, branch protection<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Containers \u00b7 Expert<\/td><td>Docker build\/run, Docker Compose, registries, container networking, multi-stage builds<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Kubernetes \u00b7 Proficient<\/td><td>Pods, deployments, services, ingress, Helm, namespaces, RBAC<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CI\/CD \u00b7 Expert<\/td><td>Pipeline design, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, build\/test\/deploy stages, ArgoCD<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>IaC \u00b7 Proficient<\/td><td>Terraform state, modules, providers, Ansible playbooks and roles<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cloud \u00b7 Proficient<\/td><td>AWS EC2, S3, RDS, EKS, Lambda, VPC, IAM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Monitoring \u00b7 Proficient<\/td><td>Prometheus, Grafana, alerting rules, ELK, OpenTelemetry<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Security \u00b7 Familiar to Proficient<\/td><td>DevSecOps, Trivy, Vault, SAST\/DAST basics, least-privilege IAM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Soft Skills \u00b7 Required<\/td><td>Incident response, blameless post-mortems, documentation, cross-functional communication<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"devops-certifications-roadmap\"><\/span><strong>DevOps Certifications Roadmap<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Certifications are not mandatory, but they can strengthen your resume, especially if you are a fresher or switching careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Certification \u00b7 provider<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Level \u00b7 exam cost (official, Oct 2026)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Best for<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>HashiCorp Terraform Associate \u00b7 HashiCorp<\/td><td>Beginner\u2013Intermediate \u00b7 <strong>$70.50<\/strong> plus tax<\/td><td>IaC and cloud automation roles<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) \u00b7 CNCF \/ Linux Foundation<\/td><td>Intermediate \u00b7 <strong>$445<\/strong>, includes one free retake<\/td><td>Kubernetes-heavy DevOps\/SRE roles<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Microsoft AZ-400 (Azure DevOps Engineer Expert) \u00b7 Microsoft<\/td><td>Expert \u00b7 <strong>$165<\/strong> (\u2248\u20b94,800 in India at booking)<\/td><td>Azure\/GitHub-centric teams; needs AZ-104 or AZ-204 first<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>AWS Certified DevOps Engineer \u2013 Professional \u00b7 AWS<\/td><td>Advanced \u00b7 <strong>$300<\/strong><\/td><td>AWS-heavy DevOps roles<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>GitHub Actions Certification \u00b7 GitHub<\/td><td>Beginner \u00b7 ~$99 (verify on the GitHub exam page)<\/td><td>CI\/CD and pipeline-focused roles<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Docker Certified Associate \u00b7 Docker Inc.<\/td><td>Intermediate \u00b7 ~$199 (verify \u2014 program availability has changed)<\/td><td>Container-focused roles<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Red Hat RHCA DevOps Track \u00b7 Red Hat<\/td><td>Advanced \u00b7 Variable<\/td><td>Enterprise Linux and OpenShift environments<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Exam prices from certifying-body pages, October 2026. Check the official page before booking.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recommended Certification Order<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For most learners, start with Terraform Associate and CKA. These validate two highly demanded DevOps skills: infrastructure as code and Kubernetes. After that, pursue AWS Certified DevOps Engineer&nbsp; Professional if your target roles are AWS-heavy. If your target companies run on Azure, swap in AZ-400 at the same point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"devops-career-scope-and-salaries-in-india-2026\"><\/span><strong>DevOps Career Scope and Salaries in India (2026)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DevOps is one of the strongest technology career paths in 2026 because almost every modern company needs faster deployments, stable infrastructure, and cloud automation. Startups, product companies, fintech firms, SaaS companies, global capability centres, and large enterprises all hire DevOps engineers to manage delivery pipelines and production infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Companies such as SAP, Informatica, Thomson Reuters, HashedIn by Deloitte, Jio, fintech startups, and cloud-native product firms actively hire DevOps, SRE, platform engineering, and cloud infrastructure talent across Indian tech hubs such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Gurugram, and Noida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DevOps Engineer Salary in India by Experience<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Experience<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Typical roles<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>India salary range (\u20b9 LPA)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>0\u20132 years<\/td><td>Junior DevOps Engineer, Cloud Support Engineer, DevOps Intern<\/td><td>\u20b95 \u2013 9<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3\u20135 years<\/td><td>DevOps Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure Engineer, SRE<\/td><td>\u20b99 \u2013 20<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6\u20139 years<\/td><td>Senior DevOps Engineer, Senior SRE, Platform Engineer<\/td><td>\u20b920 \u2013 35<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>10+ years<\/td><td>DevOps Architect, Platform Architect, SRE Lead, DevOps Manager<\/td><td>\u20b935+<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Source: AmbitionBox and Glassdoor India, October 2026 \u2014 re-verify each band before publishing. Pay varies by city, cloud depth, Kubernetes experience and interview performance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Is \u20b921 LPA good for 5 years of DevOps experience?<\/strong> Yes \u2014 it sits at the top of the 3\u20135-year band (\u20b99\u201320 LPA) and within the 6\u20139-year band, so it is at or above market for the experience. Product companies and engineers with strong Kubernetes, AWS and Terraform depth routinely earn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">US salaries are higher in absolute terms; for authoritative outlook data, see the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/ooh\/computer-and-information-technology\/software-developers.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">US Bureau of Labor Statistics software developer outlook<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DevOps vs SRE vs Cloud Engineer vs Platform Engineer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(moved here from before the roadmap \u2014 text unchanged)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many learners searching for a DevOps engineer roadmap are also comparing DevOps with SRE, cloud engineering, and platform engineering. These roles overlap, but their focus areas are different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Role<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Core focus \u00b7 key tools<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Typical background \u00b7 best for<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>DevOps Engineer<\/td><td>Automating build, test, release, deployment, and infrastructure workflows \u00b7 Git, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS<\/td><td>Developers, sysadmins, cloud engineers \u00b7 people who enjoy automation and deployment systems<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Site Reliability Engineer<\/td><td>Reliability, uptime, incident response, SLOs, error budgets, production engineering \u00b7 Kubernetes, Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry, Linux, Go\/Python<\/td><td>Strong programmers, backend engineers, DevOps engineers \u00b7 engineers who enjoy debugging production systems<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cloud Engineer<\/td><td>Designing, provisioning, and managing cloud infrastructure \u00b7 AWS, Azure, GCP, VPC, IAM, EC2, RDS, S3, Terraform<\/td><td>Sysadmins, network engineers, cloud support engineers \u00b7 learners who want cloud-first infrastructure roles<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Platform Engineer<\/td><td>Building internal developer platforms and self-service infrastructure \u00b7 Backstage, Kubernetes, Terraform, ArgoCD, Crossplane, IDPs<\/td><td>Senior DevOps\/SRE\/cloud engineers \u00b7 engineers who want to build systems for other developers<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Which DevOps Role Should You Target?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start with DevOps fundamentals first. A strong DevOps foundation naturally opens paths into SRE, cloud engineering, and platform engineering. In 2026, platform engineering is becoming a premium specialization because companies want self-service infrastructure platforms that reduce developer cognitive load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DevOps in the AI Era: Platform Engineering, MLOps and AIOps<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The direction of travel is concrete, not vague:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">* <strong>Platform engineering:<\/strong> internal developer platforms (Backstage is the reference tool) that give developers self-service infrastructure&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">* <strong>MLOps:<\/strong> the same CI\/CD and Kubernetes skills applied to ML workloads, with tooling like Kubeflow and MLflow&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">* <strong>AI-assisted ops:<\/strong> Copilot-style assistants writing Terraform and pipeline YAML, and AIOps platforms correlating alerts before humans wake up&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">* <strong>Policy-as-code:<\/strong> OPA-style guardrails baked into pipelines instead of review checklists<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What this means for the roadmap: learn the 7 stages first. AI tools speed up DevOps work, but they don&#8217;t replace knowing Linux, networking and Kubernetes. Cloud-native adoption keeps compounding&nbsp; CNCF&#8217;s annual surveys have documented year-on-year growth in Kubernetes and cloud-native usage for years (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cncf.io\/reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNCF reports<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DevOps Career Path<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(moved under the career H2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A typical DevOps career path looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DevOps Intern \/ Junior Engineer \u2192 DevOps Engineer \u2192 Senior DevOps \/ SRE \u2192 Platform Engineer \/ DevOps Architect \u2192 Platform Architect \/ DevOps Manager<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Career Progression<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Level \u00b7 focus<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>What you should be able to do<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Junior DevOps Engineer \u00b7 foundational automation<\/td><td>Write scripts, manage Linux servers, run basic CI\/CD pipelines, use Docker<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>DevOps Engineer \u00b7 production delivery<\/td><td>Build pipelines, manage cloud infrastructure, deploy containers, troubleshoot issues<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Senior DevOps \/ SRE \u00b7 reliability and scale&nbsp;<\/td><td>Design resilient systems, manage Kubernetes, improve observability, lead incident response<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Platform Engineer \u00b7 developer productivity<\/td><td>Build reusable infrastructure templates, IDPs, GitOps workflows, self-service platforms<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>DevOps Architect \/ Manager \u00b7 strategy and leadership<\/td><td>Design cloud platforms, enforce governance, mentor teams , optimize cost and reliability<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"fast-track-devops-roadmap-for-developers-and-sysadmins\"><\/span><strong>Fast-Track DevOps Roadmap for Developers and Sysadmins<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Already code or manage servers? Compress the roadmap to 4\u20136 months by skipping what you know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">* <strong>Developer track (\u22484\u20135 months):<\/strong> skip deep Stage 1\u20132 \u2192 Linux ops refresher (2 weeks) \u2192 Docker (Stage 4) \u2192 CI\/CD (Stage 5) \u2192 AWS + Terraform (Stage 6) \u2192 Kubernetes (Stage 7). Developers usually underestimate Linux and networking depth \u2014 don&#8217;t skip the Stage 1 networking section. * <strong>Sysadmin\/support track (\u22484\u20136 months):<\/strong> skip Stage 1 \u2192 Python + Git (Stages 2\u20133) \u2192 Docker \u2192 CI\/CD \u2192 Terraform \u2192 Kubernetes. Sysadmins usually underestimate Git workflows and coding discipline \u2014 force yourself through the PR-and-review habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Dimension<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Complete beginner<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Experienced developer \/ sysadmin<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Starting point<\/td><td>Learn Linux, Git, scripting, and networking first<\/td><td>Identify gaps based on current background<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>First focus<\/td><td>Command line, Python\/Bash, Git, basic cloud<\/td><td>Developers: infra\/cloud; Sysadmins: coding\/CI\/CD<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Timeline to job-ready<\/td><td>9\u201312 months&nbsp;<\/td><td>4\u20136 months<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Key gaps to fill<\/td><td>Programming, systems, cloud, containers<\/td><td>Developers need ops; sysadmins need automation and coding<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Recommended first certification<\/td><td>Terraform Associate or AWS Cloud Practitioner<\/td><td>CKA or Terraform Associate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sample first project<\/td><td>Dockerized app with GitHub Actions pipeline<\/td><td>Terraform-based cloud infra with CI\/CD and monitoring<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Learning DevOps with Structure and Mentorship<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Self-study works, but structure shortens the road. If you&#8217;d rather follow a structured DevOps course syllabus than self-study, Scaler&#8217;s DevOps, Cloud &amp; AI Platform Engineering program follows a sequence similar to this roadmap: Python \u2192 Linux &amp; shell scripting \u2192 Git \u2192 Docker, Kubernetes, Prometheus and Grafana \u2192 CI\/CD, GitOps, Ansible and SRE, with AWS, Terraform and MLOps tooling. It runs 12 months, live online, with 1:1 mentorship and five portfolio projects. Before deciding, compare the best DevOps courses in India by format and fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Want this roadmap with live classes, mentors and projects? Explore <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/devops-course\/\">Scaler&#8217;s DevOps, Cloud &amp; AI Platform Engineering program<\/a> \u2192<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>[Template widget: Scaler Alumni and Their Success Stories \u2014 KEEP; the tables that sat under it have moved to their own sections above]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"your-next-step-on-the-devops-roadmap\"><\/span><strong>Your Next Step on the DevOps Roadmap<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start Stage 1 this week: spin up a Linux VM and work through the command-line basics. Build the Stage 4 project next&nbsp; a Dockerised app is the portfolio piece that unlocks every stage after it. Revisit the skills checklist monthly, and by month 10 you&#8217;ll be preparing for interviews instead of wondering where to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Read These Important Roadmaps: More Paths to Career Success<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>AI Engineer Roadmap \u00b7 Java Full Stack Developer Roadmap<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Data Engineer Roadmap \u00b7 Agentic AI Roadmap<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>The Embedded Systems Roadmap \u00b7 Data Analyst Roadmap<\/td><td>Generative AI Roadmap \u00b7 DSA Roadmap<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Full Stack Developer Roadmap \u00b7 Machine Learning Roadmap<\/td><td>MLOps Roadmap \u00b7 MERN Stack Roadmap<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Backend Developer Roadmap \u00b7 SDE Roadmap<\/td><td>Computer Vision Roadmap \u00b7 DBMS Roadmap<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Data Science Roadmap \u00b7 DevOps Roadmap<\/td><td>Web Development Roadmap \u00b7 Python Roadmap<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"devops-roadmap-faqs\"><\/span><strong>DevOps Roadmap: FAQs<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Can I learn DevOps in 3 months?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can learn the core tools (Linux, Git, Docker and a CI\/CD pipeline) in about 3 months if you already code or manage servers and study 15+ hours a week. To be job-ready&nbsp; which also means cloud, Terraform, Kubernetes and projects&nbsp; most beginners need 9\u201312 months and developers 4\u20136 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are the 7 stages of the DevOps lifecycle?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DevOps lifecycle is commonly described as continuous development, integration, testing, deployment, feedback, monitoring and operations. The roadmap above maps tools to each: Git for development, GitHub Actions or Jenkins for integration and testing, Kubernetes and Argo CD for deployment, and Prometheus and Grafana for monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Is DevOps highly paid in India?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. DevOps is one of the better-paid engineering tracks in India, and pay rises sharply with Kubernetes, cloud and Terraform skills. Freshers start around \u20b95\u20139 LPA, mid-career engineers commonly make \u20b99\u201320 LPA, and senior DevOps, SRE and platform engineers earn \u20b920 LPA and above (AmbitionBox\/Glassdoor India, Oct 2026). Check current ranges by city on AmbitionBox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Is 21 LPA a good salary for 5 years of DevOps experience?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For 5 years of experience, \u20b921 LPA is at or above the typical range reported on salary sites for DevOps engineers in India \u2014 it tops the 3\u20135-year band (\u20b99\u201320 LPA) in the salary table above. Product companies and engineers with Kubernetes, AWS and Terraform depth often earn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How long does it take to become a DevOps engineer?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following this roadmap at 10\u201312 hours a week, complete beginners usually take 9\u201312 months, and developers or sysadmins 4\u20136 months. The difference comes from fundamentals: Linux, networking and scripting take longest to build from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Can I become a DevOps engineer without coding?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don&#8217;t need to be an application developer, but you do need to script. Bash and basic Python are enough for most DevOps roles, alongside writing YAML pipelines and Terraform code. Non-coders should spend an extra month on Stage 2 before moving to tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is the difference between DevOps and SRE?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DevOps is a culture and set of practices for building and shipping software faster and more reliably. Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) is a specific role that applies software engineering to operations, using SLOs, error budgets and automation. Many Indian companies use the titles interchangeably, and the roadmap overlaps by about 80%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How do I build a DevOps portfolio with no experience?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Build 3\u20134 projects that follow the roadmap stages: a Bash automation script, a Dockerised app with a CI\/CD pipeline, Terraform-provisioned AWS infrastructure, and a Kubernetes deployment with Prometheus and Grafana. Put each on GitHub with a README and an architecture diagram, and link them from your r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and LinkedIn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Companies are moving toward cloud-native systems, faster release cycles, AI-assisted operations, and platform engineering&nbsp; and they need engineers who can automate infrastructure, reduce deployment failures, and help teams ship faster without compromising security. Who This DevOps Roadmap Is For This roadmap is designed for learners who want a practical, job-focused path into DevOps, cloud infrastructure, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":5448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[249,278,240],"class_list":["post-5447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-devops","tag-devops","tag-devops-roadmap","tag-roadmap"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5447"}],"version-history":[{"count":55,"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14832,"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5447\/revisions\/14832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scaler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}