The 2023 DevOps Roadmap: Your Guide to Becoming a DevOps Engineer
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The landscape of DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) is thriving in 2023, attracting many professionals eager to establish themselves as DevOps advocates within their organizations.
While the advantages of DevOps, such as enhanced software development and deployment, are widely recognized, my own experiences have shown me that the journey is far from simple. Navigating through a multitude of tools and methodologies can be challenging.
As a Java blogger, I frequently receive inquiries from my audience about how to transition into a DevOps role. They often ask which tools to master, whether knowledge of Maven and Jenkins is crucial, and how Docker and Kubernetes fit into the picture. Questions about infrastructure automation tools like Chef, Puppet, or Ansible also come up regularly.
Although I strive to provide insights based on my limited experience, articulating this information in a clear and reusable format has been difficult. However, today I am excited to share a fantastic resource that can set you on the path to becoming the DevOps Engineer you've always aspired to be: The 2023 DevOps Roadmap.
While browsing online, I stumbled upon a remarkable GitHub page created by Kamran Ahmed, showcasing various roadmaps for front-end, back-end, full-stack development, and of course, DevOps Engineering. This roadmap not only outlines the responsibilities of a DevOps engineer but also specifies the necessary tools and technologies to learn.
Visually striking with its bright colors (who doesn't love yellow and cream with blue accents?), the roadmap is perfect for printing and placing on your desk for quick reference.
Although it effectively indicates what you need to learn, it lacks guidance on how and where to acquire these skills. To complement the roadmap, I have curated a list of useful online courses, both free and paid, to help you enhance your knowledge in these areas.
The 2023 DevOps Roadmap for Developers is as follows:
Let’s break down the roadmap step by step to discover how you can acquire the essential skills to become a DevOps expert in 2023:
- Learn a Programming Language
It's essential to know at least one of the three primary programming languages: Java, Python, or JavaScript. If you're unfamiliar with any of these, check out the following recommended courses:
1.1 Java For Java enthusiasts, The Complete Java MasterClass is an excellent course, recently updated for Java 10.
1.2 Python If you're leaning towards Python, I highly recommend The Complete Python BootCamp, which focuses on Python 3, the most widely used version.
1.3 JavaScript For those interested in JavaScript, Mosh Hamdani's JavaScript Basics for Beginners on Udemy is a great starting point.
If you prefer free resources, I have compiled a list of free courses for Java, Python, and JavaScript.
- Understand Operating System Concepts
Understanding OS concepts is crucial for DevOps, as developers must now grasp these areas that were traditionally reserved for system administrators. Key topics include Process Management, Threads and Concurrency, Sockets, I/O Management, Virtualization, Memory Storage, and File Systems. I recommend the Linux Administration BootCamp on Udemy for a comprehensive understanding of Linux OS.
For additional options, consider exploring free Linux courses.
- Master the Terminal
A strong command of the command line is vital for a DevOps role, especially when working with Linux. Familiarity with shells like Bash or Ksh, and tools such as find, grep, awk, sed, lsof, and networking commands is essential. If you need a refresher, the Linux Command Line Interface (CLI) Fundamentals course on Pluralsight is a great option.
To access Pluralsight's extensive library, a membership is required, which is well worth the investment.
- Networking and Security
In today's interconnected world, networking and security knowledge is crucial for a DevOps engineer. Familiarity with concepts such as DNS, OSI Model, HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SSL, and TLS is essential. For a refresher, consider the TCP/IP and Networking Fundamentals for IT Pros course on Pluralsight.
- Setup Knowledge
A successful DevOps engineer should understand how to set up various components on their machine, including web servers like IIS, Apache, and Tomcat, as well as caching servers, load balancers, reverse proxies, and firewalls. If you are new to web development, Colt Steele's Web Developer Bootcamp could be beneficial.
- Learn Infrastructure as Code
Understanding Infrastructure as Code is crucial for a DevOps engineer. Familiarity with containers like Docker and Kubernetes, configuration management tools such as Ansible, Chef, Salt, and Puppet, as well as infrastructure provisioning tools like Terraform is vital. For Docker, I recommend Docker Mastery: The Complete Toolset by a Docker Captain on Udemy.
For Kubernetes, consider the Learn DevOps: The Complete Kubernetes Course, which covers building, deploying, and managing Kubernetes.
If you're interested in Chef, the Chef Fundamentals: A Recipe for Automating Infrastructure course is an excellent choice.
- Continuous Integration and Delivery (CI/CD)
Setting up a CI/CD pipeline is a critical skill for DevOps professionals. There are numerous tools available, but I highly recommend Jenkins, as it is the most widely adopted and mature tool in the market. To get started, the Learn DevOps: CI/CD with Jenkins using Pipelines and Docker course on Udemy is the best option.
For additional resources, check out my curated list of free Jenkins and Maven courses.
- Monitoring Software and Infrastructure
Monitoring is a key aspect of DevOps, and it's essential for engineers to learn about both infrastructure and application monitoring. Tools such as Nagios, Icing, Datadog, Zabbix, Monit, AppDynamics, and New Relic are important in this space. Depending on your company's tech stack, you may choose the ones most relevant to you. For AppDynamics, I recommend the Cisco AppDynamics Application Performance Management (APM) course on Udemy.
- Familiarize Yourself with Cloud Providers
As cloud computing continues to grow, understanding popular cloud providers is essential for DevOps engineers. AWS leads the market, but Google Cloud and Azure are also strong competitors. I suggest starting with the AWS Serverless APIs & Apps — A Complete Introduction course on Udemy.
For additional options, explore my list of free AWS courses for developers and DevOps professionals.
Closing Notes
Thank you for following along with this article. You may feel overwhelmed by the amount of information and courses available, but remember that you likely already possess some relevant knowledge. There are plenty of free resources available, and I have linked to both free and paid options that provide great value for your investment.
I personally favor Udemy for its affordability and quality, but feel free to choose courses that suit your needs. Ultimately, you should aim to gain a solid understanding of the topics discussed here.
Best of luck on your DevOps journey! It won't be easy, but with this roadmap, you're one step closer to becoming the DevOps engineer you aspire to be.
If you enjoyed this article, consider following me on Medium (javinpaul) for updates on new posts, and don't forget to follow javarevisited on Twitter!
A special thanks to Kamran Ahmed for creating such valuable content.