Certifications - are they worth it?
I am a Kubestronaut, an SME for Kubernetes certifications, and the author of two books on CKA and CKS, which are currently being updated.
Since I create a lot of content in this space, I often get asked the question: “Are certifications worth it?”
Let’s break it down. Whenever you learn a new technology, be it cloud, Linux, or security, there are established foundations and organizations that design structured courses and certifications for specific software or related technologies.
For beginners, certifications provide a clear learning path, which is the most important aspect of any certification - “The Learning Path!
When it comes to cloud-native certifications, there are primarily two types:
Hands-on certifications – You are given a task and need to complete it within a time-constrained environment.
MCQ-based certifications – You answer multiple-choice questions, selecting one or more correct answers.
Hands-on certifications are particularly valuable as they test real-world skills and provide practical experience both during preparation and the exam itself.
My Take on Certifications
For freshers – Certifications can help with resume shortlisting (though not always).
For experienced professionals – reason may vary, skill validation, fancy badges, titles etc. However, some certifications are well-respected, and programs like Kubestronaut demonstrate an individual’s dedication, effort, and investment in learning.
Final tip: Do certifications for the learning journey, not just the credential. Never pay full price → always look for discounts or free vouchers from your organization.
What are your thoughts on certifications?
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Awesome Reads
Every pod eviction in Kubernetes, explained - It explains the various mechanisms Kubernetes uses to terminate Pods, such as the Eviction API, node-pressure eviction, taint-based eviction, kubelet admission, pod preemption, and node deletion, emphasizing their effects on Pod lifecycle predictability and availability in large-scale production settings. It explores Kubernetes internals, debunks the myth that “kubelet restarts don’t impact running workloads,” and provides a cheatsheet summarizing eviction methods, their actors, and whether they honor PodDisruptionBudgets or graceful termination periods.
Ephemeral PR environment using vCluster.- This blog shows how to build ephemeral pul request environment for every PR that is created using vCluster. For every PR there will be a virtual cluster created and application with modified code deployed to the cluster. It features end to end demo.
Grafana Loki 101: How to ingest logs with Alloy or the OpenTelemetry Collector - Grafana Loki is an open-source, horizontally scalable log aggregation system designed for cost-effective and efficient log storage and retrieval. It optimizes log indexing by using labels instead of full log lines, integrates with tools like Grafana Alloy and OpenTelemetry Collector for flexible ingestion, and supports both monolithic and microservices-based deployments.
Docker Hub usage and limits - Starting April 1, 2025, all users with a Pro, Team, or Business subscription will have unlimited Docker Hub pulls under a fair use policy. Unauthenticated users will be limited to 10 pulls per hour, while authenticated users with a free Personal account will have a limit of 100 pulls per hour.
Introducing GPT-4.5 - OpenAI has introduced GPT-4.5, its most advanced model yet, offering improved pattern recognition, reduced hallucinations, and a more natural conversational experience. Available as a research preview, GPT-4.5 enhances unsupervised learning and emotional intelligence, making it particularly useful for writing, programming, and complex problem-solving, with access for ChatGPT Pro users and developers.
Edera Raises $15 Million Series A to Transform Cloud and AI Infrastructure Security - Edera has raised $15 million in Series A funding, led by M12, to advance its industry-first workload isolation technology, which enhances cloud and AI infrastructure security without compromising performance. With the launch of Edera Protect AI, the company aims to secure GPU-powered AI workloads, reduce cloud costs, and enable enterprises to consolidate resources while maintaining strict isolation and multi-cloud compatibility.
NFTables mode for kube-proxy - A new nftables mode for kube-proxy was introduced as an alpha feature in Kubernetes 1.29. Currently in beta, it is expected to be GA as of 1.33. The new mode fixes long-standing performance problems with the iptables mode and all users running on systems with reasonably-recent kernels are encouraged to try it out.
Anything-llm Kubernetes Cluster Setup - Restack provides a comprehensive guide for deploying AnythingLLM on Kubernetes, covering both local and cloud-based setups to optimize performance and scalability. It details the steps for setting up Kubernetes deployments, managing persistent storage, and running AnythingLLM with Docker, ensuring flexibility across different environments while maintaining efficient workload management.
Deploying Serverless AI Inference on AMD GPU Clusters - Deploying LLM’s in enterprise environments presents a multitude of challenges that organizations must navigate to harness their full potential. As enterprises expand their AI and HPC workloads, scaling the underlying compute and GPU infrastructure presents numerous challenges, including deployment complexities, resource optimization, and effective management of the compute resource fleet. This blog walks you through how to spin-up production-grade Serverless AI inference service on Kubernetes clusters by leveraging open source Knative/KServe technologies.
Awesome Repo’s/Resources
dokku - A docker-powered PaaS that helps you build and manage the lifecycle of applications
kuberhealthy - A Kubernetes operator for running synthetic checks as pods. Works great with Prometheus!
rexray - REX-Ray is a container storage orchestration engine enabling persistence for cloud native workloads
Learn from X Platform
https://x.com/iximiuz/status/1894470393676620042
https://x.com/satyanadella/status/1892242895094313420
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