Kick-starting the new year with CKA.
CKA Exam Experience
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) is an online, proctored, performance-based test that requires solving multiple issues from a command line. Candidates have 2 hours to complete the tasks on 6 different Kubernetes clusters. I felt that 2 hours were sufficient.
It was a remote exam and it was great. All I needed was a Linux laptop with Google Chrome installed. No special software required. I was able to sit the exam from my home office and therefore had no technical problems at all. Scheduling the exam was as straightforward as it could get, plenty of time slots available even on weekends.
In terms of scoring, I’ve received 95% which I’m very happy with. There was a task worth 7% that I could not solve in full, hence losing 5% I think. Full disclosure, I use Kubernetes at work on a daily basis therefore I did not find the exam too difficult.
Exam Preparation
I used Mumshad Mannambeth’s CKA course with practice tests that’s available on Udemy. He’s done a great job updating the course material to match the latest version of the exam (which was v1.22 at the time of writing). The mock exams on KodeKloud were very helpful as well.
I also used killer.sh CKA simulator. It was brilliant. 25 scenarios (with solutions) that will make you sweat if you’re not prepared well.
My CKA study notes can be found on GitHub here.
Are you ready for the CKA exam?
Take a look at these CKA practice questions to find out.
Congrats, 95% is not bad.
Thank you!
LF exams after RH is pretty easy )
Congratulations )
CKS much more difficult. After watching Kim’s course and training on killer.sh, without practical experience with k8s, it may be difficult to pass the exam.
Thanks! You’re right, some of my RH exams were more difficult compared to CKA. I’m going to wait until Black Friday/Cyber Monday and try to purchase CKAD/CKS exam vouchers with a 50% discount (if they release one).
I like RH certificate renewal policy. As far as I understand, k8s LF certificates are not renewed when passing a new exam. This makes certificate renewals expensive :( Perhaps you know ways to easily extend k8s LF certificates?
But LF exam environment is pretty good :)
I see what you mean. Red Hat renewal policy applies to RHCSA/RHCE only, it does not renew RHCA-level certificates. However, if you pass an RHCA-level exam, you get your RHCE renewed as well, which basically makes it 2-for-the-price-of-1.
I don’t know much about LF certificate renewal policy because I’ve only ever taken one LF exam, which is CKA. Considering the fact that I paid $237 for the CKA exam (21% off $300) and £600 for my recent Red Hat exam EX180, I’d say that LC certificates are much cheaper to renew even if there is no renewal policy. If you get a Black Friday 50% off deal, then it’s even cheaper. There is no such promo with Red Hat I’m afraid. The only discount I’ve seen being offered with Red Hat exams was 15% off. Oh, and Red Hat don’t give you free retakes.
Back in 2020 your blog greatly helped me prepare for EX407. I really appreciate all your hard work and the knowledge you’re sharing. :)
So, I’m not entirely surprised to see you pop up again, now that I’m taking my CKA exam next Saturday. I’m looking forward to the exam! Unlike you, I don’t use Kubernetes in daily life at all. I’m learning about K8S, to better support the DevOps squads in my organization who *do* rely on it.
Anyway, thanks again for all that you share!
Nice to see you again! Kubernetes is ubiquotuous, it seems that everyone is deploying it, and people talking about CKA. The exam is fun and I hope that you’ll enjoy it. Good luck next Saturday.
My gosh, they’re really making use of those “24h after completing the exam” for releasing the results.
With RedHat I was used to having my score within 2h. This is excruciating. :D
I’ve checked mine within 10 minutes. There is an unofficial way of getting the provisional score displayed that should match your final score, if you’re on the KodeKloud Slack channel, there are instructions posted there for how to do it. I did get my official score after 24 hours though (the score was the same).
I passed the exam. My score wasn’t great, but I’ll chalk it down to the bad night’s sleep that I had.
Overall:
* I enjoyed the exam, it’s well made, user-friendly and a fun challenge.
* The test-at-home solution from PSI works well and my proctor was polite and patient.
* I trained via KodeKloud and Killer.sh. The prior offers excellent value for money, the latter gave two free test exams via the Linux Foundation voucher.
Full story here -> https://www.kilala.nl/index.php?id=2562
Well done, congrats!
do you have a link for this unofficial way?
I don’t have a direct link I’m afraid, but there is a post (or two) on the KodeKloud Slack channel with instructions.
Not see anything on the slack channel on the unofficial way to see the grade