🚀 L1 Support to DevOps Engineer: Step-by-Step Roadmap

Moving from L1 Support to DevOps is one of the smartest career transitions in IT. You already have the most important thing: real production exposure.

Now you just need the right direction.


Phase 1: Strengthen Your Core (0–2 Months)

Before DevOps, your fundamentals must be strong.

Must-Know Skills:

  • Linux commands (cd, ls, grep, awk, sed)

  • Networking basics (DNS, TCP/IP, ports, VLAN)

  • How servers work

  • Basic Bash scripting

Tools:

  • VirtualBox / VMware

  • Ubuntu / CentOS

  • Practice daily


Phase 2: Learn Version Control (Git) (1 Month)

Every DevOps engineer uses Git.

Learn:

  • git clone, add, commit, push, pull

  • GitHub / GitLab

  • Branching & merging

Project:

  • Upload all your practice scripts to GitHub.


Phase 3: Learn Cloud (AWS or Azure) (2 Months)

Pick one:

  • AWS (more demand)

  • Azure (good for Microsoft ecosystem)

Focus on:

  • EC2 / VM

  • S3 / Blob storage

  • IAM

  • VPC / Networking

  • Load balancer

Certification (optional):

  • AWS Cloud Practitioner / Azure Fundamentals


Phase 4: Containers (Docker) (1 Month)

Docker is mandatory.

Learn:

  • Dockerfile

  • Images & containers

  • Docker Hub

  • docker-compose

Project:

  • Containerize a simple web app.


Phase 5: CI/CD Pipelines (1 Month)

This is core DevOps.

Tools:

  • Jenkins

  • GitHub Actions

  • GitLab CI

Learn:

  • Build → Test → Deploy pipeline

  • Auto deployment


Phase 6: Kubernetes (Advanced) (2 Months)

Not beginner level, but high value.

Learn:

  • Pods, services

  • Deployments

  • Helm

  • Scaling


Phase 7: Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Learn:

  • Terraform

  • CloudFormation (AWS)

This makes you real DevOps.


Phase 8: Monitoring & Logging

Tools:

  • Prometheus

  • Grafana

  • ELK Stack

You already do incident handling — this fits perfectly.


Skill Stack Summary

AreaTools
OSLinux
SCMGit
CloudAWS / Azure
ContainersDocker
OrchestrationKubernetes
CI/CDJenkins
IaCTerraform
MonitoringGrafana

How You Should Study (Real Method)

Daily:

  • 1 hour theory

  • 1 hour hands-on

Always:

  • Build projects

  • Push to GitHub

  • Write notes


Resume Strategy (Very Important)

Your resume should show:

  • DevOps projects

  • Labs

  • Tools used

  • GitHub links

Not:

  • Just L1 ticket handling


Realistic Timeline

If consistent:

  • 6 months → Junior DevOps

  • 9–12 months → DevOps Engineer


Common Mistakes ❌

  • Only watching videos

  • No practice

  • Skipping Linux

  • Jumping directly to Kubernetes


Your Advantage (As L1/L2)

You already have:

  • Production mindset

  • Incident handling

  • SLA pressure

  • Monitoring exposure

Developers lack this. You don’t.


Final Truth 🔥

DevOps is not magic.
It’s automation of what you already understand manually.

From:
Restarting servers → Automating deployments
Manual fixes → CI/CD pipelines


Quote:

“Support teaches you problems. DevOps teaches you how to prevent them.”

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