Passing the CKA Exam

I recently passed my CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator). It’s a tough exam, but well worth studying for and having a crack at.

For me it took about 2-3 months of study, here are some tips from my exam journey.

Study Process

Use Mumshad Mannambeth’s CKA course (either on Udemy or Kodekloud). I would avoid just watching the videos, instead watch the videos and take notes. Taking notes a) helps with retention and b) can then be used for revision. Take a look at https://ksug.ai/discount for a Kodekloud discount.
Watch Alta3’s 2025 CKA Exam Questions & Solutions UPDATE! | Full Walkthrough! and Easy CKA Exam Tasks For Beginners! | Full Solutions & Walkthrough videos to get an idea of the types of questions you’ll get on the exam.
Once you have completed Mumshad’s course, do the course’s Lighting Labs and 3 mock exams.
Go through as many of the scenarios at killercoda.com/cka as time allows, especially the troubleshooting questions as they can take time in the exam and account for 30% of the marks.
Finish with the 2 Killer.sh practice exams that you get with the exam registration. You get a 2 hour countdown in these exams, which matches the time you have for the actual exam. Clear you calendar and treat these practice exams like the real thing. After the first 2 hours, you get a further 34 hours of access (36 hours in total), so you can go back, review questions and tackle any you missed.
Once you are very comfortable with the theory and score well on the mock exams, watch through IT Kiddie’s Practice Exam Questions, and then complete the questions on your own using https://github.com/CameronMetcalfe22/CKA-PREP and https://killercoda.com/killer-shell-cka/scenario/playground.
Note: When using Killacoda.com and Killer.sh, use the terminal from within the Desktop tab, rather than just directly using terminal. This will get you very familiar working in the same virtual desktop environment as the exam uses.

Booking the exam, check out https://ksug.ai/discount for a discount.

Exam Environment

Run the exam test from PSI a few days beforehand, on the device you intend to use.
Where possible, use a non-work device with a wired connection and consider using an external monitor with your laptop in clamshell mode. Remember in that mode your laptop webcam will be inaccessible so you’ll need an external camera (along with an external keyboard and mouse).
Watch 10 Mistakes that will RUIN Your CKA/CKAD Score! for some last minute tips.
If possible, rather than make your home environment “exam ready”, consider finding an alternate quiet and clear space to take the exam. If you can, book a meeting room at your office or a study room/pod at your local library.
Book your diary for 45 minutes before the exam starts.
- Spend 15 minutes getting your area setup, restarting your laptop, closing as many apps as possible, and if there is spare time, reviewing your notes.
- 30 minutes before the scheduled time, click the start exam button. The proctor onboarding process can be straightforward, but it can sometimes be slow – it took 40 minutes for me due to a technical issue.
Within the exam desktop, consider shrinking the text on the terminal by at least one level
Use the mousepad app to document your progress. For me, I used it to quickly note which questions I had completed, whether I had verified my answer, and a timestamp for when I finished the question. Or I used it to make a note about a question to follow up and why. Recording the timestamp allows you to see how you are progressing and if you are spending too long on some questions. For example: Q1, done, checked, 115 minutes Q2, skipped - troubleshooting, 114 minutes
Learn simple Vim skills such as:
- dd – deletes whole line, very useful after copying a manifest from the documentation and removing items you don’t need.
- u – undo
- $ – jumps to end of line

Exam

The standard advice to start with easier questions makes sense, but remember that questions are weighted based on difficulty. Consider allocating some extra time on more difficult questions, especially troubleshooting (as it covers 30% of the score).
If something doesn’t work and you can’t figure out why – move on. Make a quick note in mousepad as a reference and come back to the question if you have time.
Be familiar with the Kubernetes docs pages but only as a quick way to shortcut typing out a whole manifest. The docs are not for learning during the exam – If you don’t know a concept, you don’t have the time during the exam to read and learn about it.
The Gateway API documentation at kubernetes.io/docs is limited. You have access to https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/, so be familiar with the guides at https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/guides/ and spec reference at https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/reference/spec/#listener.

Post Exam

If you have any issues during the exam, especially if they caused your score to be below the pass mark, open a ticket with the Linux Foundation (https://trainingsupport.linuxfoundation.org/). They may offer you a free re-take, which is in addition to the retake included with exam.

Best of luck with the exam!

Some Notes on Mumshad Mannambeth’s course

What is good
- Hours of good content
- Hands on labs are great and spread throughout the course, giving you a good balance of theory and practical training.
- Labs are frequently updated to the latest k8s version.
- The course includes Lighting Labs and 3 Mock Exams, well worth doing these for revision and guidance.
- Includes topics covering the CKA 2025 updates, including Gateway API, HPA, Helm etc.
Not so good
- There is a large section on Kustomize, whereas the Helm section is very basic – it would be better if the Helm section was expanded.
- Some content is outdated and doesn’t reflect the kubernetes ecosystem of 2025. For example the use of the Weave CNI which is no longer under active development.
- Docker references. The course has a short lecture on Docker deprecation but then still refers to Docker frequently throughout the course. Given Docker is now less relevant to running a Kubernetes environment, this seems a little out of place.
- The storage sections suffers from the docker problem and outdated content. Given how many volume types have been deprecated and moved to CSI, this content in 2025 is confusing.
Overall, this course is still worth doing, but it feels like it is well over due for a considerable review and refresh.