From 0 to DevOps Engineer in 90 Days — Realistic Plan
Welcome to the Cloudshalla Engineering Blog! We break down the real, unfiltered truths of DevOps, Cloud, and Platform Engineering fresh from the production trenches. If you are serious about stepping up your career, you are in exactly the right place.
Ground Rules First
This is NOT a "get rich quick" plan. 90 days is enough to get you interview-ready for junior to mid-level DevOps roles — if you put in 2–3 hours daily. This is the plan I would give someone if they came to me with 90 days before their job search. It's aggressive but doable.
Days 1–20: Linux + Git + Networking Basics
Goal: Be comfortable on any Linux server
- Learn bash navigation, file permissions (
chmod,chown), processes (ps,kill,top) - Cron jobs, systemd services, SSH key setup
- Git: clone, commit, branch, merge, rebase, PR workflow
- Basic networking: IP, DNS, ports, HTTP/HTTPS, TCP vs UDP
Free resources: Linux Journey (linuxjourney.com), Pro Git Book (free online), TryHackMe Linux rooms
Days 21–40: Docker + Scripting
Goal: Containerize something real
- Write 5 different Dockerfiles from scratch (Node.js, Python Flask, Nginx, Go, Java)
- Docker Compose: multi-container app with a database
- Bash scripting: 10 scripts — backup, log cleanup, health checks, deploy scripts
- Python basics for automation: file I/O, HTTP requests, JSON parsing
Days 41–60: Cloud + CI/CD
Goal: Deploy something live to the internet
- AWS Free Tier: EC2, S3, IAM, VPC, Security Groups, RDS (free tier)
- GitHub Actions: build → test → push Docker image → deploy to EC2
- Set up a domain, SSL certificate (Let's Encrypt), Nginx reverse proxy
Days 61–75: Terraform + Kubernetes Basics
Goal: Infrastructure as Code + Container Orchestration awareness
- Terraform: create VPC, subnets, EC2, security groups — from code
- Minikube locally: Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps, basic troubleshooting
- EKS or GKE free trial: deploy your Dockerized app to a real cluster
Days 76–90: Monitoring + Project Polish
Goal: Look like a professional, not a student
- Prometheus + Grafana: monitor your app, set up 3 real alerts
- Polish your GitHub: README for every project, architecture diagrams
- Write 1 blog post about what you built (Medium or Hashnode)
- Update LinkedIn, apply for 5 roles per day
Ready to stop learning theory and start building real projects? Join the Cloudshalla masterclasses to get 1-on-1 mentorship, break into top-tier DevOps roles, and master cloud automation today.