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8d • 💬 General discussion
How to land a DevOps job without experience?
Here's what they don't tell you in bootcamps:
I broke into DevOps without formal experience using one strategy.
My students Eric and Danil did the same.
Eric landed a senior SRE role. Danil got hired straight out of university.
The secret? A home lab that mimics production environments.
Before I share the complete strategy, pay attention:
2 of my students landed jobs last week. That means 2 spots have opened up.
If you want to land a DevOps jobs within the next 90 days, CLICK HERE to apply for my Career Accelerator program.
We have limited interview spots available, book now before they're gone.
The 4-Step Home Lab Strategy:
→ Take an old laptop→ Install Linux→ Start running containers→ Build a Kubernetes cluster
You now have a production environment at home.
But here's what 90% of people miss:
Don't just build it.
BREAK it.
Create real problems. Solve real problems. Document everything.
This is where real learning happens.
Start running your own mini-data center, approach it with a professional mindset.
You don't need a formal job to get experience. You need to build the skills.
The Self-Hosting Rabbit Hole
Start hosting applications that add value to your life:
• Nextcloud for file storage
• Grafana for monitoring
• GitLab for CI/CD
• Jellyfin for media
You'll face the same challenges real DevOps engineers face daily.
Network failures. Configuration errors. Resource constraints.
This is where the learning happens.
The Open Source Contribution Hack
Find a project you use.
Read the documentation.
Submit a PR for a typo fix.
Gradually work up to bigger contributions.
Now you have collaboration experience with real teams.
The Results Speak for Themselves:
Eric told me: "The hands-on experience from my home lab was the deciding factor. I could speak from real experience about multi-node clusters, deployments, networking issues."
Danil shared: "Talking about my home lab took up most of the interview. I barely got any technical questions."
Here's the data that backs this up:
The Linux Foundation reports 95% of employers value hands-on experience over formal degrees.
Portfolio of accomplishments beats certifications every time.
The "Experience Paradox" is a Myth
Companies say they want experience.
You think you need a job to get experience.
But you can create production-level experience at home.
Right now.
With hardware you already own.
Your homework for this week:
Start a home lab TODAY (even VirtualBox on your laptop works as a start)
Document one project you build
Share your progress on LinkedIn
The "experience paradox" isn't real.
It's just an excuse people use to stay comfortable in tutorial land.
What's your biggest obstacle to starting a home lab?
P.S. My students land jobs within 2-20 weeks is because I've done the work for them. They save 300+ hours this way. They learn how to build a Linux and Kubernetes home lab from the ground up using my in-depth video tutorials. When they get stuck, they get personal mentorship directly from me. CLICK HERE to apply for KubeCraft and we'll see if we are a good fit.
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How to land a DevOps job without experience?
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