Education · 1 of 5

The path

There is no exam and no license. You get here by doing a nearby job well for a few years.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 9 to 12

   Math, and any computing class you can get. Install Linux on an old laptop and break it a few times.

2. 2

   Learn to program

   0 to 4 years

   A computer science degree is the common route. A community college associate degree, a bootcamp or teaching yourself all work too, but they make the first job harder to land.

3. 3

   First job in technology

   1 to 2 years

   Junior developer, help desk, or systems administrator. This is where you learn how real systems fail.

4. 4

   Move toward infrastructure

   2 to 4 years

   Volunteer for the build pipeline, the deployment scripts, the monitoring nobody wants to own. That work is how you get the title.

5. 5

   Certify and specialize

   Ongoing

   Cloud and Kubernetes certifications, then a lane: security, reliability, data platforms, or cost control.