AWSFoundational
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
Exam: CLF-C02
The cleanest entry point into AWS — covers core services, billing, and the shared responsibility model.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
⚙️
DevOps Engineer Certification Roadmap
DevOps is a cross-vendor discipline. This roadmap layers vendor-neutral skills — containers, Kubernetes, IaC, and CI/CD — on top of one chosen cloud, so you can prove production-ready DevOps skills regardless of where you work. Pick a cloud filter to see the recommended track for that vendor; vendor-agnostic certs stay visible everywhere.
5 phases · 18 certifications9–18 months
DevOps EngineerSREPlatform EngineerCloud Engineer
Filter by vendor
1
Phase 1 — Cloud Foundations
Build a vocabulary for cloud services, billing, and shared responsibility. One foundational cert per cloud is enough — pick the one that matches your target employer.
After this phase: You can describe core cloud services, regions, IAM, and pricing for at least one major cloud.
MicrosoftFundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
Exam: AZ-900
Vendor-neutral cloud concepts taught through the Azure lens — fast and beginner-friendly.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
GoogleFoundational
Google Cloud Digital Leader
Exam: GCP-CDL
Business-leaning intro to GCP that still covers the core platform services DevOps engineers touch.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
2
Phase 2 — Operate One Cloud
Prove you can deploy, monitor, and troubleshoot workloads on at least one cloud. This is the cert most hiring managers care about.
After this phase: You can provision compute, networking, storage, and monitoring on your chosen cloud without hand-holding.
AWSAssociate
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
Exam: SOA-C03
AWS's most operations-focused associate cert. Heavy on CloudWatch, automation, and remediation.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
AWSAssociate
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
Exam: SAA-C03
Broader than SysOps and the most widely recognized AWS associate — useful if you also want architecture credibility.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
MicrosoftAssociate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
Exam: AZ-104
The day-to-day Azure operations cert: identities, storage, networking, VMs, and monitoring.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
GoogleAssociate
Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer
Exam: GCP-ACE
Hands-on cert for deploying and operating workloads on GCP. Strong on gcloud CLI and IAM.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
3
Phase 3 — Containers & Infrastructure as Code
The vendor-neutral core of modern DevOps. These certs travel with you between jobs and clouds.
After this phase: You can package apps as containers, run them on Kubernetes, and provision cloud infrastructure declaratively with Terraform.
Linux FoundationFoundationalCross-vendor
Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA)
Exam: KCNA
Concept-level Kubernetes cert — the most efficient way to learn the K8s vocabulary before going hands-on.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
HashiCorpFoundationalCross-vendor
HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate
Exam: TA-004
IaC is non-negotiable in DevOps. Terraform is the most portable tool across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
~2 mo prepPractice questions
MirantisAssociateCross-vendor
Docker Certified Associate
Exam: M-DCA
Optional but useful — solidifies your container image, networking, and runtime knowledge.
~2 mo prepPractice questions
GitHubAssociateCross-vendor
GitHub Actions Certification
Exam: GH-200
CI/CD pipelines are the bread and butter of DevOps. GitHub Actions is the most common pipeline tool today.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
4
Phase 4 — Senior DevOps Specialization
The capstone certifications. Pick the professional cert that matches the cloud you specialized in.
After this phase: You can design CI/CD pipelines, automate operations at scale, and own SRE practices on production workloads.
AWSProfessional
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
Exam: DOP-C02
AWS's gold standard for senior DevOps. Heavy on CI/CD, monitoring, IaC, and incident response.
~4 mo prepPractice questions
MicrosoftExpert
Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert
Exam: AZ-400
The Azure DevOps capstone — covers pipelines, GitHub integration, IaC, and SRE practices.
~4 mo prepPractice questions
GoogleProfessional
Google Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer
Exam: GCP-PCDOE
GCP's SRE-flavored DevOps cert. Strong on SLOs, error budgets, and Cloud Build.
~4 mo prepPractice questions
5
Phase 5 — Specialize
Optional add-ons once you have a senior DevOps cert. Pick one that aligns with your team's priorities.
After this phase: You bring a deeper specialty — security, observability, or platform engineering — to your DevOps role.
Linux FoundationFoundationalCross-vendor
Certified GitOps Associate
Exam: CGOA
GitOps is becoming the standard for Kubernetes-based deployments — Argo CD and Flux territory.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
Linux FoundationFoundationalCross-vendor
OpenTelemetry Certified Associate
Exam: OTCA
Observability is the SRE half of DevOps. OTel is the vendor-neutral standard.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
Linux FoundationFoundationalCross-vendor
FinOps Certified Practitioner
Exam: FOCP
Senior DevOps engineers own cloud cost too. FinOps gives you the vocabulary to lead that conversation.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
HashiCorpAssociateCross-vendor
HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate
Exam: VA-003
Secrets management is a recurring DevOps responsibility. Vault is the most common tool.
~2 mo prepPractice questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pick one cloud, or should I get certified on all three?
Pick one cloud and go deep. Hiring teams care that you can ship reliably on one cloud far more than that you have shallow certs across three. Add a second cloud only when your job demands it.
Is Kubernetes certification worth it if my company uses managed services?
Yes. Even on EKS/AKS/GKE, you debug pods, services, and ingress every day. KCNA is a low-cost way to validate the core knowledge.
How long does this whole roadmap take?
Most people complete Phases 1–3 in 6–9 months part-time, then add the professional cert in another 3–6 months. Phase 5 is opt-in once you're working.
Related Roadmaps
🏛️
Cloud Architect Certification Roadmap
Become a cloud solutions architect on AWS, Azure, or GCP — with the cross-cloud and platform skills that get you to senior.
🛡️
Cloud Security Engineer Certification Roadmap
Move from general IT security into senior cloud security on AWS, Azure, or GCP — backed by vendor-neutral foundations.