DevOps From Scratch: A Student’s Diary (Entry #00)
TL;DR
A Computer Science student shares their journey to become a DevOps Engineer by 2027, documenting their learning process to overcome 'Tutorial Hell' and build system awareness through practical projects and public learning.
Key Takeaways
- •The author is transitioning from basic coding to DevOps to bridge the gap between local development and real-world deployment.
- •Key focus areas include Linux, Bash, containerization, cloud infrastructure, and CI/CD, with an emphasis on learning in public.
- •The journey aims to combat imposter syndrome and ADHD challenges by making learning engaging and practical, starting with data structures like FIFO.
Tags
Why I'm stopping the "Tutorial Hell" and starting a journey to 2027 🚀
Hello, world! 🌍
I’m currently a Computer Science student at Queen Mary University London (Class of '27). Like many of you, I’ve spent the last year (actually no, I 'officially' started 'learning' how to code when I created my Dev.to account, which was in 2022, AND ALL I HAVE DONE IS POSTPONE, and felt like I was never ready for anything😢) getting comfortable with the basics: writing Python scripts 🐍 and pushing code to Git 🐙.
But lately, I’ve been feeling a massive gap between my code working on localhost and understanding how it actually lives in the real world. I’m tired of the "Works on my machine" excuse! 😅
I’ve decided to document my journey from a "standard coder" to a DevOps Engineer. One of the main reasons why I created this account in the first place was to document my journey, so a couple of years from now I could read this and be proud of myself, I guess? This isn't just about learning tools, it's about building System Awareness.
🛑 The "Blank Screen" Struggle is Real
I’ll be honest, I always struggle with Imposter Syndrome. Not just with code, but with life in general. especially having traits of ADHD and not being able to concentrate a 100% on a given task at a certain time. I want to make my blogs fun to read, not like starring at the official python docs and yawning every 3 seconds💀
Whenever I see an explanation for Docker or Kubernetes, I think, "I get it while I'm reading it, but could I build this from scratch?" Usually, the answer is a scary "No." This blog is my way of fixing that. I’m going to "learn in public," break things, and explain them until they stick in my brain.
🍕My First Lesson: The Pizzaiolo’s Skewer (FIFO)
To kick things off, I’ve been looking at data structures through a real-world lens. Did you know a traditional pizza chef (pizzaiolo) is a master of FIFO (First-In-First-Out)?
I recently wrote a Skewer class in Python(an example in my lecture notes) that mimics how orders are stacked and "baked" in order.
The Logic: New orders go to the top (Tail).
The Action: The oldest order is pulled from the bottom (Head).
This is the foundation of every CI/CD pipeline I'll be building later. If you can’t manage a pizza queue, you can’t manage a server deployment! 🍕💻
🗺️The Roadmap (2025 - 2027)
Here is what I’ll be tackling in this series. If you're a student or a career-changer, you can come join me!
🐧 Linux Fundamentals: Moving beyond the GUI and living in the Terminal.
📜 Bash & Scripting: Making my computer do the boring stuff for me.
📦 Containerization: Finally figuring out what a "Docker Image" actually is.
☁️ Cloud Infrastructure: Navigating AWS without getting a surprise $1,000 bill.
♾️ CI/CD: Automating everything from testing to deployment.
👀 The "User POV" Mindset
One thing I’m focusing on is the User Experience. I want to design software as if I’m the person who just installed it from a package manager. If it’s hard to install, the system design is broken. 🛠️
Are you also a student in the "Class of '27" or currently learning DevOps? Let’s connect in the comments!