Coursera, C++, and Linux Academy

I am trying to improve my skill set with respect to the underlying cloud technologies this summer.
I am taking the cloud specialization course at Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/cloud-computing and also I am also taking the Docker Deep Dive at Linux Academy https://linuxacademy.com.

I am only a few weeks into the Coursera course and i am loving it.  I am learning a lot about the frameworks and protocols that enable distributed computing.   We are tasked with implementing the algorithms for a SWIM (Scalable Weakly Consistent Infection Style Membership Protocol) implementation in C++.  I have to admit the C++ part is turning out to the hardest part, but after installing Eclipse CDT on my linux vm (the project uses Linux only libraries), I am making some progress with the code base.

Linux Academy is awesome.  I plan to take the a few course here that directly relate to my lab project.  They have courses on Linux, Docker and even a few on Openstack !!  Maybe get Openstack certified at some point.