🚀 Step-by-Step Learning Roadmap to
Become AWS Cloud/DevOps Expert
Phase 1: Core AWS Fundamentals & Linux Basics (4-6
weeks)
1. AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
Author: Stephane Maarek
Platform: Udemy
Why: Best for absolute AWS fundamentals and architectural services (EC2, S3, VPC,
IAM, RDS, Lambda)
Duration: ~35-40 hours
Goal: Understand AWS services and prepare for certification
Link on Udemy
2. Linux Administration Bootcamp
Author: Jason Cannon
Platform: Udemy
Why: Strong Linux skills are crucial for cloud/DevOps
Duration: ~20-25 hours
Link on Udemy
Phase 2: Infrastructure as Code + Automation (3-4 weeks)
3. Terraform for Beginners
Author: Ned Bellavance
Platform: Udemy
Why: Terraform is key for automating cloud infrastructure (IaC)
Duration: ~7-10 hours
Link on Udemy
4. AWS CloudFormation Masterclass
Author: Stephane Maarek
Platform: Udemy
Why: AWS native IaC tool, often used alongside Terraform
Duration: ~5-7 hours
Link on Udemy
Phase 3: CI/CD & DevOps Tools (4-5 weeks)
5. Docker Mastery: with Kubernetes +Swarm from a Docker Captain
Author: Bret Fisher
Platform: Udemy
Why: Containerization with Docker and Kubernetes basics
Duration: ~14-18 hours
Link on Udemy
6. Jenkins: Beginner to Advanced
Author: TetraNoodle Team
Platform: Udemy
Why: Jenkins for CI/CD pipeline automation
Duration: ~10-12 hours
Link on Udemy
7. GitLab CI/CD: Complete Guide
Author: Viktor Farcic
Platform: Udemy
Why: Alternative popular CI/CD tool, helps broaden skills
Duration: ~4-6 hours
Link on Udemy
Phase 4: Advanced AWS & Monitoring (3-4 weeks)
8. AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
Author: Stephane Maarek
Platform: Udemy
Why: Deeper focus on deployment, operations, monitoring, and troubleshooting
Duration: ~25-30 hours
Link on Udemy
9. AWS Security Essentials
Author: Amazon Web Services (AWS official)
Platform: AWS Training (Free)
Why: Learn cloud security best practices
Duration: ~2-3 hours
AWS Security Essentials
10. Monitoring with CloudWatch & Prometheus + Grafana
Author: Various (CloudWatch official docs + Prometheus/Grafana courses on Udemy)
Duration: 6-8 hours combined
Goal: Set up monitoring and alerting systems
Phase 5: Database & Cloudflare/CDN (2 weeks)
11. Amazon RDS & DynamoDB Complete Guide
Author: Stephane Maarek or free AWS tutorials
Platform: Udemy/AWS Docs
Duration: ~8-10 hours
12. Cloudflare Fundamentals
Platform: Cloudflare Learning Center (Free)
Duration: ~2-3 hours
Why: Understand CDN, DNS, and security services Cloudflare offers
Phase 6: Soft Skills & Agile Basics (Ongoing)
13. Agile Project Management with Scrum
Author: Various
Platform: LinkedIn Learning or Coursera
Duration: ~3-5 hours
14. Communication Skills for IT Professionals
Platform: LinkedIn Learning
Duration: ~2-3 hours
Timeline Summary
Phase Duration Focus
Phase 1: AWS & Linux Basics 4-6 weeks Core AWS services + Linux basics
Phase 2: IaC & Automation 3-4 weeks Terraform + CloudFormation
Phase 3: CI/CD & DevOps tools 4-5 weeks Docker, Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD
Phase 4: Advanced AWS & Monitoring 3-4 weeks SysOps, security, monitoring
Phase 5: DB & Cloudflare/CDN 2 weeks DBaaS + CDN fundamentals
Phase 6: Soft Skills (ongoing) Continuous Agile + Communication
Extra Tips:
Total Duration: ~16-20 weeks (4-5 months) for solid job readiness, studying part-time
(15-20 hours/week).
Practice every day: Use AWS Free Tier to try deploying projects.
Get certified: After Phases 1 & 4, schedule AWS certification exams to boost your
resume.
Build portfolio: Create GitHub repos showing your cloud infrastructure as code, CI/CD
pipelines, monitoring setups, etc.
Apply for internships/jobs early — even while learning. Real experience is the fastest
growth path.
Would you like me to create a weekly timetable for study and practice?
Also, I can suggest job sites and companies in Pakistan and internationally to target after
completing this roadmap.
4.1-mini
You said:
### Expert-Level Courses for AWS Cloud Engineer / DevOps Role #### 1\. **AWS Core &
Cloud Infrastructure** * **AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (Udemy, A Cloud
Guru, or Linux Academy)** * **AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate (Udemy / A
Cloud Guru)** * **AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional (Udemy / A Cloud Guru)**
#### 2\. **Linux & Windows Server Administration** * **Linux for Beginners (Udemy / Linux
Academy)** * **Linux Administration Bootcamp: Go from Beginner to Advanced (Udemy)**
* **Windows Server Administration Fundamentals (LinkedIn Learning / Pluralsight)** #### 3\.
**Infrastructure as Code & Automation** * **Terraform for Beginners (Udemy)** * **Learn
Terraform on AWS (HashiCorp Learn or Pluralsight)** * **AWS CloudFormation Master Class
(Udemy)** * **GitHub Actions for CI/CD (Udemy / free YouTube tutorials)** #### 4\.
**CI/CD & DevOps Tools** * **Jenkins Beginner Tutorial (Udemy)** * **GitLab CI/CD
Complete Guide (Udemy)** * **AWS CodePipeline Full Guide (AWS Docs & Udemy)** *
**Docker Mastery: with Kubernetes +Swarm from a Docker Captain (Udemy)** #### 5\.
**Cloud Networking, Security & Monitoring** * **AWS Networking Deep Dive (A Cloud
Guru / Linux Academy)** * **AWS Security Essentials (AWS official training or A Cloud
Guru)** * **AWS CloudWatch Monitoring (AWS official docs + tutorials)** * **Prometheus
& Grafana for Beginners (Udemy)** * **Cloudflare Fundamentals (free tutorials & courses
online)** #### 6\. **Databases & DBaaS on AWS** * **Amazon RDS – The Complete Guide
(Udemy)** * **DynamoDB Deep Dive (AWS official docs & tutorials)** #### 7\. **Soft Skills
& Agile** * **Agile Project Management with Scrum (LinkedIn Learning)** *
**Communication Skills for IT Professionals (LinkedIn Learning)** * * * ### Additional
Recommended Certifications: * **AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate** * **AWS
Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate** * **AWS Certified DevOps Engineer –
Professional** * **Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)** (optional but highly useful)
give details roadmap time to finshed details of author... detail ful time or everything.
ChatGPT said:
Got it! Here’s a very detailed, time-planned, author-specific roadmap for you to become an
expert AWS Cloud/DevOps Engineer — covering everything from courses to certifications, with
suggested timelines and study plans.
🎯 Expert-Level AWS Cloud/DevOps Engineer
Roadmap — Detailed with Courses &
Timeline
Phase 1: AWS Fundamentals + Linux Administration
Goal: Learn AWS basics, Linux server skills, prepare for AWS Solutions Architect Associate.
Duration: 5-6 weeks
Total Hours: ~50-60 hours
Course Name & Author Platform Hours What you learn Notes
AWS Certified Solutions AWS Core Services: EC2, S3,
Stephane Most popular,
Architect - Associate 35-40 VPC, IAM, RDS, Lambda,
Maarek highly rated
(2024) CloudFormation basics
Linux Administration Jason 20-25 Linux CLI, users, permissions, Strong Linux
Bootcamp: Go from Cannon services, shell scripting basics foundation
Course Name & Author Platform Hours What you learn Notes
Beginner to Advanced needed
Weekly plan:
Week 1-3: AWS Solutions Architect course (~12 hours/week)
Week 4-5: Linux Bootcamp (~10 hours/week)
Week 6: Practice AWS free tier projects + review
Phase 2: Infrastructure as Code + Automation Tools
Goal: Automate AWS infrastructure using Terraform & CloudFormation
Duration: 3-4 weeks
Total Hours: ~15-20 hours
Course Name & Author Platform Hours What you learn Notes
Learn Terraform on AWS Write infrastructure as code, Terraform is
for Beginners (by Ned Udemy 7-10 modules, AWS resource industry
Bellavance) management standard
Good
AWS CloudFormation Stephane AWS native IaC, templates,
5-7 companion to
Masterclass Maarek stacks
Terraform
Weekly plan:
Week 1-2: Terraform course (~7 hours/week)
Week 3: CloudFormation (~5 hours) + practice
Phase 3: CI/CD & DevOps Tools
Goal: Master containerization, pipelines, and automation tools
Duration: 5 weeks
Total Hours: ~30-40 hours
Course Name & Author Platform Hours What you learn Notes
Docker Mastery: with Docker basics, container Key skill for cloud
Bret Fisher 14-18
Kubernetes + Swarm orchestration jobs
Jenkins: Beginner to TetraNoodle Popular
10-12 Build CI/CD pipelines
Advanced Team automation server
GitLab CI/CD Complete Viktor Farcic 4-6 GitLab pipelines, Optional but good
Course Name & Author Platform Hours What you learn Notes
Guide automation to know
Weekly plan:
Week 1-2: Docker (~7-9 hours/week)
Week 3-4: Jenkins (~6 hours/week)
Week 5: GitLab CI/CD (~4 hours) + project
Phase 4: Advanced AWS, Security & Monitoring
Goal: Deep dive into AWS sysops, security best practices, monitoring tools
Duration: 4 weeks
Total Hours: ~35-40 hours
Course Name & Author Platform Hours What you learn Notes
AWS Certified SysOps Monitoring, deployment,
Stephane Preps for SysOps
Administrator – 25-30 troubleshooting,
Maarek certification
Associate automation
Cloud security, IAM, Free official
AWS Security Essentials AWS official 2-3
policies, encryption course
Monitoring with Various Critical for
Performance monitoring
CloudWatch, Prometheus (Udemy + 6-8 production
& alerting
& Grafana official docs) systems
Weekly plan:
Week 1-3: SysOps course (~8-10 hours/week)
Week 4: Security + Monitoring (~6-7 hours)
Phase 5: Databases & Cloudflare/CDN
Goal: Learn AWS DBaaS, Cloudflare basics for CDN & DNS
Duration: 2 weeks
Total Hours: ~10-12 hours
Course Name & Author Platform Hours What you learn Notes
Amazon RDS & Stephane Maarek + Managed DB services, Important for
8-10
DynamoDB Deep Dive AWS tutorials scaling, backups cloud infra
Cloudflare Fundamentals Cloudflare Learning 2-3 CDN, DNS, security Free online
Course Name & Author Platform Hours What you learn Notes
Center resources
Weekly plan:
Week 1: DBaaS (~6-7 hours)
Week 2: Cloudflare (~3 hours) + practice
Phase 6: Soft Skills & Agile (Ongoing)
Goal: Improve teamwork, communication, and project management skills
Course Name & Author Platform Hours What you learn Notes
Agile Project Management Helpful for
Various 3-5 Agile methodology basics
with Scrum collaborative work
Communication Skills for Effective communication Important for
Various 2-3
IT Professionals & presentations interviews
Certifications to Pursue (Optional but
Recommended):
Certification When to attempt
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate After Phase 1
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate After Phase 4
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional After all core AWS + DevOps skills
Overall Timeline Summary:
Phase Duration Weekly Study Hours (Est.) Total Hours (Est.)
1: AWS + Linux 5-6 weeks 10-12 50-60
2: IaC Automation 3-4 weeks 5-7 15-20
3: CI/CD & Docker 5 weeks 6-8 30-40
4: Advanced AWS 4 weeks 8-10 35-40
5: DB + CDN 2 weeks 5-6 10-12
6: Soft Skills Ongoing 1-2 5-8
Total Estimated Duration: 4.5 to 5.5 months (assuming 15-20 hours per week)
How to Start:
1. Enroll in AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate by Stephane Maarek first.
2. Follow weekly study plan above strictly and do hands-on labs on AWS Free Tier daily.
3. Take notes, build mini-projects (e.g., deploy a web app using EC2 + RDS + Terraform).
4. Join AWS & DevOps communities online (Reddit, LinkedIn, Discord) for support.
5. Schedule AWS certification exams as you complete phases 1 & 4.
6. Build portfolio on GitHub showcasing your infrastructure code + automation.
7. After finishing phase 3-4, start applying for entry-level AWS/Cloud/DevOps jobs or
internships.
