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KUBERNETES

6 Reasons You Should Take the CKAD Exam

Edidiong Asikpo
January 11, 2022 | 4 min read

First of all, what is CKAD? I bet you already know that since you are reading this article, but if you don’t, CKAD is an acronym for the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer examination developed by The Linux Foundation and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) to help expand the Kubernetes ecosystem through a standardized training and certification.

Even though the official CKAD website states that anyone who passes the exam has been certified to be able to design, build and deploy cloud-native applications for Kubernetes, some developers are still sceptical about taking the certification exam for different reasons.

You’ll hear questions like, “Is the CKAD certification useful?”, “Is the CKAD exam worth it?”, “Will I understand Kubernetes after taking it?”, “Is the amount I’m paying for the certification worth it?”, “Will I be certified to do design, build and deploy applications for K8s, or is this just a bland promise to get me to pay for the course?”, amongst other things. If you are contemplating whether to take the CKAD exam, I’d strongly recommend that you should.

Why You Should Take the CKAD Exam:

  1. It has an excellent curriculum with an engaging learning path. So, it exposes you to the inner workings of Kubernetes from the developer’s perspective and grants you access to a lot of resources that will improve your knowledge of Kubernetes. You’ll come out as a better engineer after passing the CKAD exam.
  2. Being a certified Kubernetes application developer gives you easy access to the employment door-openers (HR & recruiters), strengthens your chances of passing through the first screening, and reduces the proof-of-mastery questions from recruiters.
  3. Some companies require the CKAD certification as a promotion requirement. A friend who works at GitLab got promoted after taking the exam because it provided him with the valuable skills he needed while interviewing to switch roles.
  4. The CKAD Certification focuses on the skills required to be a successful Kubernetes Application Developer in today’s industry. A successful candidate will be comfortable working with container images, applying Cloud Native application concepts and architectures, amongst other things.
  5. The CKAD exam is created by two reputable organizations in the Cloud Computing ecosystem that value both their impact and reputation So, you can bet that the courses in this training are top-notch and worth the money you’ll spend on it.
  6. It’s not just about the certificate. It’s about what you learn, the experience, benefits, and access you gain after passing the examination. Taking the certification will open you up to more opportunities and let people in the ecosystem know that you have significant knowledge about Kubernetes.

Not convinced yet? You can check out the CKAD review page to see reviews from people who have taken the training or you can read through the responses to this tweet I made asking people in the Kubernetes ecosystem what they think about the CKAD exam.



Summary

The CKAD exam is a certification for Kubernetes engineers, cloud engineers, and other IT professionals responsible for or looking to learn how to build, deploy, and configure cloud native applications with Kubernetes.

It is a great way to show your employer, potential employers, and members of the Kubernetes ecosystem that you know the inner workings of Kubernetes.

Ace the CKAD with me!

This article is part of the CKAD prep weekly articles I write to enable people to excel in their CKAD examinations. Stay up to date on latest additions to this series by following us on our Blog and Twitter.

The CKAD series, so far: