Starting My DevOps Journey: From Backend Dev to Infrastructure

Starting My DevOps Journey: From Backend Dev to Infrastructure

After years as a backend engineer and now working in research, I’ve decided to pivot toward DevOps and infrastructure. This isn’t just a career move—it’s following a genuine passion that’s been growing stronger every day.

Why DevOps?

As a backend developer, I was always curious about what happened after my code was written. How does it get deployed? How does it scale? What happens when things break at 3 AM? Working in research has given me a different perspective on systems and processes, but my heart keeps pulling me toward the operational side of software.

DevOps feels like the perfect intersection of development and systems administration—a place where I can build tools that make developers’ lives easier while ensuring applications run reliably in production.

The Honest Truth: I’m a Beginner

Let me be completely transparent: I’m not a DevOps expert. I’m a beginner with enthusiasm, some backend experience, and a strong desire to learn. This blog exists because I believe in learning in public—documenting the journey, sharing mistakes, and celebrating small wins.

If you’re looking for expert-level content, you might want to look elsewhere (for now). But if you want to follow along with someone figuring it out in real-time, you’re in the right place.

My Learning Blueprint

I’ve created a structured 16-week curriculum that takes me from Linux fundamentals to Kubernetes mastery. The beauty of having a plan is that it will inevitably change as I discover what excites me most, but here’s my starting roadmap:

Foundation Phase

Setting up a proper Proxmox homelab with multiple Linux VMs, mastering SSH, and building solid Linux administration skills. This is where the rubber meets the road.

Networking Deep Dive

Building a multi-VLAN network lab with proper segmentation, DNS, and routing. Understanding networking is crucial for everything that comes after.

Essential DevOps Tools

  • Version control mastery with Git
  • Containerization with Docker and Docker Compose
  • Automation scripting in Bash and Python
  • Web services deployment and management

Infrastructure as Code

  • Configuration management with Ansible
  • Monitoring stacks (Prometheus + Grafana, ELK)
  • CI/CD pipelines with Jenkins or GitLab
  • Infrastructure automation end-to-end

Kubernetes & Production

The final phase: K3s cluster, container orchestration, GitOps with ArgoCD, and putting it all together into production-grade systems.

The Homelab Vision

My homelab will be more than just a learning environment—it’s going to be a miniature production setup that showcases real DevOps practices:

  • Multi-tier network with proper segmentation
  • Automated provisioning of infrastructure
  • Complete monitoring and alerting
  • Production-grade CI/CD pipelines
  • Container orchestration with Kubernetes
  • Documentation that could guide others

What You’ll Find Here

This blog will document:

  • Homelab build progress with detailed guides
  • Tool comparisons and learning notes
  • Project tutorials with real-world scenarios
  • Failures and lessons learned (probably lots of these)
  • Career transition insights for fellow switchers

Learning Resources I’m Using

  • Books: “The Phoenix Project”, “Site Reliability Engineering”
  • Online Courses: Linux Academy, Pluralsight
  • Hands-on: Labs, personal projects, breaking things
  • Community: Reddit r/devops, Discord servers, Twitter

Join the Journey

Whether you’re a seasoned DevOps engineer who can offer guidance, a fellow beginner learning alongside me, or just curious about the field—I’d love to have you follow along.

What I’m committing to:

  • Regular posts about progress and learnings
  • Honest documentation of failures and successes
  • Sharing code, configs, and documentation
  • Responding to questions and feedback

What I hope to achieve:

  • Build practical DevOps skills
  • Create a portfolio-worthy homelab
  • Connect with the DevOps community
  • Eventually help other beginners on their journey

This is just the beginning. Let’s see where this path leads! 🚀

Next up: I’ll be sharing my initial homelab setup and the first tools I’m diving into. Follow along for the adventure!