I've recently transitioned into a leadership role and, unfortunately, missed out on getting hands-on experience with Kubernetes due to the timing of my promotion. With over 15 years in the industry, mainly in the traditional VM world, my current job is mostly about managing people rather than diving into tech. I can talk the talk about Kubernetes, having some knowledge of kubectl, but when it comes to applying that knowledge, I'm lacking practical experience, which seems to be a dealbreaker for recruiters. I'm looking for suggestions on practical ways to get some hands-on experience with Kubernetes. I'm open to investing time and money in courses or self-study, like the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), but I'm unsure if that's the right move yet. Any advice?
5 Answers
The CKA course is decent, but fair warning: the platform can feel a bit outdated. You get a lot of reading material but limited lab environment to practice. I've heard good things about KodeKloud as well; might want to check them out. It’s also useful to set up a local cluster or try it in EC2, and you can find CKA questions online to test your skills with.
You should definitely try deploying Minikube locally! It’s a great way to get started and play around without any big commitment. Once you're comfortable, you could move on to a k3s single node cluster on a VM. Focus on learning storage and networking, and then expand to a multi-cluster setup. I wouldn't rush into the CKA right now; make sure you're familiar with all the moving parts first.
I totally second that idea! Setting it up locally is a fun way to learn. I’ve learned a ton that way, though not specifically with Kubernetes. Also, check out r/homelab; they love welcoming new folks into the world of running enterprise software at home!
Thanks for the advice on Minikube! I'll give that a shot.
Before diving into Kubernetes, it’s crucial to understand how containers work. You might want to get a solid grasp of Docker first. That foundational knowledge will make your Kubernetes journey a lot easier, especially when you get to the more complex stuff.
I appreciate the reminder! I do have some familiarity with kubectl, just not much real-world exposure yet.
I highly recommend KodeKloud for your Kubernetes learning journey. Even if you skip the CKA, the material available on their platform will greatly enhance your understanding of K8s. Self-deploying is great, but it can turn you into an SRE managing your own setup; KodeKloud provides structured learning, so you can focus specifically on mastering the concepts rather than figuring everything out on your own.
Check out 'Kubernetes the Hard Way' on GitHub; it’s a hands-on approach to learning the fundamentals. Kelsey Hightower's material is fantastic for learning the concepts in-depth!
Thanks! I've loved Kelsey's stuff in the past; I’ll take a look!
Thanks for the heads-up! I've heard of KodeKloud; I'll definitely check out their courses!