Looking for Linux Foundation Certification? We will look at the certifications from each category and the courses to prepare for those certifications.
Linux Foundation Certifications are the most sought-after certifications for devops engineers and developers.
Certification from the Linux Foundation is organized into to following categories.
- Cloud & Containers Certification
- System Administration Certifications
- Web & Application Certification
- DevOps & Site-Reliability Certification
- Open Source Best Practice Certification
Let’s look at certifications in each category and related courses that can help you ace the certification exam.
We have organized the certification details in a table that contains the certification name, exam type, preparation courses, and exam FAQs. The exam FAQ link contains most of the answers you are looking for in the certification exam.
Let’s get started.
Content Outline
Cloud & Containers Certification
Cloud and containers are the sought-after skills in the current IT domain.
Following are the four certifications under the cloud and containers category.
| Certification Name | Cost | Exam Type | Preparation Courses | Exam FAQ’s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) | $250 | Multiple Choice Exam | KodeKloud KCNA Course | KCNA FAQs |
| Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) | $395 | Performance-Based Exam | KodeKloud CKAD Course | CKAD FAQ |
| Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) | $395 | Performance-Based Exam | KodeKloud CKA Course | CKA FAQ |
| Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) | $395 | Performance-Based Exam | Kim Wüstkamp CKS Course | CKS FAQ |
| Certified TARS Application Developer (CTAD) | $295 | Multiple Choice Exam | LFS253, LFD254 & LFD259 | CTAD FAQs |
System Administration Certifications
Under the system administration category, we have Linux, Prometheus, and Istio Service mesh certifications.
| Certification Name | Cost | Exam Type | Preparation Courses | Exam FAQ’s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux Foundation Certified IT Associate (LFCA) | $250 | Multiple Choice Exam | Pluralsight LFCA course | LFCA FAQs |
| Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS) | $395 | Performance-Based Exam | Kodekloud LFCS Course | LFCS FAQs |
| Linux Foundation Certified Cloud Technician (LFCT) | $395 | Performance-based and Multiple Choice Exam | LFS203 Course | LFCT FAQs |
| Prometheus Certified Associate (PCA) | $250 | Multiple Choice Exam | KodeKloud PCA Course | PCA FAQs |
| Istio Certified Associate (ICA) | $250 | Performance-based & Multiple Choice Exam | LFS144x Course | ICA FAQs |
Web & Application Certification
Under web application certification we have Nodejs and FDC3.
| Certification Name | Cost | Exam Type | Preparation Courses | Exam FAQ’s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenJS Node.js Services Developer (JSNSD) | $395 | Performance -Based Exam | LFW212 Course | JSNSD FAQs |
| OpenJS Node.js Application Developer (JSNAD) | $299 | Performance-Based Exam | LFW212 Course | JSNAD FQAs |
FINOS Certified FDC3 Practitioner (FCFP) certification is announced and it is not available for the registration node. We will update the details once the registration is open.
DevOps, GitOps & Site-Reliability Certification
Under the DevOps, GitOps and SRE domains, the Linux Foundation has announced the following three certifications.
| Certification Name | Cost | Exam Type |
|---|---|---|
| Cilium Certified Associate (CCA) | $395 | Multiple-choice Exam |
| Certified Argo Project Associate | $299 | Multiple-choice Exam |
| Certified GitOps Associate (CGOA) | $200 | Multiple-choice Exam |
Open Source Best Practice Certification
Under open source best practice, the Linux Foundation has announced FINOS Financial Services Certified Open Source Developer (FSOSD) certification.
This certification is designed for software engineers, open-source developers, DevOps engineers, and FinOps practitioners working for financial institutions internationally.
Certification Learning Paths
If you plan to prepare for the certifications using Linux foundation materials, you can make use of the official learning paths.
Check out the Official Learning path
Are Linux Foundation certifications worth it?
The short answer is yes.
I have been in the DevOps domain for more than a decade and I have been working on open-source tools for a long time.
Currently in the IT market, that too specifically in the DevOps category, Linux Foundation certifications are considered the best ones to have.
Also, organizations working on Kubernetes-specific workloads look for engineers with Kubernetes certifications.
If you prepare for the certification the right way, you will also learn a lot about the respective technology. Specifully performance-based certifications will improve your domain knowledge.
Conclusion
I have created this guide to give a high-level overview of certification and the best courses to prepare for the exam.
My first Linux Foundation certification was CKA. I really enjoyed the certification preparation as it was a performance-based exam. I scored 99% on the exam. I had to prepare well and practice well.
If you have any doubts regarding the certifications, drop a comment below. I will be happy to help.
