If You're Diving Into DevOps, Start Here (No, Not with Kubernetes)

Let me tell you something I wish someone had drilled into my head sooner...

Before I touched a single kubectlcommand... Before I wrote my firstdocker-compose.yml... Before I even thought about spinning up an EC2 instance...

I should have learned Linux.

And now? I say it to anyone who'll listen (and even those who won't): Learn Linux before anything else.

I Made the Same Mistake You're Probably Making

When I got into tech, I did what most people do: I ran straight to Kubernetes because it sounded cool and everyone was talking about it. "It'll look great on my CV!" I thought. And sure, it does. But guess what?

I was completely lost.

Everything I did in Kubernetes felt like black magic. Something wouldn't work, I'd Google a fix, copy-paste a command, and pray. Spoiler: sometimes it worked, but I had no idea why. That's a terrible way to build confidence.

It wasn't until I hit a wall (more like slammed into it full speed) that I realized the problem wasn't Kubernetes or Docker or the cloud provider.

The problem was... I didn't know how Linux worked. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Linux is the Foundation. Period.

We get so excited about flashy tools—K8s, AWS, Terraform, GitOps, MLOps, whateverOps—that we forget what they're all built on.

Yep. Good old Linux.

The container? It's a Linux process. Your cloud VM? It's a headless Linux server. CI/CD runners? You guessed it: Linux. Infrastructure as Code? You're automating Linux configuration.

So if you don't understand things like:

• How to check which process is hogging port 80

• Why a file is "not found" when it's right there

• How to give your script execute permissions

• What the heck /etc/fstab even does

...then you're going to struggle. And it's not your fault. But it is your responsibility to go back and fix that.

Real Talk: What Linux Teaches You

When you finally slow down and start using Linux daily, things start to click. Here's what you will gain:

🛠️ Confidence to SSH into a server and troubleshoot
📦 Understanding of how packages, logs, and users are managed
🧠 The mental model for what happens when you deploy "infrastructure"
🧰 Superpowers with tools like Bash, cron, systemd, iptables, and more

And suddenly... Kubernetes will not be scary anymore. Docker will make more sense. AWS EC2 will feel familiar.

So What Should You Do?

Here's what I tell you now:

1. Install a Linux distro (even WSL works). Use it. Break it. Fix it.

2. Learn Bash. Seriously. Automate things. It's pure joy.

3. Build stuff manually first. Spin up a web server without Docker. Configure a firewall. Host a static site.

4. Google like a pro. But don't just copy-paste—read what you're doing.

5. Document everything. Your future self will thank you.

In DevOps, Cloud, GitOps, and MLOps — Linux Is Everywhere

I'm now deep into Kubernetes, Cloud, and Infrastructure as Code. I've built GitOps pipelines and helped teams ship ML models to GPU clusters.

But every time something breaks—and it will—where do I end up?

At a Linux shell.

Because at the heart of all this modern tech stack wizardry... It's still Linux doing the heavy lifting.

TL;DR?

If you want to thrive in this space, make Linux your home first.

Don't chase Kubernetes before you can grep. Don't run to Docker before you know what a PID is. Don't mess with AWS until you can manage a local Linux box.

Start small. Start right.

Linux isn't just another tool—it's the one that makes every other tool make sense.

If this hit home, or you're feeling stuck somewhere in your DevOps journey, drop a comment or DM me. I've been there. We all have. You're not alone. 🚀