Why I’m Going to Take CKAD Certification?
Last night, my friend asked me what are the reasons behind my decision to take Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) certification. I already responded to him, but I thought it would be good to share the answers with other people too. So here are my answers:
Reason #1 – Kubernetes is just going to get more important
Let’s face it, not all trends and hypes survive well on the IT landscape. Most of them come and go rapidly, so I believe we must choose carefully the technology that worthy of our time and effort investment.
I’ve heard of Kubernetes since 2017/2018 and watched Nigel Poulton’s Kubernetes course on Pluralsight. Since then, what I’ve observed is, Kubernetes has grown more and more relevant instead of going away.
No one can tell the future for sure, but I have a strong belief that Kubernetes skill and knowledge will be one of the important skills to have in the future.
Reason #2 – It’s getting adopted at my workplace
My employer is not known as a company that pick up the latest technology available, and I honestly think that it’s a better approach in general.
Why? Because of the statement I mentioned above; that a lot of the new technologies in IT come and go very quick. Waiting until a technology becomes stable and mature can be the best decision for most companies.
The fact that my employer is now starting to adopt Kubernetes means that it’s going to stay.
Also, now that I have spent a couple of weeks learning CKAD topics from multiple courses (KodeKloud’s CKAD course on Udemy, Pluralsight’s CKAD Path, and CNCF’s Kubernetes for Developers course), I have more confident in my understanding of Kubernetes basics and knowledge. This allows me to contribute better thoughts and ask better questions in discussions at work.
Reason #3 – CNCF Black Friday Promo
This is going to be a quick one.
On Black Friday, CNCF offered a good deal of CKAD exam + Kubernetes for Developers course for $199. The regular price of the exam itself is $300, and the bundle regular price is $499.
I thought it was a good deal so I decided to purchase it.
Although the Black Friday deal is already over, they do offer similar promo price from time to time, so you may want to be on the lookout for it.
Reason #4 – The Average Salary
Okay, let’s talk about the money.
Kubernetes skill is in demand, and the evidence can be seen in the average salary.
As of this writing, if you googled “kubernetes salary”, it’ll show +$144,000/year.
Yes, I understand that Kubernetes skill is not the only skill required by companies that are willing to pay that much.
Most likely, these jobs are DevOps engineer jobs, which we all know pay good money in general. They also might be Senior or Lead Developer positions, which, again, pay around that level.
Regardless, to me it means the skill is one of the desired skills that can command that amount of pay, and companies are willing to pay that much for people with Kubernetes skill to join their team.
Closing
Alright, those are the main reasons why I decided to take CKAD exam. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section. 🙂
