From Law to DevOps: How I Made the Switch
People often ask me: "How did you go from Law to DevOps?" Honestly, there’s no clean answer. There was no master plan, no single turning point where everything clicked. It was more of a trial-and-error process.
Starting out
In 2017, I started studying Law at Cyprus International University. I wasn’t sure what I wanted back then. Law seemed like a reasonable choice: safe, respectable, the kind of thing people approve of.
But over time, I realized it wasn’t the right fit. Outside of classes, I spent most of my time on the computer — tinkering with Linux, setting up servers, trying to understand how systems actually work. That gradually became what I was most interested in.
That said, studying law wasn’t wasted. It taught me analytical thinking — breaking problems into parts, building logic, paying attention to details. Those skills turned out to be useful in a completely different field.
"First-principles thinking requires us to abandon our allegiance to the way things have always been done and question everything." — Ozan Varol
The transition
I graduated in 2021 but didn’t want to continue in law. I was a bit uncertain at that point — I had a degree but no desire to use it.
Meanwhile, I started focusing more on technical topics. I began learning Kubernetes, Docker, and other tools. In 2022, I set up my first Kubernetes cluster. It was small and simple, but seeing it work was motivating.
After that, my direction became clearer: move forward in tech.
"Uncertainty is not the enemy. Certainty is. When we are certain, we stop questioning, stop observing, stop thinking." — Ozan Varol
First job and learning
In 2023, I got my first DevOps job at CloudSpade LLC. It was tough at first. People around me had CS degrees and years of experience. But I kept at it.
I learned AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins, and Terraform on the job. I made mistakes — sometimes serious ones. But those mistakes were part of the process, and usually that’s where I learned the most.
"Research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing." — Wernher von Braun
Next steps
In 2024, I moved to OCTAPULL. Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and monitoring tools like Grafana and Prometheus became part of my daily work. Over time I took on more responsibility, and by late 2025 I was leading the team.
During the same period, I built some side projects. A GPU management tool and a Terraform-based deploy solution, both open-source. Seeing other people actually use them was a good motivator.
Where I am now
Lately I’ve been getting into a different area: pulsed plasma thrusters. It’s technically challenging, but the learning process is what draws me in.
From the outside, these transitions might look random. But from my perspective, the common thread is the same: trying to understand how systems work and building things with that understanding.
"The people who make the greatest breakthroughs are the ones who question the most basic assumptions that everyone else takes for granted." — Ozan Varol
Takeaway
The most important thing I learned through all of this is that there’s no single right path. My earlier choices weren’t wasted — they just ended up being useful somewhere else.
If you’re interested in something, it usually makes sense to try it. Over time, what fits you becomes clearer.