Certification Roadmaps¶
Certifications are useful when they prove hands-on skill, so I recommend them by the work you want to do, not by the logo.
How to choose¶
- Pick the role first. SRE, platform, security and architecture each reward different exams.
- Prefer hands-on exams. A live-terminal exam is much harder to pass without real skill.
- Pair one vendor-neutral certification with one cloud. For example, CKA plus AWS or Google Cloud.
- Plan renewals. Every credential expires, and some programs change their exam lineup often.
Typical validity¶
Always confirm on the vendor's site, because rules change.
| Program | Typical validity |
|---|---|
| CNCF / Linux Foundation | Varies by exam |
| AWS | 3 years |
| Google Cloud | 2 years (Associate and Professional) |
| Microsoft Azure | Role-based: 1 year with free online renewal; fundamentals do not expire |
| Red Hat | 3 years |
Suggested paths by goal¶
| Goal | Start with |
|---|---|
| SRE / DevOps | CKA, then a cloud DevOps credential (AWS DevOps Pro or Google Cloud DevOps Engineer) |
| Platform engineering | CKA and CKAD, then the CNCF platform and GitOps exams |
| Security | KCSA, then CKS, then a cloud or vendor-neutral security certification |
| Cloud architecture | A cloud Associate, then the matching Professional or Expert |