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🚀 Phase 3: DevOps Engineer Track (Months 13-24)

From SysAdmin to DevOps Engineer - Complete Path

🎯 Phase 3 Overview

Prerequisites: Phase 1 (Help Desk) + Phase 2 (SysAdmin) completed

Duration: 12 months (Months 13-24)

Goal: Transition from System Administrator to DevOps Engineer

Expected Outcome: Design and implement full CI/CD pipelines, manage Kubernetes clusters, automate infrastructure

📋 Module Overview

Module Topic Duration Key Skills Certification
3.1 Python for DevOps Month 13-14 Scripting, automation, APIs PCEP/PCAP
3.2 Infrastructure as Code Month 15 Terraform, CloudFormation Terraform Associate
3.3 Configuration Management Month 16 Ansible, Puppet, Chef -
3.4 CI/CD Pipelines Month 17 Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI -
3.5 Containerization Month 18 Docker, container security DCA
3.6 Kubernetes Month 19-20 K8s administration, Helm CKA
3.7 Cloud Platform Month 20-21 AWS/Azure/GCP AWS SAA / AZ-104
3.8 Monitoring & Observability Month 22 Prometheus, Grafana, ELK -
3.9 DevSecOps Month 23 Security scanning, compliance Security+
3.10 Final Capstone Month 24 Full DevOps pipeline Portfolio piece

🎓 Detailed Modules

Module 3.1: Python for DevOps (Month 13-14)

Topics:

  • Python basics (variables, loops, functions)
  • Working with files and APIs
  • Automating system tasks
  • Building CLI tools
  • Error handling and logging

Labs: 15 projects including backup automation, API integrations, monitoring scripts

Module 3.2: Infrastructure as Code (Month 15)

Topics:

  • Terraform basics and best practices
  • State management
  • Modules and reusability
  • AWS/Azure providers
  • CI/CD for infrastructure

Labs: 12 infrastructure deployments (VPC, EC2, RDS, EKS, etc.)

Module 3.3: Configuration Management (Month 16)

Topics:

  • Ansible architecture
  • Playbooks and roles
  • Inventory management
  • Vault for secrets
  • Ansible Tower/AWX

Labs: 10 automation scenarios (server provisioning, configuration, updates)

Module 3.4: CI/CD Pipelines (Month 17)

Topics:

  • CI/CD concepts and benefits
  • Jenkins (installation, pipelines, agents)
  • GitHub Actions (workflows, actions)
  • GitLab CI/CD
  • Pipeline as code

Labs: 10 pipeline implementations (build, test, deploy, rollback)

Module 3.5: Containerization (Month 18)

Topics:

  • Docker architecture
  • Image creation and optimization
  • Docker Compose
  • Container security
  • Registry management

Labs: 12 container projects (multi-stage builds, compose, security scanning)

Module 3.6: Kubernetes (Month 19-20)

Topics:

  • K8s architecture
  • Pods, Services, Deployments
  • ConfigMaps and Secrets
  • StatefulSets and DaemonSets
  • Helm charts
  • K8s security
  • Monitoring and troubleshooting

Labs: 20 K8s exercises (deployments, services, ingress, operators, troubleshooting)

Module 3.7: Cloud Platform (Month 20-21)

Topics:

  • Cloud fundamentals (AWS or Azure)
  • Compute services (EC2, VMs, Lambda)
  • Storage services (S3, EBS, Blob)
  • Networking (VPC, subnets, security groups)
  • Database services (RDS, DynamoDB)
  • IAM and security
  • Cost optimization

Labs: 25 cloud exercises (full infrastructure deployment)

Module 3.8: Monitoring & Observability (Month 22)

Topics:

  • Monitoring vs observability
  • Metrics (Prometheus)
  • Visualization (Grafana)
  • Logging (ELK Stack)
  • Tracing (Jaeger)
  • Alerting best practices

Labs: 8 monitoring setups (full observability stack)

Module 3.9: DevSecOps (Month 23)

Topics:

  • Security in CI/CD
  • SAST/DAST tools
  • Container security
  • Secrets management
  • Compliance as code
  • Security scanning automation

Labs: 10 security implementations (scanning, hardening, compliance)

Module 3.10: Final Capstone (Month 24)

Project: Complete DevOps Pipeline for Microservices Application

Requirements:

  • Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)
  • Kubernetes cluster (EKS/AKS)
  • CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions/Jenkins)
  • Monitoring stack (Prometheus + Grafana)
  • Security scanning integrated
  • Documentation and runbooks

Deliverables:

  • Working pipeline
  • Architecture documentation
  • Runbooks
  • Video demonstration

🎯 Phase 3 Completion Criteria

Technical Requirements

  • ✅ Complete all 10 modules
  • ✅ Pass all assessments (80%+ score)
  • ✅ Complete 250+ hours of hands-on labs
  • ✅ Submit capstone project

Certification Requirements (Recommended)

  • ✅ AWS Solutions Architect Associate OR Azure Administrator
  • ✅ Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
  • ✅ Terraform Associate

Portfolio Requirements

  • ✅ GitHub with 25+ projects
  • ✅ 50+ KB articles
  • ✅ Capstone project (full DevOps pipeline)
  • ✅ Blog posts or presentations

Job Readiness

  • ✅ Resume optimized for DevOps roles
  • ✅ LinkedIn with DevOps keywords
  • ✅ Mock technical interviews completed
  • ✅ Applied to 20+ DevOps positions

📊 Career Outcomes

After Phase 3, You're Ready For:

Role Experience Level Salary Range (LATAM) Salary Range (US Remote)
Junior DevOps Engineer 0-2 years $1,000-2,000/mo $60,000-90,000/yr
DevOps Engineer 2-5 years $2,000-4,000/mo $90,000-140,000/yr
Senior DevOps Engineer 5-8 years $4,000-7,000/mo $140,000-200,000/yr
DevOps Architect 8+ years $7,000-12,000/mo $180,000-280,000/yr

🎓 Total Journey Summary

24-Month Transformation

Phase Duration Starting Point Ending Point Total Hours
Phase 1 3 months Zero IT knowledge Help Desk Technician 300 hours
Phase 2 9 months Help Desk System Administrator 600 hours
Phase 3 12 months SysAdmin DevOps Engineer 800 hours
Total 24 months Zero DevOps Engineer 1,700 hours

By the End, You Will Have:

  • ✅ 3 career-ready skill sets (Help Desk, SysAdmin, DevOps)
  • ✅ 500+ hours of hands-on lab experience
  • ✅ 50+ portfolio projects on GitHub
  • ✅ 100+ KB articles and documentation
  • ✅ 5-8 industry certifications
  • ✅ Complete capstone projects for each phase
  • ✅ Professional network in IT community

This is your roadmap. Follow it consistently, and you WILL transform your career.

☘️ Quality over speed. Consistency over intensity. Practice over theory.