arosenkranz/learning-guide

Learning Guide

Structured approach to learning new technologies through hands-on practice.

Learning Philosophy

1. Start with why - Understand the problem before the solution
2. Learn by doing - Hands-on projects over passive reading
3. Build incrementally - Small steps, gradual complexity
4. Connect to existing knowledge - Relate new concepts to familiar ones
5. Experiment safely - Use sandboxes and local environments

Learning Path Template

When learning a new technology:

1. Orientation (30 min)

• What problem does this solve?
• When should I use it vs alternatives?
• What are the key concepts?

2. Hello World (1-2 hours)

• Minimal working example
• Understand the basic workflow
• Get something running

3. Guided Project (2-4 hours)

• Build something small but useful
• Follow a tutorial with modifications
• Document what you learn

4. Independent Project (4-8 hours)

• Apply to a real problem
• Make mistakes and debug
• Build muscle memory

5. Deep Dive (ongoing)

• Explore advanced features
• Read source code
• Contribute or share knowledge

Technology Learning Paths

Go Programming

Week 1: Foundations

Day 1-2: Syntax and Types
- Variables, functions, control flow
- Project: CLI calculator

Day 3-4: Data Structures
- Slices, maps, structs
- Project: Contact book CLI

Day 5-7: Packages and Testing
- Creating modules
- Writing tests
- Project: URL shortener library

Week 2: Concurrency

Day 1-2: Goroutines and Channels
- Project: Concurrent web scraper

Day 3-4: Sync Package
- Mutexes, WaitGroups
- Project: Rate-limited API client

Day 5-7: Real Application
- Project: Simple HTTP server with graceful shutdown

Terraform / IaC

Week 1: Core Concepts

Day 1-2: HCL Basics
- Resources, variables, outputs
- Project: Create S3 bucket + IAM policy

Day 3-4: State Management
- Remote state, locking
- Project: Multi-file infrastructure

Day 5-7: Modules
- Creating reusable modules
- Project: VPC module with subnets

Week 2: Real Infrastructure

Day 1-3: Complete Application
- Project: Deploy containerized app to ECS

Day 4-5: Environments
- Workspaces or directory structure
- Project: Dev/Staging/Prod setup

Day 6-7: CI/CD Integration
- Project: GitHub Actions for terraform plan/apply

Kubernetes

Week 1: Local Development

Day 1-2: Concepts
- Pods, Services, Deployments
- Project: Deploy nginx with minikube

Day 3-4: Configuration
- ConfigMaps, Secrets, Volumes
- Project: Stateful application with persistence

Day 5-7: Networking
- Services, Ingress
- Project: Multi-service application

Week 2: Production Patterns

Day 1-2: Scaling
- HPA, Resource limits
- Project: Auto-scaling deployment

Day 3-4: Observability
- Logs, metrics, health checks
- Project: Add monitoring to application

Day 5-7: Helm
- Charts and values
- Project: Create Helm chart for your app

Project Ideas by Skill Level

Beginner Projects

| Project | Technologies | Time | |---------|-------------|------| | Personal CLI tool | Go or Python | 2-4 hrs | | Static site generator | Any language | 4-6 hrs | | API wrapper library | TypeScript | 3-5 hrs | | Docker dev environment | Docker Compose | 2-3 hrs |

Intermediate Projects

| Project | Technologies | Time | |---------|-------------|------| | REST API with DB | Go/Python + PostgreSQL | 8-12 hrs | | CI/CD pipeline | GitHub Actions | 4-6 hrs | | Infrastructure module | Terraform + AWS | 6-8 hrs | | Monitoring stack | Prometheus + Grafana | 4-6 hrs |

Advanced Projects

| Project | Technologies | Time | |---------|-------------|------| | Microservices app | K8s + multiple services | 20+ hrs | | Custom Terraform provider | Go + Terraform SDK | 15+ hrs | | Full GitOps setup | ArgoCD + Helm | 10-15 hrs | | Observability platform | OTEL + various backends | 15+ hrs |

Learning Resources Strategy

Official Documentation First

• Most accurate and up-to-date
• Often has tutorials and examples
• Understand the source of truth

Interactive Learning

• Go: Go by Example, Tour of Go
• Terraform: HashiCorp Learn
• Kubernetes: Kubernetes.io tutorials
• AWS: AWS Skill Builder

When to Use Tutorials

• Getting started with new concepts
• Understanding common patterns
• Seeing best practices in action

When to Read Source Code

• Understanding implementation details
• Debugging unexpected behavior
• Learning advanced patterns

Effective Practice Techniques

Deliberate Practice

1. Set specific goals for each session
2. Focus on weak areas
3. Get immediate feedback
4. Reflect on what worked

Spaced Repetition

• Review concepts at increasing intervals
• Build projects that reinforce learning
• Revisit old projects with new knowledge

Teaching to Learn

• Write blog posts explaining concepts
• Create documentation for your projects
• Help others in communities

Homelab as Learning Lab

Your homelab is perfect for practicing:

| Technology | Homelab Application | |------------|---------------------| | Docker | Deploy new services | | Terraform | Manage cloud resources | | Kubernetes | Run k3s cluster | | Go | Build automation tools | | Monitoring | Set up observability |

Safe Experimentation

• Use separate VLANs for testing
• Snapshot VMs before changes
• Keep backups of working configs
• Document what you try

Progress Tracking

Learning Journal Format

# [Date] - [Technology] - [Topic]

## What I Learned
- Key concept 1
- Key concept 2

## What I Built
- Description of project/exercise

## Challenges
- Problem I encountered
- How I solved it

## Next Steps
- [ ] What to learn next
- [ ] Project to try

Skill Assessment

Rate yourself 1-5 on each technology:

1. Aware - Know it exists
2. Familiar - Understand basics
3. Competent - Can build simple things
4. Proficient - Can build complex things
5. Expert - Can teach others

Track progress monthly to see growth.