Choosing the right DevOps certification is crucial in your DevOps career. For freshers to experienced DevOps professionals, the right certification will help you gain DevOps skills to grow in your IT career. In this guide, I ranked and reviewed the 10 best DevOps certifications, along with my top choices, so you can pick the best one for you.

This guide is based on the latest trends in DevOps & DevOps tools around Linux, cloud computing, Containerization, Infrastructure automation, Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, Continuous deployment, DevSecOps, observability and configuration management. There is no single certification that fits all the required DevOps skills. However, based on your career path and goals I will help you pick the right certification.

What are the Best DevOps Certifications?

Here are my top picks for the best DevOps certification in different categories.

Container Orchestration :CKA,CKAD,CKS
Infrastructure as Code :Terraform Certification
Cloud Computing :AWS Certifications
DevSecOps :Hashicorp Vault Certification
Linux :LFCS
CI/CD :Jenkins Certification
Monitoring & Observability :Prometheus Certification (PCA)

Now, let’s look at all the DevOps certifications in detail.

1. Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

CKA is my #1 pick when it comes to DevOps certification due to the fact that it is sought after hands-on certification from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration tool for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It has become the defacto standard for container orchestration and microservices deployment and it is one of the sought-after DevOps skills in the current IT market.

The CKA program offers a robust curriculum that covers all aspects of Kubernetes administration, from installation and configuration to networking and security. Candidates who successfully complete the CKA exam will earn a globally-recognized credential that demonstrates their skills and knowledge in Kubernetes.

If you’re looking to start a career in DevOps, or simply want to deepen your understanding of Kubernetes, the CKA certification is a great place to start. The following table has the important CKA certification

Exam Registration : CKA Exam Registration

Assessment Type :Hands-on practical labs ( 17 questions.)
Format :Online proctored
Duration :2 hrs
Price :USD $375 with
Retake :One Free retake
Language :English
Expiration :2 years
Other Resources :killer.sh/cka for CKA practice tests & exam simulator. You will get two free sessions as part of exam registration.

2. Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)

CKAD is a Kubernetes certification that focuses on designing, building, and deploying cloud-native applications for Kubernetes. If you have CKA certification, passing CKAD is comparatively easier. It is a two-hour performance-based exam and the following are the CKAD certification details.

Exam Registration :CKAD Exam Registration

Assessment Type :Hands-on practical labs ( 19 questions.)
Format :Online proctored
Duration :2 hrs
Price :USD $375

Language :English
Expiration :2 years

Other Resources :killer.sh/ckad for CKA practice tests & exam simulator

3. Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS)

CKS certification focuses on security best practices of Kubernetes application deployemnts. The certification topics are organized in a way that you learn all the concepts and tooling around container security on Kubernetes.

Also, you must have a valid CKA certification to appear for CKS. It is also a two-hour performance-based exam like CKA & CKAD. CKS is comparatively a tougher exam than CKA and CKAD. You need to practice well before appearing for the exam.

Exam Registration :CKS Exam Registration

Other CKA Resources :killer.sh/cks for CKA practice tests & exam simulator

4.HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate

HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate is a modern infrastructure automation certification for professionals that validates your skills in using Hashicorp Terraform to provision, manage, and maintain any cloud or on-prem infrastructure. The certification exam covers the core set of skills required to effectively use Terraform to provision infrastructure.

The Terraform Associate Exam is administered by Webassessor, an independent third-party proctoring service. The exam consists of 70 multiple-choice questions and has a 2-hour time limit. Candidates must achieve a passing score of 70% or higher to earn the certification.

The Terraform Associate certification is valid for two years from the date of passing. To maintain active status, Terraform Associates are required to retake the exam prior to expiration. There are no prerequisites for taking the Terraform Associate Exam.

When it comes to Devops, infrastructure automation plays a key role. And terraform is particuary popular in infrastructure provisioning. So from a cloud automation perspective, Terraform Associate is the best certification you can have.

Here are the Terraform certification details.

Exam Registration :HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate

Assessment Type :Multiple choice
Exam Format :Online proctored
Duration :1 hour
Price :$70.50 USD plus locally applicable taxes and fees Free retake not included
Language :English
Expiration :2 years

5. Kubernetes and Cloud-Native Associate (KCNA)

If you think CKA, CKAD is an overkill for you, KCNA is the best Kubernetes certification to get started with.

This is an introductory Kubernetes and Cloud-Native Associate (KCNA) exam. The exam is designed for those who are new to Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies and covers the basics of these technologies.

Following are the high level topics covered in the KCNA exam.

Kubernetes Fundamentals – 46%
Container Orchestration – 22%
Cloud-Native Architecture – 16%
Cloud-Native Observability – 8%
Cloud-Native Application Delivery – 8%

Here are the KCNA certification details.

Exam Registration : KCNA Exam registration

Assessment Type :Multiple choice
Exam Format :Online proctored
Duration :90 minutes
Price :$250 with a free retake

Language :English
Expiration :3 years

6. Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS)

Linux administration is an essential skill for a DevOps engineer. If you are starting your DevOps journey, getting certified in LFCS is the start of devops certification roadmap.

The Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS) exam is ideal for candidates looking to validate their Linux system administration skill set. The LFCS credential is valid for three years. To maintain the credential, holders must recertify every three years by passing the LFCS exam or another approved exam. The Linux Foundation also offers a Certified Engineer (LFCE) credential for candidates who wish to validate their skills in designing and implementing Linux systems.

7. AWS Cloud & DevOps Certifications

AWS certification is my #1 pick for cloud certifications for DevOps engineers.

When it comes to DevOps cloud computing plays a key role. Amazon web services dominate the cloud space by having a significant market share. If you are getting started with your cloud journey, AWS cloud certifications are the best. Follow are the AWS certifications related to DevOps.

8. Azure Cloud & DevOps Certifications

Microsoft Azure is also a significant player in cloud computing. If you are specifically looking for azure-based roles or actively working on the Azure cloud, you can opt for the following Azure certification certifications related to DevOps.

9. Google Cloud & DevOps Certifications

Next on our list is Google cloud certifications. Google cloud is known for the container, ML, and data workloads. If you want to get certified on Google cloud, the following DevOps-related certifications will help.

10. Become a Cloud DevOps Engineer: Udacity nano-degree certification

If you are looking for a DevOps certification to start your career as an engineer, you can check out the Udacity cloud DevOps nano degree program. It is a four-month program where it covers the following

Cloud Foundations
Deploy Infrastructure as Code (IAC)
Build CI/CD Pipelines, Monitoring & Logging
Microservices at Scale using Kubernetes

Benefits of DevOps Certification

Following are the benefits of getting certified in any DevOps tools or cloud.

Better job Opportunities
Opportunity to get hands-on experience to understand a tool’s features.
Increased chances of a better salary.

DevOps is a growing field, and the following are some statistics showing DevOps growth.

As per the Annual Open Source Jobs Report, 90% of the employers are interested in getting the employers certified in DevOps tools.
As per the Global DevOps Market Research Report, the DevOps market is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.04% to reach USD 14,554.23 million by 2027.

These reports clearly show the importance of DevOps adoption. So if you are certified in DevOps-related tooling, it’s an added advantage for your career.

DevOps Engineer Certification Roadmap

So, when we talk about DevOps certifications, it is more of certifications that are related to DevOps practice. It could be a certification based on the tool, cloud platform, SCRUM, etc.

For example, if you are Linux admin and want to become a DevOps engineer, you can get certified in Kubernetes as it is more relevant to the domain you are already in. That is “System Administration”.

Here is my advise

Start with one Certification that is closely related to your existing domain. If you are completely new to DevOps.

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