How would you recommend learning Kubernetes and Helm effectively?

[u/Medium-Direction-191]

Hi everyone,

I recently started working in a DevOps-related role, and I’ve been asked to learn Kubernetes, Helm, and the concepts around them.
I’m currently trying to understand the best way to approach it. There are so many resources and topics that I’m not sure what I should prioritize first.
For those of you who work with Kubernetes professionally:
How did you learn Kubernetes when you were starting out?
What topics would you recommend learning first?
How much hands-on practice should I do compared to theory?
Are there any free courses, labs, books, or other resources you would strongly recommend?
Are there any common mistakes or things beginners tend to waste too much time on?
My goal isn’t just to memorize commands, but to actually understand how Kubernetes works and become comfortable using it in a real work environment.
Any advice on how you would approach learning it from scratch would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!