Certification for Kubernetes? I got it covered.
Working in such a rapidly growing software industry, there are new software and certifications which are announced almost every day. And for every new certification announced, you would think that doing it would be cool or help you in your career. Similarly, I saw some of the certification announcements, which included AWS, Azure, Jenkins, Docker, and Kubernetes certification. My initial thought was that I should do each & every one of them, but time passed by and here I am, with just one and only certification "CKA".
This made me realize and question myself if completing a certification is necessary.
Decision:
Here is my take on it. Holding a certification won’t get you on top of the world, and not holding one will not make you fall. That being said, I enrolled to complete CKA, and here are a few points which made it easier for me to decide.
1. Cost: For some, this may not be the most important, but I still consider if its worth spending 200/300$ for it. In my case, it particularly didn't matter as the organization I was working for was paying for it.
2. What’s in to Learn: The curriculum might not have every topic in-depth, but at the same time, it covers a vast number of topics. In CKA I didn’t get to see the topics which I had worked on in past like cronjobs, heath probes or even security policies, but it included other topics I hadn't worked on extensively such as control plane debugging, certificates and cluster management. So, yea there were good new topics for me to learn.
3. Time: This is to me the most important factor, i.e how much time you will need to use to complete the certification (which might include the topics know about, or would have worked on), and is it worth using that amount of time.
Preparation:
Since I already work on Kubernetes and follow the community around it, it was a very easy decision for me to go ahead with CKA. It took me almost a month’s preparation considering my experience working on Kubernetes.
Here are a few activities I recommend and which might come to good use if you decide to enroll in this certification.
Exam time:
After all the preparation, I was finally ready to test myself. , On the day of the exam, I ensured to log in 10 mins early, and after following the instruction from the examiner, i.e showing around the room and clean desk with movable webcam, I was ready to begin with the exam.
Note to consider: Apart from a computer and clear water bottle/glass nothing else is allowed on the desk.
Tips:
Before taking up the examination, I had read about several exam tips. Some of them turned out to be useful and some of them not so much.
Following is a list which might help you, or clear your doubts about the ones you have read before.
Result:
After all the hustle, you would need to wait for 30-36 hours to get the results. I scored 97% and here is how the certificate looked like ;), and if you planning to take CKA exam, then I wish you all the best!!
This made me realize and question myself if completing a certification is necessary.
Decision:
Here is my take on it. Holding a certification won’t get you on top of the world, and not holding one will not make you fall. That being said, I enrolled to complete CKA, and here are a few points which made it easier for me to decide.
1. Cost: For some, this may not be the most important, but I still consider if its worth spending 200/300$ for it. In my case, it particularly didn't matter as the organization I was working for was paying for it.
2. What’s in to Learn: The curriculum might not have every topic in-depth, but at the same time, it covers a vast number of topics. In CKA I didn’t get to see the topics which I had worked on in past like cronjobs, heath probes or even security policies, but it included other topics I hadn't worked on extensively such as control plane debugging, certificates and cluster management. So, yea there were good new topics for me to learn.
3. Time: This is to me the most important factor, i.e how much time you will need to use to complete the certification (which might include the topics know about, or would have worked on), and is it worth using that amount of time.
Preparation:
Since I already work on Kubernetes and follow the community around it, it was a very easy decision for me to go ahead with CKA. It took me almost a month’s preparation considering my experience working on Kubernetes.
Here are a few activities I recommend and which might come to good use if you decide to enroll in this certification.
1. Get through the latest curriculum which is available at https://github.com/cncf/curriculum
2. Consider enrolling in one of the best and most recommended course from Mumshad Mannambeth on Udemy, especially for the labs and mock tests.
3. Repeat the labs and tests again after completing the course.
4. Get used to documentation from https://kubernetes.io/docs/home/, especially kubectl cheatsheet which I recommend to use during labs.
5. Practice 'kubectl' and general subcommand (create, delete, run, expose etc) as much as possible, along with `--dry-run -o yaml` to create handy yaml files, and `--help` to get the options and examples.
6. Perform all the tasks (subpages) under Bootstrapping clusters with kubeadm.
7. Use vi/vim editor for all the yaml editing during labs/tests. Though there is a notepad available in the exam, this is the fastest way to edit files.
8. Also get used to the commands to copy (ctrl+insert) & paste (shift+insert) shortcuts and use them in lab tests, since normal copy (ctrl+c) & paste (ctrl+v) shortcuts are not available in exam terminal and in test labs.
2. Consider enrolling in one of the best and most recommended course from Mumshad Mannambeth on Udemy, especially for the labs and mock tests.
3. Repeat the labs and tests again after completing the course.
4. Get used to documentation from https://kubernetes.io/docs/home/, especially kubectl cheatsheet which I recommend to use during labs.
5. Practice 'kubectl' and general subcommand (create, delete, run, expose etc) as much as possible, along with `--dry-run -o yaml` to create handy yaml files, and `--help` to get the options and examples.
6. Perform all the tasks (subpages) under Bootstrapping clusters with kubeadm.
7. Use vi/vim editor for all the yaml editing during labs/tests. Though there is a notepad available in the exam, this is the fastest way to edit files.
8. Also get used to the commands to copy (ctrl+insert) & paste (shift+insert) shortcuts and use them in lab tests, since normal copy (ctrl+c) & paste (ctrl+v) shortcuts are not available in exam terminal and in test labs.
Exam time:
After all the preparation, I was finally ready to test myself. , On the day of the exam, I ensured to log in 10 mins early, and after following the instruction from the examiner, i.e showing around the room and clean desk with movable webcam, I was ready to begin with the exam.
Note to consider: Apart from a computer and clear water bottle/glass nothing else is allowed on the desk.
Tips:
Before taking up the examination, I had read about several exam tips. Some of them turned out to be useful and some of them not so much.
Following is a list which might help you, or clear your doubts about the ones you have read before.
1. One additional tab in the same window is allowed to browse the kubernetes docs, but I requested the examiner to open this tab in another window which was approved, this helped me to easily switch between windows with Alt+Tab.
2. I had a big list of bookmarks from the official docs ready, but instead of being helpful, it got me confused. So if you are planning to use bookmarks, then better to keep the list short.
3. Use 'kubectl' auto completion. The instruction to enable it are available at kubectl cheatsheet.
4. While creating yaml files, name them with task numbers like task1.yaml, so its easier to refer them while reviewing the questions later, eg: 'kubectl create -f task1.yaml' or 'kubectl delete -f task1.yaml'.
5. Some of the bash command which helped me, for search, sort, count operations are as follows.
- grep -i
- sort --reverse --key {column_no} --numeric
- wc -l
6. Keep your calm and don’t spend too much time on one question, if needed you can review it later. After all, only 74% is required to pass this exam.
7. I read at multiple places that people are suggesting to use alias or terminal multiplexers. To my opinion, it’s really not required and you would need to consume a lot of time to get used to them. Hence better to avoid them.
8. And the most important, Sit on a comfortable chair, as you would be sitting for three hours straight :P. Moreover, breaks are allowed in between but that does not stop the timer.
2. I had a big list of bookmarks from the official docs ready, but instead of being helpful, it got me confused. So if you are planning to use bookmarks, then better to keep the list short.
3. Use 'kubectl' auto completion. The instruction to enable it are available at kubectl cheatsheet.
4. While creating yaml files, name them with task numbers like task1.yaml, so its easier to refer them while reviewing the questions later, eg: 'kubectl create -f task1.yaml' or 'kubectl delete -f task1.yaml'.
5. Some of the bash command which helped me, for search, sort, count operations are as follows.
- grep -i
- sort --reverse --key {column_no} --numeric
- wc -l
6. Keep your calm and don’t spend too much time on one question, if needed you can review it later. After all, only 74% is required to pass this exam.
7. I read at multiple places that people are suggesting to use alias or terminal multiplexers. To my opinion, it’s really not required and you would need to consume a lot of time to get used to them. Hence better to avoid them.
8. And the most important, Sit on a comfortable chair, as you would be sitting for three hours straight :P. Moreover, breaks are allowed in between but that does not stop the timer.
Result:
After all the hustle, you would need to wait for 30-36 hours to get the results. I scored 97% and here is how the certificate looked like ;), and if you planning to take CKA exam, then I wish you all the best!!
