The skill of designing, building and troubleshooting the systems that move data between devices — from a home Wi-Fi router to a global ISP backbone.
Stage 1
Foundation
0–6 months
Learn
- OSI & TCP/IP models
- IP addressing, subnetting, DNS, DHCP
- Switching, VLANs, basic routing
- Cabling and physical topologies
Tools
- Wireshark
- Packet Tracer / GNS3
- ping, traceroute, nslookup
Certify
- CompTIA Network+
- Cisco CCST Networking
Typical titlesHelp Desk Technician, Network Support Technician, NOC Analyst (L1)
Stage 2
Intermediate
6 months – 2 years
Learn
- Dynamic routing (OSPF, EIGRP, BGP basics)
- ACLs, NAT, firewalls
- VPNs (site-to-site, remote access)
- Wireless network design
Tools
- Cisco / Juniper / Fortinet CLI
- SolarWinds, PRTG
- Network diagram tools (Lucidchart)
Certify
Typical titlesNetwork Administrator, Network Engineer I, NOC Engineer (L2)
Stage 3
Advanced
2–5 years
Learn
- Advanced BGP & multi-area OSPF
- MPLS, SD-WAN
- Network automation (Python, Ansible)
- Data center & cloud networking
Tools
- Terraform / Ansible for network config
- Cloud VPC/VNet networking
- NetFlow / sFlow analysis
Certify
Typical titlesSenior Network Engineer, Network Architect (Associate), SD-WAN Engineer
Stage 4
Expert / Professional
5+ years
Learn
- Large-scale network architecture & design
- Service provider routing at scale
- Network security architecture
- Capacity planning & vendor strategy
Tools
- Multi-vendor backbone design
- Automation pipelines at scale
- Observability platforms
Certify
- CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure
- JNCIE
Typical titlesPrincipal Network Architect, Head of Network Engineering, Distinguished Engineer
Designing, deploying and operating infrastructure and applications on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and similar platforms — the backbone of almost every modern product.
Stage 1
Foundation
0–6 months
Learn
- Cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS)
- Core compute, storage and networking services
- IAM basics & shared responsibility model
- Billing and cost basics
Tools
- AWS / Azure / GCP free-tier console
- AWS CLI / Azure CLI
Certify
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
- Microsoft AZ-900
Typical titlesCloud Support Associate, Junior Cloud Engineer, IT Support (Cloud focus)
Stage 2
Intermediate
6 months – 2 years
Learn
- VPC/VNet design, load balancing, auto-scaling
- Infrastructure as Code basics
- Managed databases & object storage
- Monitoring and logging
Tools
- Terraform / CloudFormation / Bicep
- CloudWatch / Azure Monitor
Certify
- AWS Solutions Architect – Associate
- Microsoft AZ-104
- Google Associate Cloud Engineer
Typical titlesCloud Engineer, Cloud Administrator, Junior Solutions Architect
Stage 3
Advanced
2–5 years
Learn
- Multi-account / multi-region architecture
- Containers & serverless at scale
- Cost optimization (FinOps)
- Disaster recovery & high availability design
Tools
- Kubernetes (EKS/AKS/GKE)
- Advanced Terraform modules
- FinOps dashboards
Certify
- AWS Solutions Architect – Professional
- Microsoft AZ-305
- Google Professional Cloud Architect
Typical titlesSenior Cloud Engineer, Cloud Solutions Architect, Platform Engineer
Stage 4
Expert / Professional
5+ years
Learn
- Enterprise cloud strategy & governance
- Landing zone & multi-cloud architecture
- Cloud security architecture
- Org-wide cost & reliability ownership
Tools
- Multi-cloud orchestration
- Policy-as-code (OPA, Sentinel)
- Enterprise landing zones
Certify
- AWS Specialty certs (Security, Networking)
- FinOps Certified Practitioner
Typical titlesPrincipal Cloud Architect, Head of Cloud Infrastructure, Cloud CTO-track roles
Protecting systems, networks and data from attackers — spanning defensive operations, offensive testing, governance and incident response.
Stage 1
Foundation
0–6 months
Learn
- CIA triad, threats & vulnerabilities
- Authentication, encryption basics
- Common attack types (phishing, malware)
- Security policies & basic hardening
Tools
- Antivirus / EDR basics
- Password managers, MFA
Certify
- CompTIA Security+
- (ISC)² CC
Typical titlesSOC Analyst (L1), IT Security Support, Security Operations Intern
Stage 2
Intermediate
6 months – 2 years
Learn
- SIEM monitoring & incident triage
- Vulnerability scanning & patch management
- Network security (firewalls, IDS/IPS)
- Basic scripting for automation
Tools
- Splunk / Sentinel / QRadar
- Nessus / Qualys
- Burp Suite (intro)
Certify
Typical titlesSOC Analyst (L2), Security Engineer I, Vulnerability Analyst
Stage 3
Advanced
2–5 years
Learn
- Penetration testing & red teaming OR
- Threat hunting & digital forensics
- Cloud security architecture
- Security automation (SOAR)
Tools
- Metasploit, Cobalt Strike
- EDR/XDR platforms
- SOAR playbooks
Certify
- OSCP
- CISSP (with experience)
- GIAC GCIH / GCFA
Typical titlesPenetration Tester, Senior Security Engineer, Incident Response Lead
Stage 4
Expert / Professional
5+ years
Learn
- Enterprise security architecture
- Security governance & risk management
- Red team / purple team program leadership
- Board-level risk communication
Tools
- Zero-trust architecture frameworks
- Enterprise GRC platforms
Certify
Typical titlesSecurity Architect, CISO, Director of Security Operations
Bridging development and operations — automating builds, deployments and infrastructure so software ships faster and more reliably.
Stage 1
Foundation
0–6 months
Learn
- Linux fundamentals & shell scripting
- Git & version control workflows
- Basics of CI/CD concepts
- Networking & cloud fundamentals
Tools
- Git / GitHub / GitLab
- Bash, basic Python
Certify
- AWS Cloud Practitioner
- Git certifications (optional)
Typical titlesJunior DevOps Engineer, Build/Release Assistant, Support Engineer
Stage 2
Intermediate
6 months – 2 years
Learn
- CI/CD pipeline building
- Containerization with Docker
- Configuration management
- Basic Infrastructure as Code
Tools
- Jenkins / GitHub Actions / GitLab CI
- Docker
- Ansible
Certify
- Docker Certified Associate
- HashiCorp Terraform Associate
Typical titlesDevOps Engineer, Build & Release Engineer, Platform Support Engineer
Stage 3
Advanced
2–5 years
Learn
- Kubernetes orchestration at scale
- Advanced IaC (Terraform modules, GitOps)
- Observability (metrics, logs, tracing)
- SRE practices & on-call ownership
Tools
- Kubernetes, Helm, ArgoCD
- Prometheus / Grafana
- Terraform Cloud
Certify
- CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator)
- AWS DevOps Engineer – Professional
Typical titlesSenior DevOps Engineer, Site Reliability Engineer, Platform Engineer
Stage 4
Expert / Professional
5+ years
Learn
- Platform engineering strategy
- Org-wide reliability & deployment standards
- Multi-cluster, multi-region architecture
- Engineering culture & DevOps transformation
Tools
- Internal developer platforms
- Service mesh (Istio/Linkerd)
Certify
- CKS (Certified Kubernetes Security)
- Google Professional DevOps Engineer
Typical titlesPrincipal SRE, Head of Platform Engineering, DevOps Director
Designing, building and operating the systems that store and serve an organization's data reliably, securely and at scale.
Stage 1
Foundation
0–6 months
Learn
- Relational model & SQL basics
- CRUD operations, joins, indexing intro
- Basic normalization
- Intro to NoSQL concepts
Tools
- MySQL / PostgreSQL
- pgAdmin / MySQL Workbench
Certify
- Oracle Database SQL Certified Associate
Typical titlesJunior Database Administrator, Data Analyst (entry), SQL Developer
Stage 2
Intermediate
6 months – 2 years
Learn
- Query optimization & indexing strategy
- Backup, restore & replication
- NoSQL data modeling (document, key-value)
- Database security basics
Tools
- PostgreSQL / SQL Server / MongoDB
- Redis
Certify
- Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Associate
- MongoDB Certified Developer
Typical titlesDatabase Administrator, Database Developer, Data Engineer I
Stage 3
Advanced
2–5 years
Learn
- High availability & disaster recovery design
- Sharding & horizontal scaling
- Performance tuning at scale
- Managed cloud database services
Tools
- Amazon RDS/Aurora, Cloud SQL
- Cassandra, DynamoDB
- Monitoring (Datadog, pg_stat)
Certify
- AWS Database – Specialty
- Oracle Certified Professional (OCP)
Typical titlesSenior DBA, Database Architect (Associate), Data Platform Engineer
Stage 4
Expert / Professional
5+ years
Learn
- Enterprise data architecture & governance
- Multi-region, multi-model data strategy
- Capacity & cost strategy at scale
- Data platform leadership
Tools
- Distributed databases (Spanner, CockroachDB)
- Enterprise data governance tooling
Certify
- Specialty cloud database architect tracks
Typical titlesPrincipal Database Architect, Head of Data Platform, Data Infrastructure Director
Mastering the command line and operating systems that power most of the world's servers — from a single workstation to thousands of fleet machines.
Stage 1
Foundation
0–6 months
Learn
- File systems, permissions, basic commands
- Package management
- Users, groups & process management
- Basic shell scripting
Tools
- Ubuntu / CentOS / Debian
- vim/nano, bash
Certify
Typical titlesJunior Systems Administrator, Linux Support Technician, IT Operations (entry)
Stage 2
Intermediate
6 months – 2 years
Learn
- systemd, services & boot process
- Networking config on Linux
- Cron, logging, backups
- SSH hardening & remote management
Tools
- journalctl, systemctl
- rsync, cron
- Basic Ansible
Certify
Typical titlesLinux Systems Administrator, Server Administrator, Infrastructure Engineer I
Stage 3
Advanced
2–5 years
Learn
- Performance tuning & kernel parameters
- High availability clustering
- Automation at fleet scale
- Containers & virtualization deep dive
Tools
- Ansible / Puppet / Chef
- Docker, Proxmox, KVM
Certify
- RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer)
- LPIC-3
Typical titlesSenior Systems Administrator, Infrastructure Engineer, Linux Engineer
Stage 4
Expert / Professional
5+ years
Learn
- OS architecture & kernel internals
- Fleet-wide infrastructure strategy
- Enterprise virtualization design
- Cross-team infrastructure leadership
Tools
- Custom kernel builds & tuning
- Enterprise config management at scale
Certify
- Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA)
Typical titlesPrincipal Systems Engineer, Head of Infrastructure, Distinguished Engineer (Systems)
Understanding and working with the physical components — CPUs, memory, storage and the data centers that house them — that everything else runs on.
Stage 1
Foundation
0–6 months
Learn
- PC components & assembly
- CPU, RAM, storage basics
- Peripheral troubleshooting
- Basic OS installation
Tools
- Diagnostic utilities
- Basic multimeters
Certify
Typical titlesHardware Support Technician, Field Service Technician, Desktop Support
Stage 2
Intermediate
6 months – 2 years
Learn
- Server hardware & RAID configurations
- Data center cabling & rack standards
- Firmware & BIOS/UEFI management
- Basic hardware security (TPM, secure boot)
Tools
- iDRAC / iLO management
- RAID controllers
Certify
- Server+ (CompTIA)
- Vendor server certs (Dell, HPE)
Typical titlesServer Hardware Technician, Data Center Technician, IT Asset Engineer
Stage 3
Advanced
2–5 years
Learn
- Data center design & power/cooling planning
- Storage area networks (SAN/NAS)
- Hardware lifecycle & capacity planning
- Hyperconverged infrastructure
Tools
- SAN/NAS management platforms
- DCIM tools
Certify
- Vendor storage certs (NetApp, Dell)
- Uptime Institute ATD
Typical titlesData Center Engineer, Infrastructure Hardware Specialist, Storage Engineer
Stage 4
Expert / Professional
5+ years
Learn
- Enterprise data center architecture
- Hardware procurement & vendor strategy at scale
- Facility resilience & disaster recovery
- Sustainability & power efficiency strategy
Tools
- Enterprise DCIM & capacity platforms
Certify
- Certified Data Center Professional (CDCP/CDCE)
Typical titlesData Center Architect, Head of Infrastructure Operations, VP of IT Operations
Ensuring an organization's technology and data practices meet legal, regulatory and industry standards — GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI DSS and more.
Stage 1
Foundation
0–6 months
Learn
- Core privacy & security regulations overview
- Data classification basics
- Policy documentation fundamentals
- Audit terminology
Tools
- Compliance checklists / spreadsheets
- Basic GRC tools (intro)
Certify
- IAPP CIPP/E (foundation track)
Typical titlesCompliance Analyst (Junior), IT Audit Assistant, Privacy Coordinator
Stage 2
Intermediate
6 months – 2 years
Learn
- Framework mapping (ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST CSF)
- Risk assessments & gap analysis
- Vendor / third-party risk basics
- Evidence collection for audits
Tools
- Vanta / Drata / OneTrust
- Risk register tools
Certify
- ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
- CompTIA Security+ (cross-skill)
Typical titlesCompliance Analyst, IT Auditor, Risk & Compliance Specialist
Stage 3
Advanced
2–5 years
Learn
- Leading audits (SOC 2, ISO 27001) end-to-end
- Enterprise risk management programs
- Regulatory change management
- Cross-functional compliance program design
Tools
- Enterprise GRC platforms
- Automated control monitoring
Certify
- CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor)
- ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
Typical titlesSenior Compliance Manager, IT Audit Manager, Risk & Governance Lead
Stage 4
Expert / Professional
5+ years
Learn
- Enterprise governance, risk & compliance strategy
- Regulatory liaison & board reporting
- Global multi-jurisdiction compliance programs
- Compliance-by-design across engineering
Tools
- Enterprise GRC & policy-as-code
Certify
Typical titlesDirector of Compliance, Chief Risk Officer, VP of Governance & Risk