I've been working in the industry for about 14 years, mostly in test automation, and I'm moving toward DevOps and platform engineering. My current work involves GitLab CI/CD, Terraform, Helm, Kubernetes deployments, AWS, and leading a migration of many services onto Kubernetes.
The challenge is that I work in a .NET and Windows-heavy environment, so I haven't used Linux seriously in years. I recently took a basic self-assessment covering systemctl, journalctl, identifying processes using a port, disk usage, apt, and file ownership. I generally knew what kind of tool I needed, but I struggled to remember the actual commands.
My employer pays for certifications, and my current plan is KCNA, CKA, Terraform Associate, and AWS Solutions Architect Associate. I was planning to skip a Linux certification in favor of a refresher course, daily WSL use, and a home lab.
For people working in cloud, DevOps, or platform engineering: is LFCS, RHCSA, or Linux+ worth adding? Would a CKA provide enough of a practical Linux signal, or should I build Linux fundamentals first? If a Linux certification is worthwhile, which one would you choose and would you take it before or after the CKA? I'd also appreciate advice from anyone who moved from a Windows-heavy background, especially regarding how they made Linux skills stick when their job didn't require them. How much Linux do you actually use in a platform role compared with what these certifications test?
5 Answers
You don’t need to delay the CKA until you become a Linux administrator. Take it when it fits your overall plan, but keep practicing Linux alongside it. In a platform role, you may spend more time on Kubernetes, CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, and cloud services than manually administering servers. When something breaks, though, Linux knowledge is often what lets you understand the container, node, process, filesystem, or network problem instead of blindly searching for a Kubernetes command.
Linux fundamentals are absolutely worth learning for DevOps and platform work. Kubernetes and containers run on Linux concepts, and understanding processes, services, networking, permissions, storage, and logs makes cloud systems much easier to troubleshoot. You don’t necessarily need years of traditional Linux administration, but you should be comfortable working from a shell and understanding what is happening underneath Kubernetes.
If you want a Linux certification, LFCS or RHCSA would be the strongest options. Both are practical and task-based, so you actually have to configure and troubleshoot a system rather than recognize answers on a quiz. RHCSA is a good choice if you want a more structured, enterprise-oriented path; LFCS is a bit more distribution-neutral. Linux+ may be useful for certain government or compliance-driven roles, but it is generally a weaker signal for platform engineering.
I wouldn’t treat the certification as mandatory. Use the exam objectives as a checklist, then decide later whether the credential is worth taking once you know which employers or roles you’re targeting.
Your current plan is reasonable. Get hands-on practice rather than collecting a Linux credential just to have one. WSL, a small virtual-machine lab, and deliberately troubleshooting services, permissions, disks, networking, and logs will probably teach you more than a multiple-choice exam. A home lab is especially useful for basic Linux, while Kubernetes and cloud skills are easier to develop through structured projects and real operational work.
The best way to make Linux stick is repeated, purposeful use. Run a few services in virtual machines or containers, create users and permissions, configure SSH and a firewall, inspect logs, fill a disk, break a service, and recover it. Keep a personal command reference, use apropos and man pages when you forget syntax, and focus on understanding what each command is doing rather than memorizing every option.
Kubernetes experience is probably more marketable than traditional configuration-management experience, but that makes Linux fundamentals more important, not less. Kubernetes is still sitting on top of Linux systems and networking.