How to Become a Kubestronaut? The Story of Poland’s 70th Kubernetes Specialist

But how did it all start? What motivated him, and what did the process look like? We decided to talk to him about his journey toward this achievement—about the challenges, learning, and what he gained by investing time and energy into mastering Kubernetes. Here you’ll find practical tips, personal reflections, and plenty of motivation for anyone considering starting their own Kubernetes journey.

Kubernetes is an open-source tool for managing containers, such as Docker. It’s also one of the first and most important projects for building applications in a CloudNative approach. You can demonstrate your knowledge by earning Kubernetes certifications—there are five in total, each testing expertise from a different perspective, e.g., development, administration, or security. Once passed, a certificate is valid for two years.

A person who completes all five certificates within two years—keeping them all valid—earns the title of Kubestronaut. You can read more about the program here.

Where did the idea of learning Kubernetes come from? Did you need it for work, or are you a DevOps engineer?

- No, I didn’t need it for work, nor am I a DevOps engineer. Three things converged here. First, I had Kubernetes on my radar because many backend developer job postings I was interested in increasingly mentioned DevOps technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, or AWS. As a “backend developer+,” knowing at least the basics of these technologies seemed important.

Then, I met a colleague who proudly told me he scored 97% on the CKAD exam. I asked him, “What is CKAD?”—I had never heard of it before. He explained it, and I got inspired; I wanted that certificate for myself. The seed was planted. Later, I watched a YouTube video of a software developer’s “A Day in the Life” vlog. In it, he interviewed colleagues in his open-space office, and when asked, “Whatcha workin’ on?” one replied, “Kubernetes.” Then he said, “Kubernetes is power, influence, and the future.” I swallowed that like a pelican swallows a fish—and that’s how it began. I found a 45% discount on a CKAD voucher—the first certificate—bought it, and a few months later, I took the exam.

Why aim to become a Kubestronaut?

- When I passed my first CKAD certificate, it was valid for three years. A few weeks later, the rules changed, and all certificates became valid for only two years. To earn the title of Kubestronaut, all five certificates must be valid simultaneously.

So, when I passed my CKA (the next certificate), I had two full years to complete the remaining ones—one difficult and two easier, as I didn’t take them sequentially. I thought, “This is the best situation I’ll get,” and bought vouchers for the next two exams.

From another perspective, I love challenges, and the Kubestronaut program perfectly matched my expectations.

How Did You Prepare?

- Finding good learning materials was a challenge in itself. Each certificate covers slightly different topics and problem types. I had to gather materials for each exam separately. Most often, I used Udemy and YouTube for theory, and killer.sh and killercoda.com for hands-on practice. I also read the official Kubernetes documentation—not just to learn but to know how to navigate it quickly during the exam.

During exams, the documentation is available, so knowing where to find relevant topics is crucial. I also used ChatGPT for quizzes and generating sample exam scenarios.

A more detailed guide on materials is included in the “How to Become a Kubestronaut” instruction I prepared.

What Was the Hardest Part?

- At first, simply getting comfortable with Kubernetes was the hardest part. I had no prior experience with the technology, either professionally or personally. Understanding DevOps and CloudNative concepts was new to me.

I also had to improve my Linux terminal skills significantly to solve tasks efficiently. From an organizational perspective, the exam environment itself posed challenges: it’s a Linux virtual machine with limited speed, so scrolling through the documentation isn’t smooth.

A major challenge during practical exams was time management: 120 minutes for about 16 tasks, which gives roughly 7.5 minutes per task. That’s why familiarity with the documentation is critical—you don’t have time to read everything during the exam; you need to know where everything is.