I'm going to start this negativity and then we can get to the real stuff... I HATE PSI testing. I get taking test at home is the new hotness but I would like the option to go in. It's a lot easier for me to move my body to a new location vs trying to find a space to take a test without all my computers and stuff. The check-in process is annoying and there is always some small stupid thing to deal with. I should be able to acknowledge the risk of things like an open door and call it a day. ## The Real Post For some background I have taken the KCSA (I failed the first test which we will talk about), KCNA, and yesterday the KCNA-Beta. These are the only 2 multiple choice test regarding Kubernetes. When I first took the KCNA I really liked it. It was like a real overview of terms and high level concept of what to expect when working with Kubernetes. These recent test have really deviated from that and I don't agree with it at all. > TLDR: I won't be recommending people get KCNA or KCSA certs anymore. They are too tool specific and don't give people a good high-level intro to Kubernets. The way the test are currently written you might as well just go get CKA, CKAD, or CKS (if your a security person). ## The Beef My beef is not with the certs themselves as they were presented as an intro in to K8s. My beef is in the content. These test seem to be leaning more on specific tools and commands as if you are taking the hands on test. K8s should be vanilla. You can mention tools that are suggested but making the details about them a must know for these is crazy to me. Who says I'm using that at work, or want to use that technology? As someone who tried lots of things and has used all types of tools within k8s nothing is cut and dry. One moment you using Istio Service Mesh and the next you are using Nginx. There is nothing wrong with talking about those tools on a high level for people to go explore. It's not like you are going to be using them directly in the hands-on certs. For me this is how I failed my first attempt at the KCSA. There were specific questions about tools that I had glossed over because I thought it would be a high level test. That's expected for certs that are supposed to give you enough details to be in the conversation and interest you in doing the "deeper" test. The way these test are structured one might as well just study for CKA, CKAD or CKS. It's like how people tell you to study the AWS CCP but don't sit for it until a week before the AWS SA cert so you get the discount. The only thing with these certs is that there are no discounts for passing. That's understandable though since you get 2 attempts with each voucher. Studying the material for KCNA or KCSA is fine and I would recommend before diving in or if you want to be able to understand a little about what people are talking about, BUT spending your cash...*insert pursed lips meme*. ## My Suggestion (If they care) I think that LF needs to go back to what KCNA was. Keep it high-level and term focused across admin, dev, and security. Drop the KCNA and KCSA and create a new general cert something like Certified Kubernetes Practitioner. Set the target audience for this cert as people looking to get a general idea of kubernetes and managers wanting to understand what their teams do more. You want people to be part of the community and not be turned off due to how overwhelmingly specific things are. The value in certs from Linux Foundation to me has been that their certs are more hands on. I love that. They should lean into it more since..well linux and linux adjacent thigns are hands-on. Use the certs to build levels though. They have this Kubernauts program going but make things make a bit more sense. Tiers if you will for getting more involved in the community with every cert. Again I want to make it clear that I'm not mad at them making money or what I think they were trying to do, but please revert. People are skipping elementary and going straight to middle school.