Episode #044: Platform Engineering Certification Tier List 2025
Duration: 30 minutes (includes news segment)
Speakers:
- Jordan (Kore voice) - Analytical perspective, News host
- Alex (Algieba voice) - Explanatory perspective
Target Audience: Platform engineers, SREs, and DevOps professionals evaluating certification investments
📝 Read the full blog post: A comprehensive tier list ranking 25+ certifications using a 60/40 skill-versus-signal framework, with detailed ROI analysis and career advice.
Chapter Markers
- 0:00 - Platform Engineering News (AWS Re:Invent 2025 Updates)
- ~4:00 - Main Topic: Certification Tier List Introduction
- ~7:00 - The 60/40 Ranking Framework
- ~10:00 - S-Tier Certifications (CKA, AWS SA Pro, CKS)
- ~16:00 - A-Tier and B-Tier Breakdown
- ~22:00 - Hot Takes (AWS SA Associate Overrated, CNPE Prediction)
- ~26:00 - Career Advice & Optimal Certification Stack
- ~28:00 - Closing Wisdom
Synopsis
This episode includes today's top platform engineering news from AWS Re:Invent 2025, followed by our deep dive into certifications.
Are certifications worth it? The answer is: it depends. In this episode, we rank 25+ certifications for platform engineers using a data-driven 60/40 framework (60% skill-building, 40% market signal). We reveal why the CKA remains the gold standard, why the AWS Solutions Architect Associate is overrated, and why the new CNPE certification will reshape the landscape. Plus: spicy hot takes on vendor certifications and the optimal certification stack for your career stage.
Key Insights:
- The CKA ($445, 66% pass rate) appears in 45,000+ job postings globally and teaches production-grade Kubernetes troubleshooting
- Platform engineers earn $172K vs DevOps $152K (13% premium) - certifications accelerate this
- The CNPE launched November 2025 as the first platform-specific certification; early adopters get a 12-18 month advantage
- The AWS SA Associate is overrated - 500,000+ people hold it, making it a minimum credential rather than differentiator
- Optimal stack: CKA + one cloud Professional cert + one specialty cert (total ~$1,200, 7-9 months)
Transcript
Platform Engineering News - December 2, 2025
Jordan: Today we're ranking the certifications that actually matter for platform engineers. But first, here are today's top stories in platform engineering.
Jordan: AWS Re:Invent is in full swing, and the announcements are flying. First up, AWS Lambda now supports durable functions for building multi-step applications and AI workflows. This brings serverless orchestration capabilities directly into Lambda, potentially reducing the need for Step Functions in many AI pipeline scenarios.
Jordan: Next, Amazon S3 Vectors is now generally available with increased scale and performance. Native vector storage in S3 simplifies RAG architectures and positions AWS to compete directly with dedicated vector databases like Pinecone and Weaviate.
Jordan: AWS also announced the DevOps Agent in preview. This AI-powered tool aims to accelerate incident response and improve system reliability. For platform teams, this could fundamentally change how we handle on-call rotations and incident management.
Jordan: On the security front, AWS launched a Security Agent in preview that secures applications proactively from design to deployment. This shift-left security automation builds directly into your deployment pipeline.
Jordan: And AWS Security Hub is now generally available with near real-time analytics and risk prioritization. Unified security posture management with faster threat detection across your AWS environment.
Jordan: Finally, Amazon GuardDuty adds Extended Threat Detection for EC2 and ECS with new attack sequence findings. Better threat correlation across container and VM workloads is critical for platform teams managing mixed infrastructure.
Jordan: That's the news. And now, today's main topic.
Main Topic: Certification Tier List
Jordan: Today we're diving into one of the most divisive topics in platform engineering: certifications. Are they worth it? The answer is, it depends. And that's precisely the problem.
Alex: Here's the uncomfortable truth. Most certifications don't actually make you better at your job. They're expensive, time-consuming gatekeeping rituals that prove you can cram for multiple-choice exams. Yet they remain stubbornly important for career progression.
Jordan: Platform engineers face a unique dilemma. Our role spans Kubernetes orchestration, cloud infrastructure, observability pipelines, security controls, and developer experience. No single certification captures that breadth. So which certifications actually matter? Which ones teach skills that will save your production environment at 2 AM?
Alex: And which ones signal expertise to hiring managers who spend 30 seconds scanning your resume? Today we're ranking 25 plus certifications using a data-driven framework. We'll cover the gold standards, the situational value certifications, and the expensive resume padding you should avoid.
Jordan: Let's start with some context. Platform engineers earn an average of 172 thousand dollars compared to 152 thousand for DevOps engineers. That's a 13 percent salary premium. The CKA certification appears in 45,000 plus job postings globally. And the average certification investment for platform engineers is 800 to 1,200 dollars per year.
Alex: Those numbers tell us certifications matter to the market. But do they matter for your actual skills? That's where our framework comes in.
The Framework
Jordan: So let's talk about the ranking framework. Every certification in this tier list receives two scores.
Alex: First, the skill score, which gets 60 percent weight. This measures whether the certification teaches you to solve production problems. We evaluate the exam format. Hands-on performance-based exams score higher than multiple choice. We look at time pressure. Do the constraints mirror production incidents? We examine practical scenarios. Are you troubleshooting, debugging, implementing solutions? And we assess knowledge retention. Will you remember this in six months?
Jordan: The second score is the signal score, which gets 40 percent weight. This measures whether the certification will advance your career. We look at recognition. Do hiring managers and recruiters know this certification? We evaluate market saturation. Is it so common that it no longer differentiates you? We count job posting mentions. How often do employers list this as required or preferred? We gauge community respect. Do practicing engineers actually value this credential? And we calculate cost-benefit ratio. Does the ROI justify the investment?
Alex: This 60-40 split reflects reality. A certification that teaches you nothing but gets you hired is worth something. But a certification that makes you a better engineer AND gets you noticed? That's worth exponentially more.
Jordan: Exactly. So let's get into the tier list.
S-Tier: The Gold Standards
Alex: S-Tier. The gold standards. These certifications combine exceptional skill-building with strong market recognition. They're expensive and difficult, but they fundamentally change how you think about infrastructure.
Jordan: Number one: The CKA, Certified Kubernetes Administrator. This is the undisputed champion. It's a two-hour performance-based exam where you troubleshoot real Kubernetes clusters using only the official documentation. No multiple choice. No brain dumps. Just you, a terminal, and a series of production scenarios.
Alex: You'll encounter a node that isn't joining the cluster, a pod that's crashlooping, etcd backup and restore operations, network policies blocking traffic, and persistent volume issues. The exam mirrors actual platform engineering work. You'll use kubectl, crictl, etcdctl, and systemctl to diagnose and fix problems under time pressure.
Jordan: The 66 percent pass rate reflects genuine difficulty. When you pass the CKA, you've proven you can manage Kubernetes infrastructure in production. Hiring managers know this. The certification costs 445 dollars, which is expensive, but it's worth every dollar.
Alex: Here's the data. Average study time is 40 to 60 hours over 4 to 8 weeks. Global salary data shows CKA-certified professionals command 120 to 150 thousand dollars, with significant premiums in North America and Europe. The skills you learn, cluster troubleshooting, etcd operations, network debugging, will serve you for years.
Jordan: Next S-Tier certification: AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional. The Professional level separates casual cloud users from infrastructure architects. This is a 180-minute exam with complex scenario-based questions.
Alex: Design a multi-region disaster recovery solution. Optimize a data lake architecture. Secure a microservices deployment across VPCs. Implement cost controls for a 1,000 plus account organization. These aren't trivial questions.
Jordan: Unlike the Associate level, which tests breadth, the Professional level tests depth and synthesis. You need hands-on experience with 30 plus AWS services and the architectural judgment to choose the right tool for each scenario. The approximately 50 percent pass rate reflects this complexity.
Alex: The signal value is strong. The Professional level certification commands respect. It appears in senior platform engineer and cloud architect job descriptions. It signals you can design infrastructure, not just operate it. For platform engineers working in AWS environments, this certification is non-negotiable for senior roles.
Jordan: Third S-Tier certification: The CKS, Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist. This builds on the CKA with a focus on Kubernetes security. Runtime security with Falco, supply chain security with image scanning and admission controllers, network policies, secrets management, audit logging, and threat detection.
Alex: It's another two-hour hands-on exam with a brutal approximately 48 percent pass rate. Platform engineers are increasingly responsible for security controls. The CKS teaches threat modeling for containerized applications, how to lock down clusters without breaking developer workflows, and how to implement defense-in-depth strategies.
Jordan: The exam scenarios are realistic. Investigate suspicious pod behavior. Implement Pod Security Standards. Configure network policies to enforce zero-trust. Scan images for CVEs. When should you pursue this?
Alex: After you have the CKA and 6 plus months of production Kubernetes experience. The CKS assumes deep familiarity with Kubernetes internals. It's worth pursuing if you work in regulated industries like finance, healthcare, or government, or security-conscious organizations where Kubernetes security is part of your job scope.
Jordan: S-Tier certifications share three characteristics: hands-on exam format, realistic production scenarios, and strong market recognition. They're difficult enough that passing signals genuine expertise.
A-Tier: Strong Value Certifications
Alex: Let's move to A-Tier. Strong value certifications. These offer excellent skill-building or strong market recognition, with minor trade-offs in one dimension.
Jordan: First A-Tier certification: The CKAD, Certified Kubernetes Application Developer. This targets application developers deploying to Kubernetes, but it's valuable for platform engineers who build internal developer platforms.
Alex: The exam covers pod design, configuration, multi-container patterns, observability, services and networking, and troubleshooting. It's hands-on like the CKA, but focuses on application-level concerns rather than cluster administration.
Jordan: If your platform team builds developer-facing abstractions, Helm charts, operators, CRDs, the CKAD teaches you to think from the developer's perspective. It's also a good stepping stone to the CKA if you're newer to Kubernetes.
Alex: Next up: The CNPE, Certified Cloud Native Platform Engineer. This is the game-changer. The CNPE launched on November 11, 2025 at KubeCon Atlanta as the first certification specifically designed for platform engineers.
Jordan: Here's the thing. This certification covers internal developer platforms, golden paths, service catalogs, policy-as-code, platform metrics, and the organizational aspects of platform engineering. Early reports suggest it's a rigorous performance-based exam testing real platform engineering scenarios.
Alex: So why A-Tier and not S-Tier? Signal value. The certification is brand new. Hiring managers don't know it yet. Job postings won't mention it for another 12 to 18 months. But the skill-building is exceptional. It's the first certification that directly addresses platform engineering practices rather than adjacent skills like Kubernetes, cloud, or CI-CD.
Jordan: The prediction? By 2027, the CNPE will be S-Tier. Early adopters who get certified in 2025 to 2026 will have an advantage as the certification gains recognition. If you're explicitly in a platform engineering role, not DevOps, not SRE, but building internal developer platforms, this certification is worth prioritizing.
Alex: We covered the CNPE in-depth in Episode 41, including exam format, study resources, and whether it's worth the 445 dollar investment. Check that out if you want the full breakdown.
Jordan: Next A-Tier certification: HashiCorp Terraform Associate. At 70 dollars and 50 cents, this is the most cost-effective certification on this list.
Alex: It's a 60-minute multiple-choice exam covering Terraform workflow, modules, state management, and basic HCL syntax. The exam is straightforward. Pass rates are high if you've used Terraform professionally for 6 plus months.
Jordan: Infrastructure-as-Code is table stakes for platform engineers. Terraform is the dominant IaC tool, though OpenTofu is gaining ground. This certification validates foundational Terraform knowledge without requiring expensive training or months of study.
Alex: The market signal is strong. Recruiters recognize HashiCorp certifications, and Terraform appears in 60 to 70 percent of platform engineering job descriptions. The limitation? It's multiple choice. You won't learn advanced Terraform patterns or troubleshooting skills. But for the cost and time investment, 20 to 30 hours study time, it's exceptional value.
Jordan: Other A-Tier certifications include the GCP Professional Cloud Architect, which has solid skill-building but lower signal value than AWS simply due to market share. GCP has approximately 10 percent cloud market share versus AWS's 32 percent.
Alex: There's also the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional, which is narrower than the Solutions Architect Pro but deeper in CI-CD and automation domains. And the OSCP, Offensive Security Certified Professional, which is an outlier. It's a 24-hour penetration testing exam that's brutally difficult and expensive at approximately 1,600 dollars.
Jordan: The OSCP teaches offensive security principles that inform better defense, but it's overkill for most platform engineers. If you need Kubernetes security specifically, the CKS is more relevant and better recognized.
B-Tier: Situational Value
Alex: B-Tier. Situational value. These certifications offer value in specific contexts but have limited transferability or declining market signal.
Jordan: Here's the hot take. The AWS Solutions Architect Associate is overrated. It's the most popular cloud certification. Over 500,000 people hold it. And that's precisely the problem.
Alex: It's become the bachelor's degree of cloud computing. Widely recognized but no longer differentiating. The exam tests breadth across AWS services with multiple-choice questions. You'll memorize service names, API limits, and pricing models. It proves you understand AWS fundamentals, but it doesn't prove you can architect production systems.
Jordan: The pass rate is approximately 72 percent, which means it's accessible with focused study but not rigorous enough to signal deep expertise. When does it matter? Early-career platform engineers or those transitioning from sysadmin roles. It's a solid foundation for AWS knowledge and opens doors to entry-level and mid-level positions.
Alex: But senior engineers should pursue the Professional level instead. The Associate certification is so common that it provides minimal signal value for experienced roles. Hiring managers expect you to have it, but it won't make you stand out.
Jordan: If you're choosing between the AWS Solutions Architect Associate and the CKA, choose the CKA every time. Other B-Tier certifications include the LFCS, Linux Foundation Certified Sysadmin, which has declining signal value. Hiring managers assume senior platform engineers already know Linux.
Alex: There's the HashiCorp Vault Associate at 70 dollars and 50 cents, which is a good pairing with Terraform but has limited signal. Few job postings mention it specifically. The KCNA, Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate, which most people skip and go straight to the CKA.
Jordan: The Prometheus Certified Associate has niche value in observability, but the certification is new, launched in 2024, so signal value is still developing. And the CISSP, which is highly recognized in security and compliance contexts but tests security management and policy knowledge, not hands-on skills.
C-Tier and D-Tier: Quick Overview
Alex: C-Tier and D-Tier we'll cover quickly. C-Tier certifications have marginal value. These offer limited skill-building and weak market signal. Pursue them only if required by your employer or necessary for specific tools you use daily.
Jordan: Azure certifications, the AZ-104 and AZ-400, have weaker signal value than AWS or GCP unless you work in Microsoft-centric enterprises. Vendor-specific certifications like GitLab Certified CI-CD Associate, Datadog Certified Associate, and Splunk Core Certified User are resume padding.
Alex: These certifications test product-specific knowledge. How to configure GitLab CI-CD pipelines, how to create Datadog dashboards, how to write Splunk queries. They signal "I read the documentation," not "I can solve complex problems."
Jordan: The signal value is near-zero outside organizations that specifically use that vendor's product. That's money better spent on CKA exam vouchers or HashiCorp certifications that signal transferable skills.
Alex: D-Tier certifications you should avoid unless required. DevOps Institute certifications like DevOps Foundation and Platform Engineering Foundation are red flags. These are multiple-choice exams testing conceptual knowledge rather than practical skills.
Jordan: They don't teach skills. They don't signal expertise. Practicing platform engineers view them as resume padding. Hiring managers ignore them. Also in D-Tier: vendor fundamentals like AWS Cloud Practitioner, Azure Fundamentals AZ-900, and Google Cloud Digital Leader. These are designed for non-technical roles. If you're operating infrastructure professionally, you already know everything these certifications test.
Hot Takes
Alex: Now let's get spicy. Hot takes on certification strategy.
Jordan: Hot take number one: The AWS Solutions Architect Associate is overrated. We touched on this in B-Tier, but let's dig deeper. 500,000 people hold this certification. It's the minimum viable credential for cloud roles. Hiring managers expect you to have it, but it doesn't differentiate you from other candidates.
Alex: A 2024 analysis of 10,000 plus platform engineering job postings found that 68 percent mentioned AWS experience, but only 22 percent specifically mentioned AWS certifications. Employers care more about practical AWS expertise, demonstrated through projects, work history, or technical interviews, than certifications.
Jordan: For early-career engineers, get the AWS SA Associate as a foundation, then immediately focus on the CKA or Terraform Associate. For senior engineers, skip straight to the AWS Solutions Architect Professional or pursue the CKA instead.
Alex: Hot take number two: The CNPE will reshape the certification landscape. This is a watershed moment. For the first time, platform engineers have a credential that directly validates their role, not adjacent skills like Kubernetes administration or cloud architecture.
Jordan: The CNPE is a performance-based exam testing internal developer platforms, golden paths, service catalogs, policy enforcement, platform metrics, and team topologies. These are the actual problems platform engineers solve daily. How do you build self-service infrastructure? How do you enforce security policies without blocking developers? How do you measure platform adoption and effectiveness?
Alex: Platform engineering is emerging as a distinct discipline separate from DevOps and SRE. The CNPE formalizes this distinction. In 2 to 3 years, job postings for platform engineer will list the CNPE as preferred or required, the same way Kubernetes roles list the CKA.
Jordan: Platform engineers who get CNPE-certified in 2025 to 2026 will have a 12 to 18 month head start before the certification becomes mainstream. You'll be the person who got in early on the platform engineering movement.
Alex: Hot take number three: Most vendor certifications are expensive resume padding. GitLab Certified CI-CD Associate, Datadog Certified Associate, Splunk Core Certified User. These certifications test product-specific knowledge, how to use a vendor's platform.
Jordan: They don't prove you can solve problems. They prove you can navigate a vendor's UI and read documentation. Hiring managers know this. When they see vendor certifications on a resume, they interpret it as "this person uses this tool," not "this person is an expert."
Alex: The exception that proves the rule? HashiCorp certifications. Terraform and Vault are valuable because they test concepts, not just product usage. The Terraform Associate tests IaC principles and Terraform workflow that apply across providers. The GitLab CI-CD certification, by contrast, teaches you GitLab-specific YAML syntax that doesn't transfer to other CI-CD tools.
Jordan: Would you rather invest 445 dollars in the CKA, which opens doors globally and teaches transferable skills, or 150 dollars in the GitLab certification, which signals "I use GitLab"? The CKA provides 10 times the ROI.
Career Advice
Alex: Let's talk career advice. What's the optimal certification stack for platform engineers?
Jordan: The three-tier model. One foundational Kubernetes certification, one cloud provider certification, and one specialty certification aligned with your domain.
Alex: Tier one, the Kubernetes foundation. Start here with the CKA. Kubernetes is the operating system of cloud-native infrastructure. The CKA is the single most valuable certification for platform engineers because it teaches skills that apply everywhere. Cluster operations, troubleshooting, networking, storage, security.
Jordan: It's vendor-neutral, hands-on, and universally recognized. Study path: 40 to 60 hours over 4 to 8 weeks. Use Killer Shell for practice exams. Two free sessions are included with CKA registration. Study the official Kubernetes documentation. It's open-book during the exam, so familiarity with the documentation structure is critical.
Alex: Practice in live clusters using KodeKloud, A Cloud Guru, or your own clusters in Minikube, kind, or cloud-managed Kubernetes. Most professionals pass the CKA within 2 to 3 months of focused study. Schedule the exam when you can consistently score 85 percent plus on Killer Shell practice exams.
Jordan: Tier two, the cloud provider certification. Choose one: AWS Solutions Architect Professional, GCP Professional Cloud Architect, or Azure Solutions Architect Expert. Choose based on what your current or target employers use. If you're uncertain, default to AWS. It has the largest market share and the most job postings.
Alex: AWS path: Start with the Solutions Architect Associate, 150 dollars, to build foundational knowledge, then pursue the Professional level, 300 dollars, within 6 to 12 months. The Professional level is where the real value is. It tests complex architecture and design decisions.
Jordan: Cloud certifications require 60 to 100 hours of study. Use official training, AWS Training, Google Cloud Skills Boost, plus practice exams from Tutorials Dojo, Whizlabs, or A Cloud Guru. Hands-on practice is essential. Use free tier accounts to build actual infrastructure.
Alex: Tier three, the specialty certification. Choose based on your domain. For Infrastructure-as-Code, the HashiCorp Terraform Associate at 70 dollars and 50 cents. For security, the CKS at 445 dollars or AWS Certified Security Specialty at 300 dollars. For observability, the Prometheus Certified Associate at 250 dollars.
Jordan: For secrets management, the HashiCorp Vault Associate at 70 dollars and 50 cents. And for platform engineering specifically, the CNPE. Specialty certifications deepen expertise in specific domains. Choose based on what your role requires and what you find intellectually interesting.
Alex: Let's look at example paths. Early-career platform engineer, 0 to 3 years experience: AWS Solutions Architect Associate for 150 dollars over 2 to 3 months, then CKA for 445 dollars over 2 to 3 months, then Terraform Associate for 70 dollars and 50 cents over 1 to 2 months. Total: 6 to 8 months, approximately 665 dollars, foundational across Kubernetes, cloud, and IaC.
Jordan: Mid-career platform engineer, 3 to 7 years experience: CKA for 445 dollars over 2 months, then AWS Solutions Architect Professional or GCP Professional Cloud Architect over 3 to 4 months, then CKS for 445 dollars or CNPE over 2 to 3 months. Total: 7 to 9 months, approximately 1,190 to 1,290 dollars, deep expertise with strong signal value.
Alex: Senior platform engineer, 7 plus years experience: CKA for 445 dollars over 2 months if not already certified, then AWS Solutions Architect Professional for 300 dollars over 3 months, then CNPE over 2 months, then specialty certifications as needed, Terraform, Vault, CKS, over 1 to 2 months each. Total: ongoing certification maintenance, approximately 1,200 to 1,500 dollars initial investment, leadership-level credentials.
Jordan: What not to do. Don't hoard certifications. More certifications does not equal better engineer. Three high-quality certifications, CKA plus cloud plus specialty, signal more expertise than ten low-quality certifications.
Alex: Don't pursue certifications sequentially without application. The best learning happens when you apply certification knowledge immediately in production. Get certified, then spend 6 to 12 months using those skills professionally before pursuing the next certification.
Jordan: Don't prioritize vendor certifications over foundational certifications. If you're choosing between the CKA and the GitLab CI-CD certification, choose the CKA every time. Foundational certifications have higher ROI and longer shelf life.
Closing
Alex: Let's bring this home. Certifications don't make you a better engineer. Experience makes you a better engineer. Building systems, responding to incidents, debugging production issues, collaborating with developers. That's where expertise comes from.
Jordan: Certifications are proxies for expertise. Imperfect signals that you've invested time in structured learning. But imperfect signals still matter. In a competitive job market, certifications open doors. They get you past resume filters, increase recruiter outreach, and provide conversation starters in interviews.
Alex: The best certifications, CKA, cloud Professional certifications, hands-on performance-based exams, also teach you skills that transfer to production environments. The key is intentionality. Pursue certifications that align with your career goals, teach you valuable skills, and provide strong market signal.
Jordan: Avoid certification hoarding for its own sake. Three high-quality certifications, CKA plus cloud Professional plus specialty, will serve you better than ten low-quality certifications.
Alex: The optimal path for most platform engineers: Start with the CKA to build Kubernetes expertise, add a cloud Professional certification to demonstrate architectural depth, and pursue one specialty certification aligned with your domain. Security, platform engineering, IaC, observability.
Jordan: This combination provides breadth, depth, and strong market differentiation. Certifications are tools. Use them strategically. Focus on skill-building first, signal value second.
Alex: And remember, the best certification is the one that helps you solve production problems better than you did yesterday.