Today technology is getting more advanced, cloud-native apps like Kuberntes become more complicated. Industry needs cloud experts who can handle and set up these apps well. Among different cloud apps Kubernetes can be said to be the most powerful containerization app in managing and setting up workload due to its flexible system.
This means there’s a growing need for people who are certified in Kubernetes. In this article we will take you through the best Kubernetes certifications in 2024, their requirements, durations and cost and everything you need to know. Let’s dive into all the insights on the top and best Kubernetes certifications in 2024.
Table of Contents
What is Kubernetes?
Kubernetes, mostly known as kube or k8s, is an open-source containerization platform that automates the processes involved in deploying and scaling containerized apps. It is an important tool for cloud-native apps and microservices architecture. It is a highly efficient, consistent and flexible platform which provides an easy scaling of containerized applications with simplified management of container resources.
With its advanced features, Kubernetes gives container reliability, fault tolerance, and supports various cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, and Azure. Its extensibility allows users to integrate it with different types of tools.
What is Kubernetes Certification?
Kubernetes certification refers to a professional certification that authenticates a person in working with an open-source container orchestration platform Kubernetes expertise and skills. Kubernetes certifications are designed to ensure that professionals have the necessary knowledge, relevant skills and practical expertise to effectively use and manage Kubernetes environments.
Types of Kubernetes Certifications
Kubernetes is diverse enough that there are three main types of Kubernetes certifications offered by different organizations.
- Certified Cloud-Native Security Expert (CCNSE)
- Certified Kubernetes Security Specialists (CKS)
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
- Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
- Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA)
- Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS)
- Kubernetes Certified Service Provider Program (KCSP)
Why should you get Kubernetes Certifications?
Kubernetes in modern software development is crucial in the current digital landscape, where continuous integration and delivery have become a norm. By getting Kubernetes certification you can upgrade yourself in the hierarchy of Kubernetes security professionals.
Many of the best Kubernetes certifications and courses in 2024 can nourish your Kubernetes skills and competency in professionals, enabling you to be capable enough to manage and protect cloud-native technologies like Kubernetes.
1. Improve Technical Competence
The Kuberntes certifications and courses help you to prove your proficiency in Kubernetes configuration, deployment, and management. These certifications help potential employers to make right recruitment decisions. By getting Kubernetes certifications you can improve your technical competence with these certifications and impress employers with certification achievements.
2. Increase Job Prospects
Kubernetes is a demanding container orchestration tool in the technical and cloud industry, as organizations are moving towards containerized infrastructures to achieve scalability and maintainability. Kubernetes certified experts have better and highly paid job opportunities in the market.
3. Boost Confidence and Credibility
Kubernetes certifications add value to your resume and enhance your professional credibility. As a certified Kubernetes professional, you become confident to handle complex tasks and challenges in cloud and container deployments.
4. Competitive Salary
Kubernetes certified professionals are paid a high salary in the tech industry. Kubernetes certified individuals are quite important for organizations that wish to drive towards a more efficient and scalable container infrastructure.
5. Continuous Learning
The Kubernetes ecosystem is always growing, and the certification process helps to encourage professionals to be updated with the latest innovations and technological developments in the field. With the continuous learning agile process, you will be familiar with the Kubernetes basics, fundamentals and the latest practices.
Career Opportunities in Kubernetes
It has gained tremendous acknowledgement and become demanding in the tech industry. Here are five of some career opportunities in Kubernetes that are worth exploring. Let us explain how Kubernetes certifications can benefit your career.
1. Site Reliability Engineer
As a Site Reliability Engineer, your primary responsibility is to check the availability, reliability, and performance of the Kubernetes platform. You will be responsible for maintaining Kubernetes infrastructure efficiently, including deployments, monitoring, and troubleshooting.
2. Software Engineer
Kubernetes software engineers have the skills to build and design Kubernetes platforms to handle several applications. They have the responsibility in terms of coding, testing and deploying Kubernetes applications and infrastructure. They also work for the automation of the development pipeline.
3. Network Engineer
As a Kubernetes Network Engineer, you will have to do your work related to Kubernetes configuration, management, and security at scale. You must ensure that you give stability, scalability and performance. You should be expert in Kubernetes networking concepts, container networking, working through network issues and scaling Kubernetes infrastructure and cloud computing.
4. Systems Admin
Kubernetes system administrators manages the Kubernetes infrastructures to make sure that they deliver the expected performance and uptime. They regularly monitor the health of the Kubernetes platform, apply security patches and deploy new features.
5. DevOps Engineer
Kubernetes DevOps engineers deal with Kubernetes to manage and deploy applications regularly. You need expertize in deployment automation, CI/CD pipeline and containerization. it’s also recommended that you should pursue top DevOps certifications.
List of Top Kubernetes Certifications in 2024
1. Certified Cloud-Native Security Expert (CCNSE)
The Certified Cloud-Native Security Expert (CCNSE) certification is best for those who wish to validate their knowledge, expertise and skills in cloud security.
Curriculum and Required Skills
- The CCNSE certification validates the knowledge and skills of IT experts in cloud security.
- Its curriculum covers topics including container security, network security, and security automation.
- Anyone can earn this certification irrespective of their level of experience in the field of cloud security.
Duration and Cost
- The duration of CCNSE certification is flexible. You can study at your own pace.
- It costs $999. However, it adds value to an individual’s resume and qualifies them for highly paying cloud security jobs.
2. Certified Kubernetes Security Specialists (CKS)
The Kubernetes CKS course is designed to enhance the skills, knowledge, and competence over best security practices during different stages of software development like build, deployment, and runtime.
Required Skills and Curriculum
- You should be familiar with Cluster Setup, Cluster Hardening, System Hardening, Minimizing Microservice Vulnerabilities, Supply Chain Security, and Monitoring, Logging, and Runtime Security.
Duration and Cost
- The duration of the course is flexible. Candidates can get certified at their own pace.
- The course costs a worthy investment of $395 for security specialists who are looking to explore their knowledge in Kubernetes security.
3. Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
Kubernetes CKA is one of the top most demanding Kubernetes certification and courses. Obtaining this certification is an essential step in the career of any experienced Kubernetes professional.
Required Skills and Curriculum
- Knowledge of YAML language and Basic knowledge and understanding of Docker.
- This Kubernetes certification course focuses on testing the knowledge, skills, and expertise in managing Kubernetes clusters and applications using various tools and techniques.
Duration and Cost
- The certification’s duration is determined by the validity period of the certification.The CKA certification is valid for three years. Candidates must retake and pass the CKA examination before the expiration date to maintain the certification’s validity.
- The cost of the CKA certification is $395.
4. Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
Kubernetes CKAD certification course is valuable for developers who are willing to enhance their expertise and build cloud-native applications through Kubernetes.
Required Skills and Curriculam
- To gain a CKAD-certified developer, candidates should have a basic understanding of system administration, application development using Python, and Kubernetes.
- CKAD certified developers possess proficiency in developing applications using Go, Java, Node.js, and Python, aptitude in leveraging cloud-native application concepts and architectures, ability to use an OCI-compliant container runtime.
Duration and Cost
- Course duration is Flexible and The CKAD certification is valid for three years from the date of certification.
- Investment of $395 for the CKAD certification course is worth it as it gives an upper hand in the Kubernetes ecosystem.
5. Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA)
Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) certification course is designed to test a candidate’s basic knowledge of Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies.
Required Skills and Curriculum
- Getting KCNA certification needs prior knowledge of Cloud, Networking, and Linux, as it covers knowledge of deploying applications using kubectl commands, the architecture of Kubernetes, and cloud-native landscape.
- Curriculum of KCNA Certification includes deploying an application using basic kubectl commands, understanding the architecture of Kubernetes, such as containers, pods, nodes, clusters, and comprehending the cloud-native landscape and projects, such as storage, networking, GitOps, and service mesh.
Duration and Cost
- The duration of KCNA certification video course and training is 8 hours.
- Spending a small investment of $250 for the KCNA certification course has significant benefits and opportunity to gain valuable skills in Kubernetes.
6. Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS)
This Kubernetes certification course is provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service is a fully-managed Kubernetes service for deploying, managing, and scaling of containerized applications with Kubernetes on both AWS and on-premises cloud environments.
Required Skills and Curriculum
- This course is designed for intermediate level professional experts who are willing to gain practical expertise in managing containers.
- The course includes skills like cluster management, security, networking, storage, and debugging.
- Candidates need to have some prior experience with the AWS services and Linux command line.
Duration and Cost
- The duration of this course is flexible and depends on the candidate’s pace and learning goals.
- You can opt for the online sessions easily for the Amazon EKS course.
7. Kubernetes Certified Service Provider Program (KCSP)
Kubernetes KCSP is designed to provide enterprises with the necessary support to quickly roll out new applications.
Required Skills and Curriculum
- Kubernetes KCSP program gives candidates skills to work with installation and configuration of Kubernetes clusters.
- It covers topics related to implementation of security measures to the management of applications on Kubernetes.
- KCSP course provides consulting, professional services, support and training to make sure that enterprises have the skills they need to succeed.
Duration and Cost
- The course duration of this program is 2 hours, and certificate is valid for 3 years.
- The cost for this program is $395.
How to Choose a Right Kubernetes Certification
We are sharing some essential tips to choose the right certification. Here are five of some important factors to consider when choosing the top Kubernetes certification:
1. Your Interest
It is the most important factor to make the right decision while choosing, best Kubernetes Certification. It should meet your interest, career goals and current skills. You must have a clear idea about the fundamental concepts of Kubernetes, such as pods, deployments, services, and replication controllers. Once you understand the basics, grasping the more advanced concepts covered in the certification program will become easier.
2. Review the Syllabus
Before deciding, check the complete syllabus or curriculum of the certification and also research what technologies and tools are offered in the Kubenetes certification course. Apart from the technical skills, consider whether the curriculum covers practical knowledge, troubleshooting, and best practices. You are suggested to review the study materials and resources, including study guides, practice tests and online courses.
3. Verification and Accreditation
Check if the Kubernetes certification is verified and accredited by a reputable body and check if It surely guarantees that the certification is of top quality and ideally recognized across the Kubernetes certification provider industry. Choose the certification provider after careful review, there are various famous players in the market who provide certifications for Kubernetes.
4. Cost or Course Fee
Certifications for Kubernetes may be expensive. Consider the cost before taking any final decision. Look for some other options and compare. Ensure that they give you the necessary knowledge and validation to succeed in your career goals with convenient Kubernetes Certificate fee structure.
5. Career Growth Options
Also compare different career opportunities to find the top and ideal Kubernetes certification and get ideal career growth opportunities and check the industry scopes.
Choose Supportfly Kubernetes Consulting Services
If you are looking to leverage Kubernetes to improve your container orchestration and optimize your cloud-native applications our Kubernetes consulting services are here to help you achieve your goals efficiently and effectively.
- Our Kubernetes certified expert team ensures that we can handle any Kubernetes issue, from cluster management to application development and security.
- Every organization has unique requirements. Our consulting services are customized to fulfil your specific requirements, whether you are just starting with Kubernetes or looking to optimize an existing setup.
- From initial planning and design to deployment and management, we provide comprehensive support throughout your Kubernetes infrastructure.
Conclusion
Concludly, the best Kubernetes certification courses can boost your standing within the cloud industry and enhance your professional prospects. CCNSE, CKS, CKA, CKAD, and KCNA are some of the best Kubernetes certifications available to level up your understanding of Kubernetes.
However, you must be careful while choosing top Kubernetes certification as the scope and opportunity each provides may differ in their merits. We hope this article will help you to make the right decision in your upskilling.
Contact us today to Get Started with Our Premier Kubernetes Consulting Services to learn more about how our Kubernetes consulting services can benefit your organization.
