Hello everyone! 👋
I usually write about my homelab setup on Qiita (a Japanese blog site), but today, I want to share something different—a major professional goal I’m setting for myself.
I’m officially starting a two-year journey to become a DevOps Engineer.
This isn’t just about learning new tech. It’s a public commitment. I plan to document my progress, my struggles, and my victories right here. Think of it as a captain’s log for my career voyage. This first post is about sharing the map I’ll be using to navigate.
Why DevOps?
What draws me to DevOps is the holistic approach to the software lifecycle. I’m fascinated by the idea of using tools like Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to automate everything, building resilient and reliable systems from the ground up. It’s about bridging the gap between development and operations, and I want to be that bridge.
The Inspiration Behind This Journey
Before diving into my roadmap, I want to share what sparked this ambitious plan. I came across several YouTube videos that not only inspired me but also helped crystallize my approach to this career transition:
🎯 „How to become a DevOps Engineer in 2025“
This video is a comprehensive roadmap that provides a structured approach to becoming a DevOps Engineer. It covers everything from setting up a home lab and mastering Linux fundamentals to diving deep into containers, programming, cloud technologies, and Kubernetes. The creator also emphasizes the importance of soft skills and even touches on the role of AI in the future of DevOps, making this an invaluable guide for my journey.
💪 „My Self-Taught Coding Story“
This personal and inspiring story of a career change from a non-technical background (hospital worker) to a software engineer, and eventually a Developer Relations Engineer, was a huge motivation. It’s a powerful reminder that with dedication and a willingness to learn, a career transformation like this is entirely possible.
Why these videos matter
These resources didn’t just give me technical knowledge—they gave me the confidence that with a structured plan and consistent effort, this career transition is absolutely achievable. Each video addressed different aspects of my journey: the technical roadmap, the process understanding, and the human element of career transformation.
The 2-Year Goal: A Four-Phase Roadmap
My journey is broken down into four distinct phases. This roadmap will be my guide and my promise to myself.
📚 Phase 1: Building the Foundation
Timeline: First 6 Months
Goal & Strategy
Goal: Master the fundamentals of Linux, Networking, and AWS. Make output on GitHub a daily, natural habit.
Strategy: Start with the basics that every DevOps engineer needs. Focus on understanding rather than memorization.
Key Deliverables:
- ✅ Earn the LPIC-1 certification
- ✅ Earn the CCNA certification
- ✅ Earn the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification
- ✅ Maintain a well-organized GitHub profile with study scripts and notes
- ✅ Document learning journey through weekly blog posts
☁️ Phase 2: Cloud, IaC, and Containers in Practice
Timeline: Months 7-12
Goal & Strategy
Goal: Move beyond theory to practical application. Leave manual infrastructure setup behind and learn to containerize applications.
Strategy: Every piece of infrastructure should be code. Every application should be containerized. No exceptions.
Key Deliverables:
- ✅ Earn the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA) certification
- ✅ Manage AWS infrastructure entirely with Terraform code
- ✅ Write custom Dockerfiles for at least 5 different application types
- ✅ Create a multi-container application with Docker Compose
- ✅ Implement GitOps practices in personal projects
🔄 Phase 3: Building an Automated Pipeline
Timeline: Months 13-18
Goal & Strategy
Goal: Understand Kubernetes and build a complete CI/CD pipeline that automates everything from code commit to deployment.
Strategy: Build real pipelines for real projects. Learn by breaking things and fixing them.
Key Deliverables:
- ✅ A fully functional CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions/Jenkins)
- ✅ Deploy applications to a Kubernetes cluster
- ✅ Implement blue-green and canary deployments
- ✅ Create a detailed guide on setting up a Kubernetes cluster at home
- ✅ Contribute to open-source DevOps projects
📊 Phase 4: SRE Practices and Job Hunting
Timeline: Months 19-24
Goal & Strategy
Goal: Learn to monitor and improve the reliability of the systems I’ve built. Polish my portfolio and begin the job search.
Strategy: Think like an SRE. Measure everything. Automate everything. Document everything.
Key Deliverables:
- ✅ Build a monitoring dashboard using Prometheus and Grafana
- ✅ Implement alerting with PagerDuty/Opsgenie
- ✅ Create chaos engineering experiments
- ✅ Develop SLIs, SLOs, and error budgets for personal projects
- ✅ Polish GitHub portfolio with 10+ production-ready projects
- ✅ Start applying for DevOps positions
🎯 The First 90 Days: Breaking It Down
Week 1-2: Environment Setup
- Set up home lab with virtualization → done
- Configure Git and GitHub → done
- Start daily commits habit
Week 3-4: Linux Deep Dive
- Master basic commands and file system → already learned at work but recap
- Learn shell scripting basics
- Understand permissions and processes
- Practice with systemd and services
Week 5-8: Networking Fundamentals
- OSI model and TCP/IP stack → already learned at work but recap
- Subnetting and VLANs → already learned at work but recap
- DNS, DHCP, and routing → already learned at work but recap
- Hands-on with virtual networks
Week 9-12: AWS Foundations
- Core services (EC2, S3, VPC)
- IAM and security best practices
- Cost optimization strategies
- Prepare for Cloud Practitioner exam
📊 Success Metrics
I’m setting clear, measurable goals to track my progress:
text{Success Rate} = frac{text{Completed Milestones}}{text{Total Planned Milestones}} times 100%
Success Rate=Total Planned MilestonesCompleted Milestones×100%
Monthly Targets:
- 📝 4 technical blog posts
- 💻 20+ GitHub commits
- 📚 40 hours of structured learning
- 🔨 2 practical projects completed
🚀 Tools & Resources I’ll Be Using
My Tech Stack
Learning Platforms:
- Homelab
- Udemy
- YouTube
- Official documentation
Hands-On Labs:
- AWS Free Tier
- Home Lab (Proxmox/Kubernates)
Core Tools to Master:
- Version Control: Git, GitHub
- IaC: Terraform, Ansible
- Containers: Docker, Kubernetes
- CI/CD: GitHub Actions
- Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack
- Cloud: AWS (primary), Azure, GCP (basics)
💡 What Makes This Different?
This isn’t just another „learn DevOps“ post. Here’s what I’m committed to:
- Public Accountability: Weekly progress updates right here
- Real Projects: Everything I learn gets applied to actual projects
- Open Source: All my learning materials and projects will be open source
- Community First: I’ll help others who are starting their journey
Follow my journey on GitHub – All resources will be open source!
🤝 Join Me on This Journey
Want to follow along?
- Star my GitHub repository for updates
- Follow me here on DEV and on X for weekly progress posts
- Connect on LinkedIn for professional updates
I’m sharing this roadmap to hold myself accountable and to connect with others who might be on a similar path. If you have advice, encouragement, or just want to follow along, I’d love to hear from you.
Let the journey begin! 🚀
Drop a comment below with your thoughts or advice! Are you on a similar journey? What resources have helped you the most?
Next Post Preview: „Week 1: Setting Up My DevOps Home Lab – A Complete Guide“
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