Recent CKA exam experience

cjmills

Right up front, I am not going to divulge any exam insights specifically relating to questions, etc. Instead this is just my experience leading into the exams and thoughts afterwards.

Hopefully the following will provide some assistance.

Preparation

• First up, recommend that you check out the following links. They really helped focus my preparation and get grounded in what to expect. They sum up the most pertinent tips. My focus was on time-saving tips during the exam which really paid dividends.

  • Gineesh Madapparambath, 10 Tips for your Kubernetes Exam

  • Henry Suryawirawan, My Guide to Passing CKAD & CKA Exams

• Secondly, practice is critical. I left my exam dates way too late (i.e. final exam was on the last possible day within the available year) and therefore felt rushed. Lack of practice meant I felt rushed through the exam too. In addition to the course itself, I probably spent one-two hours a day for three weeks going over labs and learning the time-saving tips by heart so I could prepare. This was a little short of what I needed but family pressures meant I could not spend more.

• Thirdly, setting up bookmarks for all the spec files that you might need, and being able to find them quickly, is a must-have. The number of bookmarks I saved got out of hand fast so a bookmarks extension will help immensely. I used Bookmark Sidebar.

• Beyond the course, the only other resource I browsed through on occasion was 'Kubernetes: Up and Running' by Burns, Beda and Hightower. It offered a slightly different learning experience in a format more suited to my learning needs.

Results:

• I needed the resit, and am not embarrassed about it at all! I think the resit was the right sort of experience I need to get my A into G, because I really hadn't. Do not feel you need to pass the first time around.

• ... but definitely pass the second time!

• Since I sat two exams, I would love to review the two and see what I did right the second time vs. the first. The improvement was much more than expected.

Thoughts post the exam:

• I felt the time pressure, and the time-saving tips were invaluable.

• The exam interface is good, very comfortable moving around and getting the job done.

• I wish I had practiced more!!

Thank you!

Finally, a big thank you to the Linux Foundation, instructors and fellow class members! The combination of a supporting organization, well-developed material, and useful insights/top-tips on blogs respectively greatly enhanced my learning experience and chances of success. I am very grateful