SRE Roadmap: Site Reliability Engineering Path
Follow this SRE roadmap from zero to production-ready: Linux, Kubernetes, observability, SLOs, incident management, and senior-level systems thinking.
0 / 28 modules
Your recommended path
Start at Linux and Systems Foundations and work every step in order. Budget 14-18 months of steady study and hands-on practice.
- Each step builds directly on the one before it.
- Focus on understanding why systems fail, not just how to run tools.
- You will be ready for Junior SRE roles by the end of the Beginner and Intermediate tiers.
- You can skip these for now: service mesh, Kubernetes operators, and multi-cloud setups.
Your recommended path
Skim the Beginner tier to find gaps in Python, Git, and Terraform, then start properly at Containers and Kubernetes. Budget 8-10 months.
- Pay close attention to SLOs, distributed systems, and incident management. Most engineers have not built these skills yet.
- Do not skip CI/CD and GitOps. Safe deployments and rollbacks are central to SRE work.
Your recommended path
Skim the earlier tiers as a refresher and spend your time on the Advanced tier. Budget 4-6 months of focused study.
- Distributed systems, disaster recovery, and reliability architecture are what separate a Senior SRE from a strong operator.
- Revisit SLOs and error budgets, since senior interviews test them heavily.
Your recommended path
Jump straight to SRE Interview Preparation, then use earlier steps to review weak spots.
- Practice explaining trade-offs, incident timelines, and system design decisions.
- SRE interviewers test judgment and operational reasoning, not tool trivia.
Steps in this roadmap
Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save Linux for DevOps 37 Read Linux Internals for SRE 17 Read +1 Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save Networking for DevOps: Debug Connections Fast 12 Read Networking for SRE 13 Read +2 Security Fundamentals and Threat Modeling 9 Read Builds on Python for Beginners - Zero to Confident
Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save Python for Production SRE Work 13 Read +1 Shell Scripting Tutorial: Bash for DevOps 14 Read Git and GitHub 12 Read +1 Builds on Cloud Computing Fundamentals
Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save AWS - Amazon Web Services 26 Read Terraform : From First Plan to Production 14 Read +1 Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save Docker for Beginners: Build, Run and Ship Containers 12 Read +1 Kubernetes Tutorial for Beginners: Pods to Helm 14 Read +2 Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save GitHub Actions: Build CI/CD Pipelines from Zero 13 Read GitOps with Argo CD and Argo Rollouts 12 Read Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save Monitoring and Logging: Prometheus to Tracing 14 Read +2 OpenTelemetry and Distributed Tracing 11 Read +1 Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save SLOs and Observability for SRE 12 Read +2 Incident Management and On-Call for SRE 11 Read +1 Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save Distributed Systems Failure Modes for SRE 9 Read +1 Safe Releases and Graceful Degradation for SRE 8 Read Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save Databases and Storage Reliability for SRE 11 Read Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save Chaos Engineering for SRE 8 Read Capacity Planning and Load Testing with k6 10 Read Builds on Platform Engineering Foundations on Kubernetes
Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save Toil Elimination for SRE 11 Read +1 Reliability Reviews, PRR, and Disaster Recovery 10 Read +1 Reliability by Default: Platform Work for SRE 8 Read SRE Leadership and Culture 9 Read +1 Status Module Topics Learn Quiz Resources Save SRE Interview Preparation: SLOs to System Design 14 Read
Final assessment
Complete every step in this roadmap to unlock the final assessment.
Salary outcomes
- Junior SRE
- ₹5L - ₹12L
- Mid-Level SRE
- ₹15L - ₹30L
- Senior SRE
- ₹30L - ₹60L
- Staff SRE
- ₹60L - ₹120L
Explore other roadmaps
Frequently asked questions
13 steps and 28 modules, in order: Beginner (Linux and Systems Foundations, Networking and Security Fundamentals, Software Engineering for SREs and Cloud Platforms and Infrastructure as Code); Intermediate (Containers and Kubernetes, CI/CD and GitOps, Observability and Monitoring and SLOs Error Budgets and Incident Management); Advanced (Distributed Systems and Reliability Engineering, Database Technologies and Storage Systems, Chaos Engineering and Capacity Planning and Senior SRE Engineering); Capstone (SRE Interview Preparation).
Yes. Every step and module of the SRE Roadmap: Site Reliability Engineering Path roadmap is free to read on DevOps Network with no paywall. A free account lets you track progress, save modules and take the quizzes.
Pick the learning path closest to your background (I'm New to Tech, I'm Comfortable with Linux, I Already Know Kubernetes and I'm Preparing for SRE Interviews) at the top of the page. The step list then shows only the steps on that path; "All steps" brings the rest back.
Work through the step's modules, then pass its quiz. The quiz unlocks once the required modules are done, and passing it marks the step complete. You can also practise any quiz without the lock in the practice hub.
Yes. A final assessment unlocks after you complete all 13 steps and tests everything across the roadmap.
Typical ranges listed for this path: Junior SRE: ₹5L - ₹12L; Mid-Level SRE: ₹15L - ₹30L; Senior SRE: ₹30L - ₹60L; Staff SRE: ₹60L - ₹120L. Actual offers vary by company, city and experience.