From No IT Experience to Cloud, SRE or AI Engineer

This is for you if

• You don't work in tech yet and want a plan with a real order to it, not another list of tools
• You can give it 10-15 hours a week for a year or more, alongside work or family
• You want to know which first jobs are realistic and how people really move up to cloud, SRE or AI roles
• You're job hunting in Canada or the US, including as a newcomer

What's inside

• The honest map: what cloud, DevOps, SRE, platform and AI engineers do, and why they're usually second jobs
• A shared foundation in Linux, networking, Git, Python and one cloud, with 7 hands-on labs
• Track A: containers, CI/CD, Terraform, Kubernetes, observability and SRE practice, phase by phase
• Track B: real programming first, then LLM apps with Ollama, structured output, RAG and evals
• A certification shortlist by goal, plus the ones to skip or delay
• 8 portfolio project briefs that show hiring managers finish, clarity and realism
• Resume, LinkedIn, applications and networking for career changers, with Canada and US specifics
• A troubleshooting playbook for the traps that stall people, 25 interview Q&As and a cheat sheet
• A week-by-week plan for your first 90 days

After this guide you can

• Pick two or three realistic first-job titles and a track that fits what you enjoy
• Work comfortably in Linux, trace a web request end to end and automate tasks with Bash and Python
• Deploy to the cloud safely, with budget alerts, least privilege and a cleanup habit
• Build, containerise and test small apps, including a local LLM app scored with an eval set
• Write a career-changer resume and answer entry-level help desk, cloud and developer interview questions
• Plan the move from a first tech role into DevOps, SRE or AI engineering within 12-24 months

Contents

1. The honest mapp. 4
2. Foundation 1: computers, operating systems and Linuxp. 9
3. Foundation 2: networking you will actually usep. 16
4. Foundation 3: Git and Python basicsp. 22
5. Foundation 4: one cloud, and automating your workp. 29
6. Track A: cloud and DevOps, then SRE and platformp. 37
7. Track B: AI engineerp. 45
8. Proof of skill: certifications and portfolio projectsp. 53
9. Getting the first jobp. 58
10. Getting unstuck: the traps that stall career changersp. 65
11. Interview questionsp. 69
12. Cheat sheetp. 77
13. Your first 90 daysp. 82