Red Hat Certified Specialist in Containers and Kubernetes Exam Prep Guide
One of the critical tenants of the DevOps movement is a continuous integration and continuous deployment. As a result, containers have become a key technology for configuring and deploying applications and microservices. Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform implements Kubernetes, a container orchestration system. I recently got a Red Hat Certified Specialist in Containers and Kubernetes. I would also recommend this certification if you are learning Containers, especially Red Hat Openshift. There are several options to prepare for the certification. I have outlined some of them which I used to prepare and found very useful. The exam is 100% hands-on, and you will not find multiple answers to questions. Hence, you must perform a hands-on lab and understand the essential containers and Kubernetes operations by heart.
Red Hat Learning Subscription
Red Hat's learning subscription includes various online and in-person classroom courses. In addition, the subscription includes a virtual “Red Hat Openshift I: Containers & Kubernetes” (DO180) course. The course includes ten exam topics, labs, and infrastructure to perform labs. The course also provides access to PDF documents to read at your own time and videos to watch. The video material is worth 7+ hours. The course fee is $2,700. It includes the exam fee as well. For more information, please visit this link.
Tip — If you opt for this course, I recommend watching training videos and reading course material at least three times and performing labs multiple times and at least once without any guidance.
O’Reilly Subscription
O’Reilly subscription is another cost-effective option to learn the Red Hat Certified Specialist in Containers and Kubernetes course. The subscription will cost you $49/month or $499/year. It includes 8+ hours of videos on ten topics plus labs. Because it is cost-effective, you must secure a Linux machine and CodeReady container for OpenShift labs. Also, the subscription doesn’t include the cost of the exam. Here is the link for additional information about the course.
Tip — If you have a high-end laptop/desktop, I would recommend this option as you can install Linux and CodeReady Openshift container on your laptop/desktop and perform labs. Again, you have to go through videos at least thrice and lab multiple times until you can perform labs without any help.
Udemy Course
Udemy course subscription is the most cost-effective option among all. It will cost you $24.99 for the “Lab setup & Test course for Red Hat EX180 Podman & OpenShift”. This course includes ten practice tests only. Therefore, the course is not recommended to learn for the exam. However, if you want to perform the additional hands-on lab, this serves the purpose. Needless to say, the course doesn’t include reading material, lab infrastructure, and exam fees. Here is more info about the course.
I hope you will find this information valuable for your exam preparation. Best of luck, and let me know about any additional options in the comments below for other readers.
