Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
— Kubernetes, Certification — 1 min read
I sat for the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) exam yesterday and barely passed. Since the last AWS DevOps Pro cert, I've had almost a year of "certification draught", you know, work and life got in the way, and I was lack of motivation.
I used and maintained Kubernetes clusters on and off, but never considered myself mastering it. I took the cert preparation as an opportunity to re-learn Kubernetes properly. Well, speaking as of today, with a CKAD cert under my belt, I still cannot say I know K8S in and out. Isn't it telling?
Once I joked with an engineer friend of mine:
Kubernetes is beautifully designed, but like many other Google products, it's kinda geeky.
Exam experience:
Dual monitors (laptop + external monitor) are not allowed, surprise! I had to use the laptop only, which gave me a cramped screen: exam task instruction on the left, and remote Unbuntu desktop on the right. I wish I could have a PC, or at least I could zoom out the remote desktop so I could read more stuff.
context, context, and context! The exam tasks required me to switch Kubernetes context a lot. Sometimes, I forgot to and was baffled because I couldn't get the resources I needed.
I should've practised using Unbuntu, copy/paste shortcut keys are different from macOS, and I couldn't even figure out how to do keyword searching in its browser. Scrolling up and down the documentation pages took too much time.
And time was never enough! I used all 120 minutes and still had 2 tasks unsloved. I was almost sure that I needed to do an exam retake.
What's next?
Before moving on to the more challenging Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) exam, I'd like to work on the following topics: