How to Become a DevOps Engineer in 2025

 



Jumping into DevOps, System Engineering, or becoming an SRE (Site Reliability Engineer) requires a blend of foundational knowledge and practical skills. Here’s a breakdown of the prerequisites and technical knowledge you should aim to master:

1. Understanding Operating Systems and Networking

Why?

You’ll be managing servers, cloud instances, and networking setups. Knowing how systems work under the hood is crucial.

Linux Fundamentals (Most DevOps work is Linux-based)

  • Shell scripting (Bash, Zsh)
  • File systems, permissions, and process management
  • User management and package installations
  • Networking commands (ping, netstat, ifconfig, traceroute)

Networking Basics

  • TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP/HTTPS
  • Ports, firewalls, VPNs
  • Load Balancing, Reverse Proxies (e.g., NGINX)
  • Troubleshooting connectivity issues

2. Version Control Systems (VCS)

Why?

Collaborating with developers and managing infrastructure as code requires tracking changes efficiently.

Git

  • Cloning, branching, merging, pull requests
  • GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket

3. Programming and Scripting

Why?

Automation is key in DevOps. You’ll often write scripts to automate tasks.

Languages to Focus On

  • Bash/Shell scripting (must-have)
  • Python (preferred for automation and tooling)
  • YAML/JSON (for configuration files like Kubernetes, Ansible, etc.)

4. Cloud Platforms

Why?

Cloud is the backbone of modern DevOps and SRE practices.

Popular Cloud Providers

  • AWS (Amazon Web Services) [Most Common]
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
  • Basics of cloud services: Compute (EC2), Storage (S3), Networking (VPC)

5. Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Why?

Infrastructure automation is a core DevOps principle.

Tools to Learn

  • Terraform (Widely Used)
  • CloudFormation (AWS)
  • ARM Templates (Azure)

6. Containerization and Orchestration

Why?

Microservices and cloud deployments often rely on containers.

Docker – Packaging applications into containers.

  • Building images, Dockerfiles
  • Docker Compose

Kubernetes (K8s) – Orchestrating containerized applications.

  • Deployments, Pods, Services, ConfigMaps, Helm Charts

7. Configuration Management & Automation

Why?

Automating server setup and configuration is critical for scalability.

Popular Tools

  • Ansible (Agentless, simple to start)
  • Puppet
  • Chef

8. CI/CD Pipelines

Why?

Automating build, test, and deployment processes speeds up development.

Key Tools

  • Jenkins
  • GitHub Actions
  • GitLab CI/CD
  • CircleCI

9. Monitoring and Logging

Why?

Observability is key for reliability and performance.

Monitoring Tools

  • Prometheus, Grafana (Metrics and Dashboards)
  • ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) – Logs
  • Datadog, New Relic

10. Security Best Practices

Why?

Secure deployments prevent vulnerabilities and data breaches.

Security Concepts

  • SSH, VPN, IAM (Identity & Access Management)
  • TLS/SSL Certificates
  • Secrets management (e.g., HashiCorp Vault)

11. Mindset and Soft Skills

Why?

DevOps is not just about tools—it’s about culture, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Agile and DevOps Culture

  • Collaboration with Development teams
  • Understanding CI/CD principles
  • Incident response and Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

Problem-Solving

  • Debugging, troubleshooting
  • Capacity planning and system optimization

Suggested Roadmap to Start:

  1. Start with Linux + Networking → Practice on a Virtual Machine (e.g., Ubuntu).
  2. Learn Git + Shell Scripting → Automate daily tasks.
  3. Explore Cloud Fundamentals (AWS preferred) → Set up a free-tier account.
  4. Understand Docker + Kubernetes Basics → Deploy simple apps.
  5. Pick a Config Management Tool (Ansible) → Automate server setup.
  6. Get Familiar with CI/CD Pipelines (Jenkins or GitHub Actions).
  7. Focus on Monitoring (Prometheus + Grafana) → Monitor a small app.
  8. Security Basics → Practice IAM setups and TLS certificates.

Helpful Free Resources:


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