Upgrading From Mavericks To At Least Yosemite -- Am I Up The Creek?

At this time the current version of OS X is Sierra. Neither Yosemite nor El Capitan is available unless you had already downloaded them. You can download Install macOS Sierra from the App Store. If you want to make your own bootable flash drive then you will need an 8GB USB flash drive that has been partitioned and formatted for OS X. After your Sierra download has been completed be sure that you Quit the installer without running it. Make a copy of the installer from your Applications folder to your Downloads folder. You can now run the installer from the Applications folder to upgrade your current system.

Bootable USB Installers for OS X Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, and Sierra

First, review this introductory article: Create a bootable installer for OS X Mavericks or Yosemite - Apple Support. Second, see this How To for creating a bootable El Capitan installer. Simply replace the Terminal command with the one from the preceding article by copying it into the Terminal window. You will need an 8GB or larger USB flash drive that has been partitioned and formatted for use with OS X.

Drive Partition and Format

1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities' folder.
2. After Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the Disk Utility toolbar. Name the drive, "MyVolume". <---- IMPORTANT!
4. In the drop down panel set the partition scheme to GUID. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
5. Click on the Apply button and wait for the Done button to activate. When it does click on it.
6. Quit Disk Utility.

Create Installer

Open the Terminal in the Utilities' folder. Choose the appropriate command line (in red) depending upon what OS X installer you want. Paste that entire command line from below at the Terminal's prompt:

Command for macOS Sierra:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app

Command for El Capitan:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app

Command for Yosemite:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app

Command for Mavericks:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app

Press RETURN. You will be asked for your admin password. It will not echo to the Terminal window. Then press RETURN again. Wait for the return of the Terminal prompt signifying the process has completed. It takes quite some time to finish. Be patient.

Yes, you can upgrade from where you are. Download the installer, save a copy, re-run the installer in order to upgrade. Be sure to verify your computer's eligibility for Sierra. If your computer does not meet the requirements for Sierra, you can still upgrade to El Capitan.

The official list of Macs compatible with macOS Sierra:

2010 or Later

MacBook Air

MacBook Pro

Mac mini

Mac Pro

Late 2009 or Later

MacBook

iMac

Also, see The MacOS Sierra Compatibility List

Upgrading to El Capitan

You can upgrade to El Capitan from Lion and later or directly from Snow Leopard. El Capitan can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.

To upgrade to El Capitan you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion or later installed. Download El Capitan from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. El Capitan is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.

Macs that can be upgraded to OS X El Capitan

1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later

2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later

3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later

5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities' folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.

Are my applications compatible? See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

I'd stick with a brand name and you can partition after formatting.

You can make a bootable USB stick to install using this free program which will do all the work for you.

Bootable USB Flash Drive – Diskmaker X

Also check to make sure there is a compatible driver for your printer.

Do a backup before installing, preferable 2 backups on 2 different drives.