DevOps certification is a means of expressing the unique abilities and knowledge required to be a successful DevOps engineer. These certifications are obtained through various training, test, and performance evaluation, and today we’ll be describing the best DevOps certification you would find out there.
Most organizations tend to seek certified and professional DevOps engineers that are well-equipped with the fundamental and technical knowledge of DevOps. Depending on your area of specialty and experience choosing a DevOps certification may be less expensive. In order to acquire the best certification, it is advisable to consider one in line with your existing domain.
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What Is DevOps?
First of all, it is important to know about DevOps before proceeding with the significance of DevOps certification. The Word DevOps simply means development and Operations. It is an approach popularly used by Technology companies globally, where the development team (Dev) collaborates with the operations department/function (Ops) in all the stages of software development. DevOps is more than just a tool or technique for automation. It guarantees that the product and development goals of a product are in order.
Professionals in this field are known as DevOps Engineers and possess quality skills in software development, infrastructure management, and configuration. Being globally recognized in recent years makes it important to have a DevOps certification.
Benefits of a DevOps Certification
- Develop skills: With the right certifications as a developer, engineer, or working with the operations team, DevOps certification programs help you to develop skills that can give you a better understanding of all stages of operations. It also helps you to fully the necessary skills required in developing software.
- Recognition: After obtaining your DevOps certification, you demonstrate expert knowledge in DevOps and understand the processes of producing code, managing versions, testing, integration, and deployment. Your certification could lead to opportunities for you to stand out and take on more advanced leadership roles within an organization.
- New career path: DevOps is widely considered the future of software development. It paves way for a new career path in the tech world and also prepares you to be more marketable and valuable in the market and adjust to current trends in development with a certification in DevOps.
- Potential salary increase: DevOps can be challenging but it is a high-paying career. With DevOps skills and expertise increasingly in demand over the past few years, getting certified in DevOps is a valuable way to supplement your resume.
Preparing for a DevOps Certification
There’s no rigid set of prerequisites for gaining a DevOps certification. Although many candidates have academic credentials in application development or IT, and may also have practical experience in these fields, most certification programs allow anyone to participate, regardless of their background.
Top 20 DevOps Certification
Choosing the right DevOps certification is crucial in your DevOps career. Here is a list of the 20 best DevOps certifications:
- AWS Certified DevOps Engineer- Professional
- DevOps Foundation certification training course
- DevOps Engineer Expert certification
- Certification for professional puppets
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator
- Docker Certified Associate (DCA)
- DevOps Engineering Foundation
- Nano-degree in Clouds DevOps Engineering
- Terraform Associate certification
- Certified Kubernetes Application Developer
- Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist
- Certified Jenkins Engineer (CJE)
- Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS)
- HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate
- HashiCorp Certified: Vault Operations Professional
- Financial Operations Certified Practitioner (FOCP)
- Prometheus Certified Associate (PCA)
- DevOps Agile Skills Association
- Azure Cloud and DevOps Certification
- DevOps Institute Certification.
20 Best DevOps Certifications
#1. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
It is currently one of the most well-known certificates and is highly respected by experts and professionals globally. This certification helps you to be fully developed professionally by analyzing your DevOps expertise.
Your ability to create CD and CI systems on AWS, automate security measures, confirm compliance, oversee and monitor AWS activities, install metrics and log are all validated.
#2. DevOps Foundation certification training course
As a beginner in the DevOps environment, this is the best certification for you. It will give you in-depth training in the DevOps environment. You will be able to learn how to incorporate regular DevOps methods into your company to reduce time to lead, faster deployment, and the creation of better-quality software.
#3. DevOps Engineer Expert Microsoft Certification
This certificate is intended for applicants and professionals that deal with organizations, people, and processes while possessing notable knowledge in continuous delivery.
More so, expertise is required in duties such as implementing and designing techniques and products that enable teams to collaborate, converting infrastructure into code, performing continuous integration and service monitoring, managing configurations, and testing to enroll in this certification program.
#4. Certification for Professional Puppets
Puppet is one of the most well-utilized configuration management tools in DevOps. Due to this effect, getting a certification in this field is highly valued and may serve as proof of your talents. Applicants are to a practical experience using Puppet to pass this certification exam, which will assess their proficiency using its tools.
Additionally, you will be able to utilize Puppet in conducting operations on remote system infrastructure and also learn about external data sources, data separation, and language usage.
#5. Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
Kubernetes is a popular container-based open-source platform used to manage workloads and services. Earning CKA certification indicates that you can manage and configure production-grade Kubernetes collections and perform a basic installation. You’ll be tested on your skills in Kubernetes troubleshooting; cluster architecture, installation, and configuration; services and networking; workloads and scheduling; and storage
#6. Docker Certified Associate Certification
The Docker Certified Associate assesses the skills and abilities of DevOps engineers who applied for the certification with substantial challenges.
These challenges are created by professional Docker experts and are aimed at identifying engineers with certain skills and abilities and proffering the essential expertise which will be best in dealing with applicants. You should have a minimum of 6 -12 months of Docker experience to take this exam.
#7. DevOps Engineering Foundation
The DevOps Engineering Foundation qualification is a certification offered by the DevOps Institute. This certification is one of the best for beginners.
It guarantees a professional understanding of basic concepts, methods, and practices which is necessary to design an effective DevOps implementation. Examination for this certification can be done online which makes it less difficult for applicants.
#8. Nano-Degree in Cloud DevOps Engineering
During this certification, DevOps engineers will have hands-on experience with actual projects. They will learn how to plan, create, and monitor CI/CD pipelines. And will also be able to utilize professional methods and microservices in utilizing tools such as Kubernetes.
To begin the program, you must have prior experience with HTML, CSS, and Linux commands, as well as a fundamental understanding of operating systems.
#9. Terraform Associate Certification
This is designed for cloud engineers who specialize in operations, IT, or development and know the basic concepts and skills knowledge of the Terraform platform.
Candidates should have professional experience using Terraform in production which helps them in understanding which enterprise features exist and what action can be taken. Candidates are required to retake the certification exam every two years to be fully in the know of current trends.
#10. Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
The Certified Kubernetes Application Developer certification is best for DevOps engineers that are focused on exam certifying that the recipient can be designing, build, configure, and expose cloud-native applications for Kubernetes.
They have acquired a solid understanding of how to work with (OCI-compliant) container images, apply Cloud Native application concepts and architectures, and Work with and validate Kubernetes resource definitions.
Through the course of this certification, they will be able to define application resources and use core primitives to build, monitor, and troubleshoot scalable applications and tools in Kubernetes.
#11. Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS)
Certified Kubernetes Security certification focuses on the security best practices of Kubernetes application deployments. In the course of the certification, topics are best organized in a way specifically for you to learn all the concepts and tooling around container security on Kubernetes.
It is also a two-hour performance-based exam and is comparatively a tougher exam than CKA and CAD. You need to practice well before appearing for the exam. Also, you must possess a valid CKA certification to appear for CKS.
#12. Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS)
Linux administration is an essential skill for a DevOps engineer. Before delving fully into your DevOps career, getting a certification in LFCS is the start of the DevOps roadmap.
The LFCS credential is valid for three years. To maintain the certification in line with current trends, holders must renew their certification every three years by undergoing 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.
#13. Certified Jenkins Engineer (CJE)
In the DevOps world, when we talk about CI/CD, the first tool that comes to mind is Jenkins. It is a widely-used open-source CI/CD tool for applications as well as infrastructure management. If you are looking for CI/CD tool-based certification, this certification is for you.
#14. HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate
Part of the role of a DevOps engineer is the ability to maintain security automation along with infrastructure automation and application deployments. Hashicorp vault is considered the best open-source secret management method to carry out that role effectively. So if you are into DevOps security or responsible for managing security aspects of a project, this is one of the best security certifications in DevOps.
#15. HashiCorp Certified: Vault Operations Professional
Vault Operations Professional is an advanced certification. It is a certification recommended after the Vault Associate certification. In other to have an in-depth understanding of these certifications, there is a list of topics you need to know of in case of being certified. Such as;
- Linux command line
- IP networking
- Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), including PGP and TLS
- Network security
- Concepts and functionality of infrastructure running in containers.
 #16. Financial Operations Certified Practitioner (FOCP)
This certification is offered by The Linux Foundation. The FinOps certification program provides the best training for DevOps professionals who are interested in cloud spending, cloud migration, and cloud cost savings. If you are in this category and don’t what certification to obtain, then the FinOps certification is right for you.
#17. Prometheus Certified Associate (PCA)
Prometheus is one of the best open-source and cloud monitoring tools. This certification is focused on monitoring and observing Prometheus. It will help you obtain a profound knowledge of the fundamentals of data monitoring, metrics, and dashboards using Prometheus.
#18. DevOps Agile Skills Association
This certification provides programs that test the practical skills and experience of professionals in this field. It improves the workflows and faster deployment starting with a core understanding of DevOps fundamentals by all team members.
#19. Azure Cloud and DevOps Certification
When it comes to cloud computing, this certification comes in handy. It is designed for those who are working on Azure cloud and those who intend to become a professional in that field. Some other related certifications you can obtain in line with this field are Microsoft Azure administration, Azure fundamentals, etc.
#20. DevOps Institute Certification
The DevOps Institute (DOI) certification is also among the major essential certifications. It gives the opportunity of working with highly recognized professionals in various areas.
The DevOps Institute has established a quality standard for DevOps competency-based education and qualifications. Its profound approach to certification focuses on the most modern competencies and knowledgeable skills required by organizations adopting DevOps currently in the globe.
Most In-Demand DevOps Certification
Regardless of the number of DevOps certifications available, there are in-demand DevOps certifications in terms of job opportunities and salaries. In line with the current DevOps trends, the following are DevOps certifications that are in demand.
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
- HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate
- Cloud certifications (AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
DevOps simplifies business operations by boosting software development speed alongside managing the existing deployments without facing many difficulties. Most businesses have incorporated DevOps in their work process to deliver better products at a lower cost. As a result, DevOps certifications play an important role as DevOps developers are high in demand.
