Hi everyone, I'm in my seventh semester of college and currently taking a DevOps course. I've completed Linux coursework and AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials, and my university uses AWS for most of its practical work. I'd like to go beyond the basics, build useful hands-on skills, and potentially pursue a DevOps career. What learning path would you recommend? Should I study AWS and DevOps tools side by side, or is there a course that combines them well? I'm also considering a KodeKloud subscription and would appreciate opinions on its courses and learning paths.
2 Answers
Try to learn through one complete project instead of watching courses in isolation. For example, containerize a simple application, deploy it on AWS, provision the infrastructure with Terraform, and create a CI pipeline that tests and deploys it automatically. Add logging, monitoring, access controls, and a rollback process as you go. AWS’s own training material is a useful starting point, and you can study services as the project requires them rather than attempting to learn every AWS product. A portfolio like this can help demonstrate real ability even without extensive professional experience. A formal degree may be helpful for some roles, but strong fundamentals, practical projects, and the ability to explain your architecture and tradeoffs can still open doors.
It can definitely help, especially for internships and junior roles, but make the projects realistic and be prepared to explain every part of them. Keep improving your Linux, networking, scripting, Git, and troubleshooting skills alongside AWS and the DevOps tools.
Your current foundation is a good start. A practical sequence would be Linux, networking fundamentals such as DNS, TCP/IP, and load balancing, Git, and basic shell or Python scripting. Then learn AWS through core services like IAM, VPC, EC2, S3, and CloudWatch. After that, focus on Docker, infrastructure as code with Terraform, and CI/CD using a tool such as GitHub Actions or GitLab CI. Kubernetes can come after you understand containers and deployment basics. KodeKloud is useful for structured Docker and Kubernetes learning, but it will be more valuable once your fundamentals are solid. For AWS, a focused course from an instructor such as Stephane Maarek is often a popular choice. Build small projects while studying, document how you deploy, monitor, roll back, and secure them, and keep the work in a public portfolio. Hands-on ability and being able to explain your decisions generally matter more than collecting certificates.
I’m mainly looking for a structured plan. My understanding is that DevOps covers practices such as CI/CD along with tools like Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, and Linux, while AWS is the cloud platform used to deploy and operate those systems. Would it make sense to study a general DevOps path through KodeKloud while taking an AWS course at the same time, or is there a strong course that combines both?
If I build a portfolio showing these tools and document deployment, monitoring, rollback, and access control, would that be enough to have a realistic chance of entering the industry without relying entirely on a formal degree?