Program curriculum: internal guide
The Mission To Cloud Curriculum
A phase-by-phase map of what to study, in what order, and what to build to prove you actually learned it, with the moments where you check in before moving on.
4 phases~30 weeks at ~8–10 hrs/week2 cohorts a yearLive biweekly sessions
Cohort 1January 2027
Applications close December 15, 2026
Cohort 2July 2027
Applications open after Cohort 1 begins
Most of what's linked here is free or low-cost and already exists. The value of this program isn't the resources, it's the order, the checkpoints, the live sessions, and the fact that someone is reviewing your work at each step. Treat the estimated timelines as a starting assumption, not a deadline: pacing adjusts to the cohort and to where you're actually starting from.
Live sessions run biweekly, about 45–60 minutes each, and are recorded and shared with the cohort, so missing one live doesn't mean missing it entirely.
PhaseEst. timeObjective
01FoundationsWks 1–5The vocabulary, mental models, and Linux fundamentals everything else is built on.
02Cloud FoundationsWks 6–13How modern infrastructure actually runs, hands-on in AWS.
03SpecializeWks 14–25Build and secure real pipelines. This is what makes you hireable.
04Position & Get HiredWks 26–30Turn the work above into a resume, portfolio, and offer.
KICKOFFWeek 1, live, cohort-wide
Cohort kickoff
The first live session of every cohort: expectations, why the phases are ordered this way, and introductions so the cohort actually knows each other. Peer accountability starts here, not at Phase 03.
PHASE 01Weeks 1–5
Foundations
Before cloud or security tooling means anything, you need the underlying vocabulary: how networks move data, how systems talk to each other, the basic shape of a security threat, and enough comfort at a Linux command line to not be lost the moment you touch a server. This phase is intentionally free to run through.
Core resources
- Free courseProfessor Messer: CompTIA Network+
The standard free option; skip straight to it before paying for anything. - Free courseProfessor Messer: CompTIA Security+
Same instructor, same format. Do this right after Network+. - Free courseProfessor Messer: CompTIA Linux+
Everything in Phases 02 and 03 assumes you're comfortable in a Linux shell. Worth going through even though we're not sitting this exam. - OptionalJason Dion practice exams (Udemy)
Only if you want a paid practice-exam backstop before sitting the real test.
Live sessions
- Office hoursBring your Network+/Security+/Linux+ questions
Open troubleshooting, no agenda beyond what's actually confusing you this week.
Checkpoint before moving onScore 85%+ on a full Network+ and Security+ practice exam. You don't need to sit the real exams yet. Save that cost until you're ready to use the cert, later in the path.
Also be able to navigate a Linux server from the command line: move around the filesystem, edit a file, manage users and permissions, and install a package, without reaching for the exam itself. That's what actually gets used starting in Phase 02.
PHASE 02Weeks 6–13
Cloud Foundations
Most IT and security roles today run on cloud infrastructure. AWS is the reference point here, since it has the deepest hiring demand and the most mature free training.
Core resources
- Free / officialAWS Skill Builder: Cloud Practitioner Essentials
Free, straight from AWS. Start here before any paid course. - CourseStephane Maarek: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (Udemy)
The most widely recommended paid course for this cert, for good reason. - CourseStephane Maarek: AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Associate (Udemy)
Same instructor; move to this right after Cloud Practitioner. - Practice examsTutorials Dojo
The standard for AWS cert practice exams, useful for both certs above.
Live sessions
- Build-alongStanding up the three-tier architecture, live
I build the checkpoint project in real time, narrating the decisions. Watch it once before you attempt it yourself. - Office hoursTroubleshooting your AWS environment
Bring your broken VPC or IAM policy, and we fix it live, together.
Checkpoint before moving onStand up a basic three-tier architecture in a real AWS Free Tier account (a VPC, an EC2 instance, an S3 bucket, and an RDS database, wired together), and walk me through why each piece is there.
PHASE 03Weeks 14–25
Specialize
This is the phase that actually makes you hireable. Understanding cloud is table stakes. Building and securing real pipelines is what separates a candidate who talks about DevSecOps from one who's done it.
Core resources
- Hands-on labsKodeKloud
Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform, taught with real browser-based labs. Genuinely excellent for this stage. - Free / YouTubeTechWorld with Nana
The clearest free explainers on CI/CD, Docker, and Kubernetes concepts. - Exam simkiller.sh
The realistic mock exam for the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA). - Free / officialHashiCorp: official Terraform tutorials
Straight from the source, and free. - Hands-on labsTryHackMe
Gamified, beginner-friendly labs for security fundamentals and scanning tools.
Live sessions
- Build-alongBuilding the capstone pipeline, live
CI/CD, Kubernetes deploy, Terraform provisioning, and a security scan step, built in real time as a worked example, mistakes included. - Real incidentA real pipeline failure or security finding from my own career
Not a hypothetical. An actual incident and how it got diagnosed. This is the part nobody else can teach you. - Group reviewLive capstone reviews
A couple of volunteers share their in-progress project for feedback in front of the group, and everyone learns from every review, not just their own.
Checkpoint before moving on: the capstoneContainerize an application and deploy it to Kubernetes through a CI/CD pipeline you build yourself (GitHub Actions or GitLab CI both work). Provision the infrastructure with Terraform, and include at least one automated security scan in the pipeline. Trivy for container scanning is a good starting point.
This project becomes the centerpiece of your portfolio in Phase 04, so build it like you mean to show it off.
PHASE 04Weeks 26–30
Position & Get Hired
Everything above is worthless to a hiring manager if it doesn't come through clearly in your resume, portfolio, and interview. This phase has no external courses. It's entirely direct work between us.
What we do together
- 1:1Resume rebuild
Rewritten around what you actually built, not generic duties. - 1:1Portfolio write-up
Turning your Phase 03 capstone into a GitHub README and a short case-study a recruiter will actually read. - 1:1Mock interviews
Both technical and behavioral rounds, with real feedback afterward. - 1:1Application strategy
How to read a job posting for what actually matters, and where to focus your search.
Live sessions
- Live interviewA mock interview, in front of the group
One volunteer gets interviewed live; everyone else watches and debriefs afterward. You learn as much from watching as from doing. - Walkthrough"How I read a job posting"
A real, public listing, dissected live: what actually matters, what to ignore, and how to decide it's worth applying to.
CheckpointTen real applications submitted, with a resume and portfolio you're genuinely proud to put your name on.
CLOSINGWeek 30, live, cohort-wide
Capstone showcase
The last live session of the cohort: everyone presents their capstone project, we wrap up, and the cohort transitions into job search together rather than everyone going quiet at the finish line.
Adjusting the path to where you're starting from
Nobody starts at the same point, and the timeline above assumes a true beginner working ~8–10 hours a week. In our intro call, we'll adjust based on where you actually are:
Already IT-adjacent (help desk, sysadmin, etc.)Phase 01 often compresses to 1–2 weeks of review rather than a full study cycle.
Military or federal technical backgroundFrequently strong on Phase 01 and security concepts already. The gap is usually cloud-native tooling in Phases 02–03.
True career changer, no technical backgroundThe timeline above is the realistic default. Resist the urge to skip ahead to Phase 03 before Phase 01 concepts are solid.
What this guide doesn't replace
Anyone can find this list of resources on their own with enough Googling. What actually gets people stuck isn't a lack of content. It's not knowing which order to tackle it in, not having anyone to ask when something breaks, and not knowing when a project is actually good enough to show an employer. That's the part that happens in our calls, not in this document.