What Is The Best Way to Learn Docker?

The best way to learn Docker differs from person to person. Whether you gravitate more toward formal training options or self-guided tutorials, one thing remains fairly universal: practical experience with Docker will help you develop a solid understanding of how you can use the platform. 

Explore this open-source platform in more detail, including some popular positions that use it, and various learning options to find the best way to learn Docker according to your needs. 

What is Docker?

Docker is a containerization operating system that helps virtualize server operating systems. The Docker Engine, which is known as the runtime, allows you to build and run your containers. This is an open-source project supported by the company that produces the commercial version of Docker and individuals. 

If you work in application development or DevOps, learning how to use Docker to containerize your applications is a core skill. Docker containers run on nearly any operating system (OS) and work with cloud computing applications like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and IBM Cloud. According to the analytics provided by 6sense, Docker accounts for 87.76 percent of the containerization market share [1].

What is Docker used for?

You can use Docker to deliver applications and easily manage all the code in one place, making the development lifecycle much more efficient. It lets you separate applications into different containers while living on the same server infrastructure. Some common use cases for Docker containers include:

• Microservices: Docker is a reliable way to integrate a microservices architecture into your application development by containerizing each aspect. 

• Continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD): Docker allows for maintenance without downtime as developers can use containers to share code, test code, and then deploy the code. 

• DevOps: Docker’s creation of microservices and containerization allows a DevOps team to manage each aspect of the application quickly.

• Cloud: Docker allows you to run containers in cloud environments where you can migrate data or entirely run your application from a cloud provider. 

Why learn Docker?

The multi-faceted uses of Docker make it a flexible program and an important one to know since it is so heavily adopted in development workflows. By learning how to use Docker, you can build skills in containerization, building images, DevOps workflows, and CI/CD.

Who uses Docker?

Since Docker helps development teams, common roles where you would want to learn Docker include DevOps professionals, application developers, and cloud engineers. Examine each job, its average annual income, and the job outlook below to begin envisioning the professional possibilities you could pursue.

DevOps engineer

Average annual salary (Glassdoor): $114,207 [2]

Job outlook (estimated growth from 2023 to 2033): 17 percent [3]

Managing containers in Docker or Kubernetes is a core skill of a DevOps engineer. Additionally, as a DevOps engineer, you will also likely manage the CI/CD that comes with Docker and containerization as they examine the development lifecycle. 

Application developer

Average annual salary (Glassdoor): $107,456 [4]

Job outlook (estimated growth from 2023 to 2033): 17 percent [3]

Developers use Docker to build applications, share them, run them, and even build test environments for development or bug fixes. Docker helps reduce the need to manually configure and manage environments. 

Cloud engineer

Average annual salary (Glassdoor): $112,422 [5]

Job outlook (estimated growth from 2023 to 2033): 26 percent [6]

Cloud engineers can leverage Docker Build Cloud and its integration with other cloud platforms like AWS to USE Docker as part of a cloud-based workflow. Docker containers allow you to create better cloud infrastructure while maintaining the simplicity of containers. 

Begin learning Docker

You can explore various options for learning Docker, and you’ll likely need to begin by downloading the Docker Desktop software. Head to the Docker installation page and download the version you need, whether your OS is Windows, Mac, or your flavor of Linux. To become more familiar with Docker Desktop’s user interface, explore Docker’s extensive documentation. 

Once you have an overview of what each part of the software does, you can start learning. Three ways you learn Docker include:

• Docker’s documentation and tutorials

• Self-paced learning through YouTube, blogs, and experience

• Docker Certified Associate

Explore each method below. 

Docker documentation and tutorials

You can use Docker’s own beginner tutorial in their documentation to begin gaining foundational knowledge of containerization. Docker estimates the entire tutorial to take around 15 minutes, and it has no prerequisites. This tutorial teaches you how to download and set-up Docker, and by the end of it, you will have run a container, built an image, and published your image in the Docker Hub. 

Docker workshop

After you’ve completed this basic tutorial to learn about the core functions of Docker, they recommend that you further explore the core concepts and their capabilities. After this, you are ready to begin the Docker workshop, a 45-minute, nine-part instructional guide that gives you a more thorough view of how to [7]:

• Containerize, update, and share applications

• Persist the database using volume mounts

• Use bind mounts to share directories

• Work with multi-container apps

• Use Docker Compose with multi-container apps

• Explore best practices for building images

• Resources you might consider after finishing the workshop

For a more thorough overview, you can follow the Docker “Getting Started with Docker” video on YouTube. After you’ve completed the workshop, you can continue to learn about container orchestration and the cloud native computing foundation projects. 

Self-paced learning

If you want to continue learning Docker after completing its introductory tutorial and the Docker workshop, you might consider exploring online courses and self-paced opportunities such as:

• LearnDocker

• Container.Training

• Additional Docker Training

• Docker Crash Course for Absolute Beginners

• Complete Docker Course

Docker Certified Associate

You can earn the Docker Certified Associate by passing the exam from the Docker Enterprise Platform Business. You have 90 minutes to complete 13 multiple-choice questions and 42 discrete option multiple-choice (DOMC) questions. You take the exam remotely, and it costs $199 [8].

Beyond the best way to learn Docker: Build DevOps skills on Coursera

Docker is a containerization operating system that you can learn using various resources, including documentation right from Docker, on your own, or through certificate programs. You can also improve and develop your skills in DevOps using flexible options like the IBM DevOps and Software Engineering Professional Certificate or the Meta Back-End Developer Professional Certificate, both on Coursera.