Home/Career Paths/DevOps Engineer

DevOps Engineer career pathRoadmap, skills, salary and how to become a DevOps Engineer in 2026

A DevOps engineer builds and runs the systems that take code from a developer's laptop to production: automated build and test pipelines, cloud infrastructure written as code, containers and monitoring. The aim is to ship changes quickly and safely, many times a day.

4stages
16steps
162hours of skills
0%your progress

DevOps Engineer roadmap

Open any step to see its lessons, tools and lab, and mark it as learning or done. Your progress is saved in this browser only.

1

Foundations

4 steps · 38 hours
Linux essentials10h

Work confidently on Linux servers from the command line

What you learn

  • Shell, files and the Linux filesystem
  • Users, groups and permissions
  • Processes and services with systemd
  • Package management (apt, dnf)
  • Networking commands: ip, ss, curl, dig
  • Bash scripting basics

Tools

LinuxBash

Hands-on lab

Automate a web server setup with a Bash script

Learn it at SOTT

AWS DevOps Engineer Training · Cloud Automation with DevOps · Kubernetes CKA Certification Training

Git & GitHub6h

Collaborate on code with Git like a professional team

What you learn

  • Repositories, commits and history
  • Branching and merging
  • Pull requests and code review
  • Resolving merge conflicts
  • GitHub workflows for teams

Tools

GitGitHub

Hands-on lab

Run a team pull-request workflow end to end

Learn it at SOTT

AWS DevOps Engineer Training · DevSecOps: Secure CI/CD & Supply Chain · Azure DevOps

Networking essentials10h

Understand and troubleshoot how networks really work

What you learn

  • OSI and TCP/IP models
  • IP addressing and subnetting
  • DNS, DHCP and NAT
  • HTTP, HTTPS and TLS
  • Ports, firewalls and troubleshooting tools

Tools

Wiresharkpingtraceroute

Hands-on lab

Diagnose 5 broken connectivity scenarios

Learn it at SOTT

IT Cybersecurity Fundamentals Workshop · CCNA (200-301) Training · Cybersecurity

Python fundamentals12h

Write clean, working Python programs

What you learn

  • Syntax, variables and data types
  • Control flow and functions
  • Lists, dicts and comprehensions
  • Files, modules and packages
  • Errors and exceptions
  • Virtual environments and pip

Tools

PythonVS Code

Hands-on lab

Build a command-line tool that cleans and summarises CSV data

Learn it at SOTT

Generative AI & RAG Engineering · AI Agents with LLMs · MLOps Engineering: Notebook to Production

2

Core skills

4 steps · 40 hours
DevOps foundations8h

Understand how modern teams ship software

What you learn

  • DevOps culture and practices
  • The software delivery lifecycle
  • CI/CD concepts
  • DORA metrics
  • The DevOps tool landscape

Tools

JiraGit

Hands-on lab

Map and improve a team's delivery pipeline

Learn it at SOTT

Getting Started with Cloud Automation · DevOps Fundamentals Workshop · DevOps Tools

AWS cloud foundations10h

Navigate and use core AWS services securely

What you learn

  • AWS global infrastructure
  • IAM: users, roles and policies
  • EC2 compute
  • S3 storage
  • VPC basics
  • Pricing, billing and support

Tools

AWS ConsoleAWS CLI

Hands-on lab

Host a static website on S3 with secure IAM access

Learn it at SOTT

AWS DevOps Engineer Training · Forward Deployed Engineer Program · FinOps: Cloud Cost Management

CI/CD pipelines12h

Build reliable CI/CD pipelines

What you learn

  • GitHub Actions
  • Jenkins pipelines
  • Artifacts and versioning
  • Environments and approvals
  • Rollbacks and release strategies

Tools

GitHub ActionsJenkins

Hands-on lab

Pipeline that tests, builds and deploys on every push

Learn it at SOTT

AWS DevOps Engineer Training · Cloud Automation with DevOps · DevSecOps: Secure CI/CD & Supply Chain

Docker & containers10h

Package and run any app in containers

What you learn

  • Images and Dockerfiles
  • Volumes and networks
  • Docker Compose
  • Registries
  • Image hardening and Podman

Tools

DockerPodmanCompose

Hands-on lab

Containerise a three-service application

Learn it at SOTT

AWS DevOps Engineer Training · Kubernetes CKA Certification Training · DevSecOps: Secure CI/CD & Supply Chain

3

Advanced

5 steps · 54 hours
Kubernetes core16h

Deploy and run applications on Kubernetes

What you learn

  • Cluster architecture
  • Pods, Deployments and Services
  • ConfigMaps and Secrets
  • Storage and StatefulSets
  • Ingress and networking
  • Helm charts

Tools

KuberneteskubectlHelm

Hands-on lab

Deploy a production-style app with Helm

Learn it at SOTT

Kubernetes CKA Certification Training · DevSecOps: Secure CI/CD & Supply Chain · MLOps Engineering: Notebook to Production

Terraform & infrastructure as code12h

Build cloud infrastructure from code

What you learn

  • HCL, providers and resources
  • State and backends
  • Modules
  • Workspaces and environments
  • Policy as code

Tools

Terraform

Hands-on lab

Provision dev, test and prod environments from modules

Learn it at SOTT

AWS DevOps Engineer Training · Cloud Automation with DevOps · DevSecOps: Secure CI/CD & Supply Chain

Ansible configuration management8h

Automate server configuration at scale

What you learn

  • Inventory and ad-hoc commands
  • Playbooks
  • Roles
  • Ansible Vault

Tools

Ansible

Hands-on lab

Configure 10 servers with one playbook

Learn it at SOTT

Cloud Automation with DevOps · DevOps Tools · Linux Administration

DevOps on AWS12h

Automate build, test and deployment on AWS

What you learn

  • CodePipeline and CodeBuild
  • Infrastructure as code with CloudFormation and CDK
  • Deploying to ECS and EKS
  • Blue/green and canary releases
  • CloudWatch monitoring and alarms

Tools

CodePipelineCDKECSCloudWatch

Hands-on lab

Automated pipeline that deploys containers to ECS

Learn it at SOTT

AWS DevOps Engineer Training · Cloud Automation with DevOps

GitOps with Argo CD6h

Manage deployments declaratively from Git

What you learn

  • GitOps principles
  • Argo CD applications
  • Progressive delivery
  • Drift detection

Tools

Argo CD

Hands-on lab

Deploy and roll back with Argo CD

Learn it at SOTT

Platform Engineering with Kubernetes & Terraform · SRE & Observability · DevOps with Git & CI/CD Pipelines Workshop

4

Job-ready

3 steps · 30 hours
Observability & SRE12h

Run reliable systems with SRE practices

What you learn

  • Metrics, logs and traces
  • Prometheus and Grafana
  • OpenTelemetry
  • SLOs and error budgets
  • Incident response and postmortems

Tools

PrometheusGrafanaOpenTelemetry

Hands-on lab

SLO dashboard with burn-rate alerts

Learn it at SOTT

DevSecOps: Secure CI/CD & Supply Chain · LLMOps & AI Observability · Platform Engineering with Kubernetes & Terraform

DevSecOps & supply chain security12h

Build security into every stage of delivery

What you learn

  • Shift-left security
  • SAST and DAST (SonarQube, OWASP ZAP)
  • Dependency and secrets scanning
  • Container scanning with Trivy
  • SBOMs and signing with cosign
  • Policy as code with OPA

Tools

SonarQubeTrivyOWASP ZAPcosignOPA

Hands-on lab

Add security gates that block a vulnerable release

Learn it at SOTT

DevSecOps: Secure CI/CD & Supply Chain · Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400)

Career launch6h

Present your skills confidently to employers

What you learn

  • Resume and LinkedIn that get shortlisted
  • Building your project portfolio
  • Interview preparation and mock rounds
  • Job search strategy

Tools

LinkedIn

Hands-on lab

Mock technical + HR interview with feedback

Learn it at SOTT

DevSecOps: Secure CI/CD & Supply Chain · Generative AI & RAG Engineering · MLOps Engineering: Notebook to Production

How to become a DevOps Engineer

A practical, step-by-step plan. Skip any step you already know.

  1. 1
    Start with the foundations: Linux essentials, Git & GitHub, Networking essentials and Python fundamentals

    4 steps · about 38 hours

  2. 2
    Build the core skills: DevOps foundations, AWS cloud foundations, CI/CD pipelines and Docker & containers

    4 steps · about 40 hours

  3. 3
    Go deeper: Kubernetes core, Terraform & infrastructure as code, Ansible configuration management and DevOps on AWS

    5 steps · about 54 hours

  4. 4
    Get job-ready: Observability & SRE, DevSecOps & supply chain security and Career launch

    3 steps · about 30 hours

  5. 5
    Build two or three portfolio projects

    Use the hands-on labs in each step, publish your work on GitHub and write a short README for each project. Projects are what interviewers ask about first.

  6. 6
    Prepare for interviews

    Practise the questions asked for this role, do mock interviews and polish your resume and LinkedIn profile. Practise DevOps Engineer interview questions →

  7. 7
    Apply for DevOps Engineer roles

    Start with roles that match your current level, keep learning on the job, and grow towards the senior skills in this path.

DevOps Engineer salary in India (2026)

Indicative yearly pay, in lakh rupees (LPA). Pay varies with city, company, skills and certifications, so use these as a guide, not a promise.

Entry level0–2 years
₹4–8 LPA
Mid level3–5 years
₹8–16 LPA
Senior / lead6+ years
₹16–34 LPA

Rounded ranges from public salary surveys (AmbitionBox, Glassdoor and PayScale India), checked November 2026. Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune often pay above these ranges, and product companies and global capability centres pay more than service companies.

Courses that take you there

How it compares

DevOps engineer vs SRE

Both automate and run production systems. DevOps engineers focus on the delivery pipeline and infrastructure; SREs focus on reliability targets, monitoring and incident response.

DevOps engineer vs software developer

Developers build the product's features. DevOps engineers build the pipelines, infrastructure and tooling that ship and run those features.

DevOps Engineer career path FAQ

How long does it take to become a DevOps Engineer?+
This path covers about 162 hours of hands-on learning across 16 modules. How quickly you finish depends on your starting point and weekly time; our advisors can plan a timeline that fits you.
How do I become a DevOps Engineer?+
Follow the stages in order: foundations, core skills, advanced and job-ready, then build two or three portfolio projects, prepare for interviews and apply. If you already know a topic, mark it done and skip ahead.
What is the DevOps Engineer salary in India?+
As an indicative guide from public salary surveys, about ₹4–8 lakh a year at entry level, ₹8–16 lakh with 3–5 years and ₹16–34 lakh for senior roles. Pay varies a lot with city, company, skills and certifications.
Where should I start?+
With the Foundations stage: Linux essentials, Git & GitHub, Networking essentials and Python fundamentals. If you already know a topic, mark it as done and move to the next one.
What is the difference: DevOps engineer vs SRE?+
Both automate and run production systems. DevOps engineers focus on the delivery pipeline and infrastructure; SREs focus on reliability targets, monitoring and incident response.
What is the difference: DevOps engineer vs software developer?+
Developers build the product's features. DevOps engineers build the pipelines, infrastructure and tooling that ship and run those features.
Which SOTT courses cover this path?+
AWS DevOps Engineer Training, Cloud Automation with DevOps, Kubernetes CKA Certification Training, DevSecOps: Secure CI/CD & Supply Chain and Azure DevOps. Each one is taught live, in our Chennai classroom or online, with hands-on labs and placement assistance.
I have another question. Who can I ask?+
Our advisors are happy to help. Call or WhatsApp us, or send a message from the Contact page, and we will get back to you within one working day.

More role paths

Learn it with a mentor

Want to follow a path with live classes, labs and placement assistance?

Our advisors will match the path to the right SOTT course for your background.