Deciding Factor , Why you choose devops ?
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Feel free to skip this section it , it includes what are the factors and why you have choose to learn devops . if you are aware and curios to learn feel free to move to next heading
As a student considering a journey into DevOps, I can relate to your curiosity, as I have been on this path for some time and can offer guidance based on my experience. There are various reasons you might choose to learn DevOps, whether through personal exploration or recommendations from peers.
Common Mistake: A frequent error is choosing DevOps simply to avoid coding, as some of my friends have done, thinking it's the easier path.
Let me dispel this myth: DevOps requires coding expertise, with shell scripting and Python being heavily used for automation.
If you're genuinely curious about how applications are deployed to production, you're in the right place.
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In production we need to interact with Linux operating system mainly ubuntu so it would be good to get adapted to this ecosystems . I recommend you to use the Terminal more now even if you are on window Install WSL in your system you will get ubuntu and use the bash you can customise your shell as per your convience , personally i have been using zsh with oh my zsh it give nice and easy user experience
Taking First Step
Learning DevOps Tools in the Right Order
There are hundreds of tools in the DevOps ecosystem. The challenge is not learning everything, but learning in the right order so your foundation stays strong.
Here’s a practical learning path that actually aligns with real engineering workflows:
1) Git + GitHub
Start version-controlling every project you build.
Rule: Push all your code to GitHub. Keep every project well-maintained.
Why it matters:
Collaborating with code becomes easier
You learn branching, merging, and pull requests
It builds your portfolio naturally
Key Skills to Learn
git init, git clone, git status
git add, git commit, git push
Branching & Pull Requests
2) Linux Basics + Shell
Linux is the backbone of servers and cloud machines.
When you work inside the cloud, you interact through a terminal, so Linux knowledge is non-negotiable.
Recommendation: Learn a terminal editor like vim or nano.
When you SSH into a server, you won’t have VS Code waiting for you.
Key Concepts
File system navigation (cd, ls, rm, mv, cp)
Permissions & users
System services & processes
Networking basics (ping, curl, netstat)
3) Choose a Cloud Provider
After Linux, pick one cloud to start with.
For beginners, AWS is highly recommended because it’s widely used in the industry and has tons of documentation.
Use your Linux skills and start doing practical exercises, like:
The goal is to connect Linux knowledge with real cloud servers.
4) Docker (Containerization)
Now that you can deploy on the cloud, learn how to deploy efficiently with containers.
Why Docker?
Reproducible environments
Works the same on local + cloud
Makes CI/CD sooo much easier
Learn
Dockerfile
Images, containers, volumes, networks
Tagging & pushing images to Docker Hub
5) CI/CD (GitHub Actions)
Once you know Docker, automate builds and deployments.
CI/CD is not theory. You must build pipelines that test and deploy your apps automatically.
Start with GitHub Actions, then explore others later.
Important Concepts
Build pipelines
Deploy pipelines
Secrets management
Instead of manually creating servers on AWS, automate it.
Terraform teaches you:
You should be able to:
7) Kubernetes (Orchestration)
Once you understand Docker, learn how to scale containers.
Kubernetes = Running containers at scale.
Focus on:
Make sure you run apps locally using kind kubectl or Kubernetes on cloud (EKS/GKE).
8) Observability (Prometheus + Grafana)
If you deploy apps, you must monitor them.
Observability includes:
Prometheus helps collect metrics
Grafana visualizes them
Learn how to:
Monitor applications
Create dashboards
Set up alerts
9) DevSecOps Basics (Trivy + Vault)
Security should never be an afterthought.
Start with simple tools:
Use Trivy to scan:
Docker images
Kubernetes workloads
Repositories
Use Vault to store secrets securely.
TLDR
The article provides a comprehensive guide for learning DevOps, starting with understanding the reasons for choosing this path. It emphasizes the importance of coding skills, particularly in shell scripting and Python. The learning journey includes mastering Git and GitHub for version control, Linux basics, choosing a cloud provider like AWS, learning Docker for containerization, and setting up CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions. It also covers advanced topics like Terraform for infrastructure as code, Kubernetes for container orchestration, observability with Prometheus and Grafana, and DevSecOps basics with tools like Trivy and Vault.
