A cohort school for database professionals
Prove you can run production databases.
StepUp Tech Academy is a six-month cohort program in PostgreSQL, SQL Server, cloud and infrastructure as code. You do real work on real systems, every task is graded and recorded, and you graduate with a credential an employer can verify in ten seconds.
Upcoming cohorts
Small cohorts, real start dates.
There is no rolling self-serve enrollment. Each cohort shares a start date, a weekly pace, and a room. Start the free Linux month now, then apply to the cohort that fits.
Cloud Database Operations
- Starts
- September 8, 2026
- Size
- 12 seats
Applications close Aug 25
Cloud Database Operations
- Starts
- January 12, 2027
- Size
- 12 seats
Applications open now
The learning loop
Watch it. Read it. Do it. Prove it.
Every module moves through the same five stages, so you never wonder what to do next. A produced video builds the mental model. A written guide and slide deck are the reference you keep. Then you do the work on real cloud servers - graded automatically, unlimited attempts, feedback that names what failed and why. A quiz proves you kept it; a challenge pushes past it.
What you will master
The stack the market actually hires for.
Two engines, two clouds, and the automation and incident skills that separate an operator from a button-clicker. Every choice traces to demand data from real job postings.
Linux
The ground every database runs on. The terminal, systemd, storage, networking, and the no-GUI discipline that makes you fast. This is the free on-ramp.
PostgreSQL
The primary engine. Architecture, MVCC and vacuum, WAL, roles and pooling, backup and PITR, replication, and high availability with Patroni.
SQL Server
The second engine. T-SQL and DMVs, recovery models, security and TDE, Always On - plus the translation table that maps every concept to PostgreSQL.
Infrastructure as Code
Terraform and Ansible. Provision databases from an empty cloud account, promote schema through dev, qa and prod, and keep secrets out of the repo.
Cloud - AWS & Azure
Managed and self-managed. RDS, Aurora and Azure SQL - what the provider absorbs, what it does not, failover behaviour, and the real cost shape.
The proof layer
Monitoring as code, incident command, a heterogeneous migration, and a capstone estate - all recorded as verified evidence that writes your resume.
Why the Academy
The difference between studying databases and proving you can run one.
Admission, not open enrollment
You apply, and you are reviewed against the work you already did in the free month - not a personal statement. We admit people who have shown they will do the work.
A cohort, not a playlist
A shared start date, weekly deadlines, peers moving with you, and an instructor who sees your work. Structure comes from a clock and real feedback, not from willpower.
Graded on real servers
Every lab runs on live cloud infrastructure that breaks in real ways. Graded automatically, unlimited attempts, with feedback that teaches - never just a red X.
The credential is the evidence
Every graded action writes to a permanent, verified record. Your certificate is a summary of it, published at a URL an employer can check in ten seconds.
Your resume writes itself
It assembles from what you actually did on real servers - ATS-ready, backed by logs, so you never have to invent a bullet point.
A human in the loop
Sage, your AI mentor, grades and tutors at any hour. A real instructor reviews your milestone work, judges when you are ready, and notices when you have gone quiet.
Designed and taught by Happy Afopezi, a Lead DBA with over a decade across thousands of production databases. The mentorship you would pay hundreds an hour for - encoded into Sage and backed by a real instructor.
How the program works
Four phases. The first one is free.
On-ramp - free
The free Linux month
The Linux foundation track, open and unpaid. Learn the ground every database sits on. No payment, no risk, no sales pressure.
Admission
Apply to a cohort
Reviewed against the work you did in the free month. Admit, waitlist, or decline. Admitted students pay a deposit and get a start date.
The program
Six months, one cohort
PostgreSQL and SQL Server, cloud and infrastructure as code, taught through the learning loop on a shared clock. Graded work throughout.
Graduation
A credential you can defend
A capstone you present, a certificate with a public verification page, an evidence-built resume and portfolio, and interview preparation.
The free month is the point.
Start with the Linux on-ramp and prove to yourself you will finish - before you pay a cent. The people who finish are the ones we admit.
The roadmap
Everything you learn, in order.
A single path from the terminal to a two-engine cloud estate. Open any phase to see its modules. You pass an assessment at the end of each phase before the next one unlocks - no skipping ahead, no falling silently behind.
- 01Linux fundamentals
- 02Files, editing & permissions
- 03Processes & systemd
- 04Package management & storage
- 05Networking & scheduling
- 06Git & pull requests
- 07SQL beyond joins - window functions & CTEs
Tuition
You never pay before you prove you will finish.
Small cohorts, real completion, real outcomes. The Linux month is free. Tuition is a deposit at admission and monthly installments across the program - access stays open as long as payment is current, with a grace period if life happens.
On-ramp
The free Linux month
$0
The full Linux foundation track on real servers. No card, no commitment. Finish it and you can apply to a cohort.
The program
Cloud Database Operations
$3,000
Deposit at admission, then monthly installments across six months.
- Every module: video, written guide, slide deck, and notes
- Real cloud lab servers, provisioned and torn down for you
- Auto-graded labs and assignments with unlimited attempts
- Quizzes, challenges, and phase-gate assessments
- Sage, your AI mentor, plus a real instructor who reviews your work
- AI mock interviews and flashcards after every module
- A verified evidence record, public certificate, and auto-built resume
What our students say
Trusted by engineers worldwide.
I went from zero Linux experience to setting up streaming replication in two weeks. The step-by-step approach made everything click.
Kayci M.
Junior DBA, Financial Services
The chaos engineering scenarios are incredible. When our prod database crashed last month, I knew exactly what to do because I had practiced it.
Esah N.
Database Engineer, Healthcare
The AWS Aurora labs bridged the gap between textbook knowledge and real cloud operations. I got promoted within three months.
Tah Eric
Cloud DBA, Tech Startup
Most courses give you a sandbox. SUTA gives you actual servers that break in actual ways. That difference matters when you are on-call.
Francis N.
SRE, E-Commerce
I needed PostgreSQL skills for a new role. The CBUSI methodology - build, use, survive, interview - prepared me for everything they threw at me.
Ibrahim Y.
Backend Developer
The AI tutor Sage felt like having a senior DBA sitting next to me. It caught my mistakes before they became problems.
Clementine T.
Junior DevOps Engineer
Join hundreds of engineers building real database skills with hands-on labs.
Prove it before you pay for it.
Start the free Linux month on real servers. Finish it, and you can apply to the next cohort.