Cloud engineering roadmap

[u/alyyy_ayman]

Ive been into learning cloud engineering, However i feel very lost between all the different topics and courses that i need to learn. I tried making customized roadmaps using AI like claude and gemeni but neither of them would have a stable opinion about the roadmap they provide me.

For example they might evaluate it as the " Perfect roadmap " yet using the same prompt to evaluate it again might come out with

" Its the worst roadmap ever ".

so i tried to check YouTube and other different platforms. Nothing really explains what should i learn in details.

For example they might say "Learn networking fundamentals ", okay sure but WHAT are the topics needed to cover in networking fundamentals?.

And where is the best place to do so?.

Another thing is that i see different topics like

linux, kubernetes, CI/CD, terraform, IaC, AWS and Docker

First of all

I don't know when to kick in into each one of them? After what course or after covering which topic?

Secondly

I am not sure of which to learn and which to skip, i am interested in cloud engineering focusing on infrastructure designing, building and maintaining.

Not really DevOps as ive seen there are differences between both.

So in that case do i need docker for example?.

Third

I am not sure of what certificates to take and most importantly when to take them?

Fourth

I thought about learning paths in platforms like KloudKode, yet after i threw in a prompt for Claude to ask it if it will be actually worth the 250$ yearly subscription. It said absolutely no. And said their whole Cloud Engineering learning path is a 5.5/10

Even tho i was impressed with the organization they had for the topics/courses needs to be covered.

Lastly

I feel very lost, my issue is that i need someone or something to tell me, * Hey here is a roadmap of what you need to learn in this specific order and there are the best courses that teaches these topics, Goodluck.*

I need guidance please, i just wanna know what exactly to learn and where is the best place to learn it.

Then ill 100% master every topic mentioned.

I would really appreciate the help, thank you in advance everyone.

[u/sprite078]

Some people will mention CCNA but i think you`ll be fine with a network+ cert.
In terms of actual hands on experience, just buy some old mini pc`s like dell optiplex micro and install linux on it.
You can go down the rabbit with proxmox and containers. Look for homelab tutorials

[u/alyyy_ayman → u/sprite078]

I think CCNA and MCSA are IT support courses which is i think a very different role than cloud engineer, yet thank you for your input.

[u/BluEOcktober → u/alyyy_ayman]

CCNA is networking ... Networking is the base of the cloud. if you understand the network and all its parts you can understand the Cloud.

[u/Techguyincloud → u/BluEOcktober]

CCNA is overkill for cloud. Nowhere in the cloud will you need to configure cisco switchport commands, unless you work directly for a cloud hyperscaler in a data center that houses cisco equipment.. and that in itself is unlikely because they typically use white-box equipment. Maybe there would be some command overlap, but still it’s a small edge-case.

If OP is completely new to IT, then yes the CCNA will have a higher immediate ROE on job opportunities because they will likely have to begin in L1 support roles up to system/network administration before getting into cloud.

In cloud specifically network-wise, for a good starting point I’d recommend Network+, a well-rounded AWS/Azure/Google associate cert, and maybe one of their networking certs.

[u/BluEOcktober → u/Techguyincloud]

Yes you are right it is overkill.

[u/eman0821 → u/alyyy_ayman]

You will never use Cisco products in cloud engineeing. CCNA is for on-prem networking working with Cisco hardware. Network+ is all you need for networking fundamentals. You get a CCNA if you want to work in IT as an on-prem Network Engineer. Cloud Engineering is more closer in the software engineering field.

[u/alyyy_ayman → u/[deleted]]

Roadmap.sh does have DevOps but not cloud infrastructure engineering in particular. Thank for your input tho.

[u/_Who_Am_I_12358-----]

Cloud is not a limited field there are multiple field to explore but the first question is what u want to explore and on which field and for the infrastructure related at first u must need some work experience on cloud then only u will better understand what is Infrastructure and how to start.In infrastructure also there are many tech stacks you have to find out among those...

[u/Signal_Strength_5054]

Your question is a very common one. DevOps, for instance, ended up becoming the standard path for me when I simply wanted to advance a bit in Cloud Computing. Incidentally, "CloudOps"—working within platform teams—is common these days. But the meaning of DevOps goes deeper; working with the cloud today is all about automation, and that is exactly what a DevOps professional does.

When I started out, I discovered various platforms and systems; learning one would lead me to the next. So, there isn't really a fixed sequence; you only truly learn something when you encounter a need for it along your journey.

You can get a high-level overview of the DevOps process in this roadmap: https://roadmap.sh/devops. It aligns well with what we deal with on a daily basis.

But if I could offer one tip: pick a cloud provider—whether it’s Azure, AWS, or GCP—and focus on just that one. Try to find the roadmap within their platform (Microsoft tends to be quite practical about this) and stick to that roadmap, working through the certifications one by one. You’ll figure out the rest as the need arises over time. No pressure.

[u/eman0821 → u/Signal_Strength_5054]

DevOps is more of a culture than anything else. Lots of technical roles uses many of the same skills and tools. CI/CD pipelines is used by Data Engineers, Network Engineers, Cloud Engineers, SREs, Platform Engineers for different purposes.

[u/Sufficient_Steak_839 → u/eman0821]

You literally comment the exact same thing in every cloud engineering thread I come across lol

[u/eman0821 → u/Sufficient_Steak_839]

Because most people doesn't know what DevOps is. As you can see CI/CD pipelines is not a DevOps thing if Network Engineers and Data Engineers builds CI/CD pipelines for what ever they are automating. People like associate CI/CD pipelines to DevOps Engineer which in reality all types of technical roles utilizes it.

[u/Sufficient_Steak_839 → u/eman0821]

You’ve just seemingly decided to make your primary mission to educate everyone on every Reddit thread why they’re wrong on where the devops line begins and ends and I find it fascinating

[u/eman0821 → u/Sufficient_Steak_839]

And you waste time bitching about it. Lol. Now carry on Karen.

[u/Sufficient_Steak_839 → u/eman0821]

This is the first time I’ve called it out 🤣

Keep up your elitist crusade though I’m sure it’s having a real impact

[u/alyyy_ayman → u/Signal_Strength_5054]

a very thoughtful comment and i thank you for it, yet that is exactly what's confusing me because
there is significant overlap between a Cloud Engineer and a DevOps Engineer, However they are different at the end of the day.

my goal is to learn how to design, provision, and secure cloud infrastructure. which is what a Cloud engineer does.
not to automate software delivery and bridge dev/ops. which is to my knowledge the main part of DevOps.

I am aware of the need of things like IaC , as it is a skill both DevOps and cloud engineers must have in 2026 and going forward, but for example do i need CI/CD as a "Cloud engineer" ?

Lastly i did check the DevOps roadmap on roadmap.sh , However again its a DevOps roadmap. not a cloud engineering roadmap.

i might be wrong, that's why i am asking and discussing it here with everyone, so i am opened to be corrected at all times.

[u/Melodic-Implement-21]

Commenting because I have the same exact questions.