Hi Inner Circle! 👋

Welcome to this week's edition.

This week, I'm sharing something I've been putting together for a while ~ a curated list of 20+ free courses that map out a structured learning path into Cloud, DevOps, and AI Infrastructure Engineering.

These aren't just video lectures; we're talking hands-on labs, real projects, free certifications, and practical, real-world learning paths.

I've organized everything into three tracks:

• Foundations

• Cloud & DevOps

• AI Infrastructure

Whether you're a beginner or somewhere in the middle, there's something here for you. Beginners will get the full journey ~ from computer science fundamentals all the way through tools, services, and production-ready engineering concepts. If you're more experienced, feel free to skip ahead to wherever you need it most.

Either way, bookmark this one.

The AI space is evolving incredibly fast, and having a structured roadmap can save you a lot of time. This is one of those resources you’ll probably revisit more than once.

And for a full breakdown of these courses, check out the YouTube video linked here.

Let's dive in! ☁️

Fundamentals

1. Harvard CS50 The gold standard intro to computer science. Covers programming fundamentals, algorithms, data structures, and more — completely free with an optional certificate.

2. Python for Everybody Specialization A beginner-friendly deep dive into Python — from basic syntax to working with data and APIs. One of the most popular programming courses online for good reason.

3. Introduction to Linux Learn the OS that powers most of the cloud and DevOps world. Covers the command line, file systems, and core Linux concepts used daily in engineering roles.

4. Git & GitHub Crash Course For Beginners Version control is non-negotiable in any engineering role. This crash course gets you comfortable with Git workflows and GitHub collaboration fast.

Cloud & DevOps Track

Cloud Practitioner Bundle ~ Pick a Cloud and Dive In

9. AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials Your entry point into the world's largest cloud platform. Covers core AWS services, pricing, security, and architecture — ideal prep for the Cloud Practitioner cert.

10. Google Cloud Digital Leader Certification A business and technical overview of Google Cloud's core products and capabilities. Great for understanding GCP before going deeper into hands-on engineering.

11. Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Microsoft's official learning path covering cloud concepts, Azure services, and core infrastructure. A solid foundation before pursuing the AZ-900 certification.

12. OCI Foundations Associate Oracle's free learning path into OCI — covering compute, storage, networking, and security. Comes with a free certification exam voucher for 2025.

Paid Courses & GO-TRY Cloud Labs

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (Paid) One of the most respected cloud certifications out there. This Educative course walks you through architecting scalable, reliable systems on AWS end to end and gives you 63+ labs to practice what you learn!!

1. Master AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate SAA-C03

2. AWS Solutions Architect Associate

3. Building Multi-Agentic AI Workflows Using Amazon Bedrock

4. Challenge Cloud Labs — Build a Secure Multi-Tier VPC

A few ways to reduce the cost:

• seven-day free trial

• six months free through GitHub Student Pack

• regional pricing in some countries

• and the links above also include discount codes that can help lower the cost further.

Explore More on Educative:

🔗 Learn to Code 🔗 Learning Paths 🔗 Hands-on Projects 🔗 Cloud Labs 🔗 Fenzo AI

Modern Tools & Tech Stack

13. Docker Training Course for the Absolute Beginner Containers are the foundation of modern DevOps. KodeKloud's hands-on approach makes Docker concepts stick — labs included, no prior experience needed.

14. Kubernetes for the Absolute Beginners The go-to intro for container orchestration. You'll deploy, manage, and scale applications on Kubernetes with hands-on labs guiding every step.

15. UDEMY Course - Terraform 101 Learn infrastructure as code from the ground up. This course covers the core Terraform concepts you need before moving into more advanced provisioning workflows.

16. Hands-on Terraform Foundations Takes you beyond the basics with real-world Terraform projects. If you want to actually build and manage cloud infrastructure, this is the practical follow-up.

17. Learn DevOps Monitoring with Prometheus & Grafana Observability is a core DevOps skill. This course teaches you to set up monitoring dashboards and alerting pipelines used in real production environments.

18. 100 Days of DevOps A structured, challenge-based program to build real DevOps skills over 100 days. Great for staying consistent and building a portfolio as you go.

AI Foundations & Infrastructure

19. Introduction to LLMs & Hugging Face A practical intro to large language models and the Hugging Face ecosystem. Covers model usage, fine-tuning basics, and how to run experiments ~ Google Colab provides free GPU access to follow along.

20. Introduction to Generative AI Google's free learning path covering the fundamentals of generative AI, LLMs, and responsible AI practices. A great starting point before going hands-on.

21. AWS Generative AI Learning Path Amazon's curated path for building and deploying generative AI on AWS. Covers Bedrock, foundation models, and real-world production patterns.

22. Azure Generative AI Learning Path Microsoft's beginner-friendly series on building generative AI applications on Azure. Covers prompting, RAG, agents, and deployment across 18 lessons.

23. OCI Generative AI Professional Oracle's learning path for building and deploying AI models on OCI, including hands-on labs with OCI AI services and a free certification exam voucher.

24. AI Infrastructure & Operations Fundamentals by NVIDIA Straight from the hardware leaders themselves. Covers the infrastructure stack behind AI workloads - GPUs, networking, storage, and MLOps fundamentals.

Bonus: Vouchers & Discounts

• Free Exam Vouchers for Micrsoft CertificationsA curated platform for finding free and discounted certification exam vouchers. Worth checking before you pay full price for any cert.

• KSUG.AI A community-maintained site with discount codes for popular cloud and DevOps certifications. Saves you real money on exam registration.

That's all for this week!

Save this, share it with someone leveling up in tech, and let me know which course you're tackling first. 💛

-V