Need help building DevOps projects after completing Docker & Jenkins courses

DevOps
,
#1

Hey folks! :wave:

I’m Ego (not my actual name :sweat_smile:), currently on my journey learning and building a strong foundation in DevOps.

I’ve completed the Docker and Jenkins courses here on KodeKloud — and now I’m really eager to move from just learning to doing. I want to build some projects or at least start practicing how to implement what I’ve learned in real scenarios.

But honestly, I feel a bit stuck right now. I’m not sure:

  • How to structure a DevOps project from scratch
  • Where to find practice repos or templates
  • How to combine Docker + Jenkins in one flow

If anyone can guide me on how to start or share some project ideas/resources, it’d be a huge help :pray:
Would love to know how others made the jump from course material to actual hands-on stuff.

Thanks a ton in advance! :rocket:

#2

Hi @Egoist

How to structure a DevOps project from scratch & where to find practice repos or templates:

It depends on the type of project. A good starting point is to create separate repositories for different parts:

  • One repo for Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  • One repo for the application code

For real-world projects, you might need to set up Kubernetes (K8s) or use Terraform to manage your infrastructure. To understand the structure better, look up open-source projects or search for templates by keywords like “DevOps project structure with Kubernetes and Terraform” on GitHub.

How to combine Docker + Jenkins in one workflow:

You can run Jenkins inside a Docker container. Here’s a basic setup that works:

  1. Use a virtual machine (VM) to install and run Jenkins in Docker.

  2. Make sure this VM is in the same network as your Kubernetes cluster and container registry.

  3. Jenkins will:

    • Build Docker images
    • Push them to your registry
    • Deploy them to the Kubernetes cluster

If you use GitOps for continuous deployment (CD), Jenkins doesn’t need to be on the same network as the Kubernetes cluster. You just need to make sure Jenkins can push the image to the container registry, GitOps tools (like Argo CD or Flux) will handle the deployment from there.

1 Like
#3

Hey @raymond.baoly

Thanks a ton for such a clear and detailed response :pray:
This really helped me understand how I can start structuring things and slowly get into the real-world flow of DevOps projects.

I especially liked the part about breaking things into separate repos — makes total sense now. And I’m definitely gonna try running Jenkins in Docker and slowly link it with other components like a registry or even GitOps tools later on (once I get comfy).

Appreciate the guidance, seriously. You just saved me from a week of confusion :sweat_smile:
Will try this out and drop updates here if I get stuck anywhere.

Thanks again! :fire::100:

1 Like
#4

You have a great question, and you are in that exciting (and a little overwhelming) phase of where you’ve learned so much but you don’t know how to apply it. You’re not the only one who has this question. And you are closer than you think to being job-ready.

DevOps Project Phase: From Learning to Doing

The next step is to apply them in structured, real-world projects. is the next step after completing courses on Docker and Jenkins (great choices! Here are some tips to help you get started and gain confidence:

How to Build a DevOps project from Scratch

Start with a 3-tier web application (frontend/backend/database) and apply DevOps to the entire lifecycle. Here’s an example:

  1. Code repository setup – Host code on GitHub/GitLab and version control.
  2. Dockerize your application and write Dockerfile to each component.
  3. Create Jenkins Pipelines- Automate build steps, tests, and deployment.
  4. CI/CD flow- Integrate Jenkins and Git to trigger builds automatically.
  5. Optional – Deploy the application to a container orchestration system like Kubernetes or a cloud VM.

You can find practice repos or templates by searching online.

Here are some great starting points:

  • There are many community repositories that contain “CI/CD Sample Project with Jenkins and Docker”.

You can also create your own repo using what you have learned and document the pipeline steps, as if explaining them to someone else. This will help tremendously during interviews and in job readiness.

Combining Docker + Jenkins into a Single Workflow

Here is a simple pipeline example.

  1. Jenkins pulls the code from GitHub.
  2. Jenkins includes:
  • Unit tests
  • Docker image build (docker build)
  • DockerHub now supports Docker images
  1. Jenkins deploys the Docker Image to a testing environment.

You can also add new stages as you progress.

  • Code linting
  • Security scanning
  • Blue-green deployment

You’ll be able to learn how to implement this pipeline in our **DevOps course in Pune. Not just the tools but the way they work together in a real pipeline.

What Our courses can help you do beyond the basics

KodeKloud has already given you a solid foundation. To really excel in real-world scenarios, you’ll need **project based learning and live problem solving

We’ll even help you create a portfolio of projects that can be shown to recruiters, because “knowing” the tools isn’t enough. It’s important to show how you used the tools.

Start with these Project Ideas

Here are some DevOps-friendly projects for beginners:

  • Automated portfolio deployment – Host your website with CI/CD.
  • Weather app with CI/CD pipeline – Fetch weather API and deploy using Docker & Jenkins.
  • Blue-Green Deployment Add deployment strategies to pipeline.

Need feedback or detailed project templates? Contact us at any time.

Keep moving, Ego! You’re on a good path. You’ll be able to make the leap from learning to actually doing with a little push. With structured guidance and a community of like-minded people, offers live mentorship and is perfect for anyone who’s ever been to Pune.

Please let me know if a walkthrough of your project would be helpful to get you started!