# Career Path

## Concrete Learning Path (6-12 months)

**Month 1-2: Containerization**

- Docker deep dive
- Deploy Kamailio/FreeSWITCH in containers
- Build your own voice lab in Docker Compose

**Month 3-4: Kubernetes**

- CKA study and certification
- Deploy stateful telecom apps on K8s
- Learn persistent volumes, StatefulSets, load balancing

**Month 5-6: Observability**

- Instrument a voice platform with Prometheus
- Build Grafana dashboards for SIP metrics
- Set up distributed tracing for call flows

**Month 7-8: Infrastructure-as-Code**

- Terraform for multi-cloud voice infrastructure
- Ansible/Salt for configuration management
- GitOps workflows

**Month 9-10: Programming**

- Python or Go for building automation tools
- Build APIs that abstract telecom complexity
- Write operators or controllers for K8s

**Month 11-12: Portfolio Projects**

- Auto-scaling SIP proxy based on CPS metrics
- Multi-region voice infrastructure with failover
- Internal developer platform for telephony services

## Resume Positioning

Reframe your experience:

- "Maintained Avaya PBX" → "Managed high-availability voice infrastructure serving 10K users with 99.99% uptime"
- "Configured SIP trunks" → "Designed and scaled SIP routing infrastructure handling 500K daily call sessions"
- "Troubleshot call quality" → "Performance analysis and optimization of real-time media streams, reduced jitter by 40%"

## Red Flags to Avoid

**Don't:** Just add cloud certs without building things - employers can tell

**Don't:** Try to jump straight to architect roles without hands-on modern infrastructure experience

**Don't:** Ignore programming - even infrastructure roles now expect scripting/automation skills

**Do:** Build public proof of your skills (GitHub repos, blog posts about scaling Kamailio on K8s, etc.)