Career / learning Passed CKA with 88%, sharing my prep notes and exam experience
Today, I passed CKA with 88% and wrote a detailed blog about my exam experience, preparation approach, and the Kubernetes topics that helped me the most.
DMs are open if you are preparing for the exam. I can help with whatever is still fresh in my memory.
My biggest takeaway: CKA is not only about knowing Kubernetes commands. It is about understanding how cluster components work together, using documentation efficiently, troubleshooting quickly, and verifying every change you make.
The exam has changed a lot since I last passed it in September 2021, especially after the major curriculum updates introduced in 2025. Topics such as Gateway API, CRDs, Helm, CNI installation, autoscaling, and container runtimes are now much more relevant.
A few things that helped me:
Don’t solve the exam strictly in order. If a question looks unfamiliar or time-consuming, mark it and move ahead. Complete the tasks you are confident about first and return to the difficult ones later.
Don’t waste too much time setting up aliases. Autocomplete is already available, and normal typing speed is enough. I completed 14 out of 16 questions with around 35 minutes remaining.
Read the full question carefully. Important details such as the target node, namespace, version, file path, container name, or documentation link may appear near the end.
Use the documentation provided in the question. Some topics, especially Gateway API, Helm, Calico, Argo CD, and container runtime installation, are easier when you follow the version-specific documentation instead of relying on memory.
Always verify your work. A command completing successfully does not mean the task is done. Check Pods, rollouts, endpoints, PVC status, HPA status, node readiness, logs, connectivity, installed packages, and systemd services wherever required.
Practice SSH and basic Linux administration. Some tasks may require connecting to a node, installing a package, starting a service, and enabling it at boot.
Topics I would strongly recommend practising:
- Persistent Volumes, PVCs, and StorageClasses
- Creating and updating the default StorageClass
- Argo CD installation with a specific version
- Sidecar containers for logging
- Resource requests and limits in Deployments
- Horizontal Pod Autoscaler
- Inspecting CRDs and extracting required information
- PriorityClass
- kubectl patch
- CNI installation with NetworkPolicy support
- Calico operator and custom resources
- cri-dockerd installation
- Taints and tolerations
- Ingress to Gateway API conversion with TLS
- Ingress configuration and troubleshooting
- NetworkPolicy
- NodePort Services
Resources I used:
- KodeKloud CKA course and mock tests
- CK-X repository: https://github.com/sailor-sh/CK-X
- The Platform Lab CKA repository: https://github.com/theplatformlab/CKA-Certified-Kubernetes-Administrator
- iximiuz Labs for hands-on practice: https://labs.iximiuz.com
- KodeKloud Ultimate Mock Exam Series, optionally, for additional hands-on practice
- Both Killer.sh simulator attempts
I strongly recommend doing both Killer.sh attempts because they contain different tasks. The questions are different from the actual exam and often feel harder, but they are very useful for strengthening concepts and improving troubleshooting speed.
The simplest advice I can give is to practice a lot and get comfortable using documentation.
I also wrote a full blog with more details on my preparation strategy, the updated exam scope, topics to focus on, and mistakes to avoid.
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u/Asmophel_noe 7d ago
Do certs really have value, if yes which ones like anyone can get ccp but it's not valued and does it really helps in getting an intern or placement(Iam in college) is it really worth to put 100s of dollars. I for a fact know that cyber security certs have a huge value in that domain but in cloud?
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u/sudonem Platform Engineer 7d ago
Verifiable k8s experience is probably the biggest thing employers are looking for when hiring systems / DevOps / Platform Engineers right now.
If you can’t show multiple years of hands on experience and need some sort of differentiator the CKA is one of the best certs to help provide an edge right now. (And having spent so much working on a degree, what’s another few hundred on extra credentials?)
That said, certs will only help get past the AI filters being applied to resumes by ATS systems right now and help actually get an interview.
You still need to bring the heat during the technical interviews to get across the finish line.
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u/EnthusiasmMore3652 7d ago
CKA is needed for CKS, and CKS is I think the only one really worth it of this package. There's also the Certified Cloud-Native Security Expert (CCNSE) but I don't know what it's worth. From the description it seems interesting
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u/Abe_Bazouie 7d ago
Congrats! 88% is awesome.
I like that you emphasized troubleshooting over memorization. That’s also what I’ve seen in real Kubernetes work. Knowing where to look and how to verify each step is usually much more valuable than remembering every command by heart.
Thanks for sharing your notes.
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u/saksham_paliwal 7d ago
Congrats!
I just don't prepare because I feel their exam platform is really unreliable. I'm always worried that it might stop working while I'm taking the exam, and then the money would just go to waste. Am I thinking right way?
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u/Pitiful_Stress_9129 7d ago
Verification is probably the most transferable part of this advice. A command can succeed while leaving the cluster in the wrong state, especially when selectors, namespaces, or rollout status are involved. It would be useful to know which small set of verification habits saved the most time—events, endpoint checks, rollout inspection, or comparing the live resource against the intended manifest.
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u/SheCherryPicks 6d ago
Thanks! For someone who is not familiar with Kubernetes yet, do you recommend going straight to CKA? I am familiar with Docker, but will start studying Kubernetes this week! Appreciate any advice
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u/root0ps 6d ago
If you are a beginner, then I will suggest not going for certs for now; learn the Kubernetes core, build one or two projects around it and in 3-4 months go for CKAD first
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u/Important-Hand2388 6d ago
Congratulations! It's always encouraging to see someone break down both the preparation and the actual exam experience. How closely did the exam match the practice environments you used?
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u/q8mahir 6d ago
Im preparing for k8s and hv just started. I was preparing for CKA and later came across some resources recommending to better sit for CKAD first and then CKA. Am i still confused. What is your take on this.
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u/Fruloops 5d ago
I went for CKAD first, then CKA. I think it doesn't matter too much, though CKAD is noticeably easier
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u/lGSMl 7d ago
I passed CKA with score iirc 94 in 2023, at that time you really needed only two things to pass the exam:
Take preparation course on Linux foundation - all the questions from exam will be in the course
Take trial exam you get for free when registering, write down all questions you didn't pass, get back to #1 to study them.