A practical route from zero (or from a developer role) to a hireable junior DevOps engineer in 6–12 months. Real courses, hands-on labs, the right certifications — tuned to what the Polish, EU and US job market will actually pay for in 2027.
6–12 months · part-time friendlypractice-first: labs in every stage3 portfolio projects = your CVprogress saves in your browser
Why this path looks the way it does
If you start now, you'll be interviewing in 2027 — so this path is built for that market, not for 2020. Three shifts drive every choice below: platform engineering is absorbing classic DevOps roles, security (DevSecOps) is now baked into pipelines instead of bolted on, and AI tooling writes much of the routine code — which makes deep understanding and debugging skills more valuable than memorized syntax.
One more honest note: companies hire fewer juniors than before, because AI makes seniors faster. What still gets juniors hired is proof of real practice — deployed projects, hands-on certifications, and the ability to explain every line of your own infrastructure. That's why this path treats labs and portfolio projects as the core, and video-watching as the support.
Step zero · pick your main resource
The "one course" answer
You can follow this whole path with a single main resource plus free extras. Two honest options — pick the one that matches how you learn:
Recommended default
KodeKloud
One platform, one guided "DevOps Engineer" path, and — the killer feature — browser-based labs attached to every single lesson. You practice the real tools from day one with zero setup. Also the industry-standard prep for the CKA and Terraform certifications used later in this path.
The most-recommended single video bootcamp: one coherent storyline from Linux and networking through Docker, CI/CD, AWS, Terraform and Kubernetes. Concept-first teaching with excellent diagrams. Best if you prefer one instructor guiding the entire journey.
No budget? Every stage below also lists free resources — freeCodeCamp, official docs, KillerCoda labs and free YouTube courses can carry you the whole way. It takes more self-discipline, but it works. Keep roadmap.sh/devops open as your visual map.
The pipeline · check items off as you finish them
Your six stages
Each stage turns green when you complete it — like a passing build. Timelines assume ~10–15 hours per week. Developers switching to DevOps: you may skip most of Stage 0, but don't skip Linux and networking.
Stage 0 · Months 1–2pending
Foundations
Everything in DevOps runs on Linux, talks over networks, and lives in Git. These four skills are non-negotiable — rushing past them is the #1 reason people stall at the Kubernetes stage later.
Stage 1 · Months 2–5pending
Core DevOps toolkit
Containers, pipelines, and one cloud learned properly. Finish this stage with Portfolio Project #1: a containerized app with a CI/CD pipeline that deploys automatically to a cloud server — on your GitHub, with a README that explains every step.
Stage 2 · Months 5–8pending
Kubernetes & Infrastructure as Code
The employability core. Kubernetes is the default runtime for modern applications, and Terraform is how infrastructure gets built. Finish with Portfolio Project #2: full infrastructure provisioned by Terraform running a Kubernetes deployment.
Stage 3 · Months 8–12pending
2027 differentiators
This is what separates you from every other bootcamp graduate in the interview pile. Finish with Portfolio Project #3 — the capstone that ties everything together.
Stage 4 · Every week, from day onepending
The practice layer
Practice is 90% of DevOps. These run in parallel with every stage above — treat them as your weekly routine, not a phase.
Stage 5 · Read once, then skip foreverpending
What not to learn (2027 prediction)
Time is your scarcest resource. These still appear in old tutorials and outdated roadmaps — know they exist, then invest your hours elsewhere.
skipDeep Jenkins / Groovy pipelines
Still alive in enterprises, but new pipelines are GitHub Actions / GitLab CI. One intro module is plenty.
skipPuppet & Chef
Legacy-maintenance only. If a job needs them, you'll learn on the job in a week.
skipMemorizing CLI syntax
AI assistants handle syntax. Interviewers in 2027 test whether you understand what a command does and can debug when it fails.
skipMulti-cloud breadth before one-cloud depth
One cloud known deeply beats three known shallowly. Concepts transfer; add a second cloud after you're hired.
skipOpenStack & on-prem virtualization
Shrinking niche. Unless you're targeting a specific employer that runs it, skip.