This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Yoshik Karnawat
I’ve been an SRE engineer for over two years now. SRE stands for Site Reliability Engineering. It’s about keeping production systems reliable and efficient.
But here’s the thing – it’s not just about learning fancy terms. You know, SLA, SLO, MTTR, service reliability. That stuff matters, but the real work is keeping systems stable and making processes better.
Since college, I believed one thing: skills beat paper.
I thought you didn’t need good grades or certifications. Just be good at what you do. That’s it.
Spoiler alert: I was completely wrong.
My College Mindset
Back then, I was all about side projects. I’d spin up my own VMs. Set up Caddy servers. Configure Cloudflare. Build stuff that actually worked.
This felt real. This felt valuable.
Why would I need a piece of paper when I could show actual results? My GitHub was full of projects. My servers were running smoothly. I could troubleshoot problems and fix them.
That had to be enough. Right?
Press enter or click to view image in full size
DevOps Skills Alone Aren’t Enough
The Reality Check Hit Different
I was wrong. Dead wrong.
And I learned this through a series of painful rejections and missed opportunities.
Picture this: You’re confident in your abilities. You apply for roles you know you can crush. Your technical skills are solid. Your projects speak for themselves. But somehow, you never make it past the initial screening.
That was my reality for months.
What I Discovered (And Why It Matters to You)
Skills give you the knowledge to work on real-world systems. But certifications? They give you something entirely different: credibility.
Think about it from a hiring manager’s perspective. They get hundreds of resumes. Everyone claims to know Kubernetes. Everyone says they understand monitoring. Everyone talks about incident response.
How do they separate the real engineers from the wannabes?
Certifications act as a filter. They validate claims. They prove you didn’t just tinker with Docker on weekends – you understand the concepts well enough to pass rigorous exams.
Here’s a question for you: How many times have you been overlooked despite having the right skills? Drop a comment below – I bet your experience mirrors mine.
The $400 Game-Changer
Let me share something that’ll probably surprise you. The CKAD certification costs around $400.
My old thinking: “Four hundred dollars for paper that expires? That’s ridiculous.”
My new reality: This “expensive paper” transformed my career trajectory.
Here’s what actually happens:
Immediate salary impact: Most engineers see 10–20% salary increases after cloud-native certifications. On an $80,000 salary, that’s $8,000–16,000 annually. The math is simple – you’re profitable from month one.
Visibility explosion: Recruiters hunt for specific certifications. Without CKAD, you’re invisible in Kubernetes job searches. With it, your phone starts ringing.
Promotion acceleration: When two engineers compete for advancement, guess who wins? The one with verified credentials.
The career boost from that $400 investment? It’s exponentially higher than you’d imagine.
Stop Overthinking the Investment
Forget the $400 cost. Ignore the three-year expiry.
Focus on this instead:
- The role you’ll land because of that certification
- The salary jump that follows
- The confidence surge in technical conversations
- The opportunities that suddenly appear
That expiry date? It’s actually brilliant. It keeps you current in a field that evolves at breakneck speed. An eternal certification would be worthless within two years anyway.
The Insurance Policy You Didn’t Know You Needed
Think of certifications as career insurance. You pay a small premium upfront to protect against massive potential losses.
What losses? Missing opportunities because you lack credentials.
Every month without certifications costs you:
- Better job prospects
- Higher compensation
- Career advancement
- Professional recognition
The opportunity cost of staying uncertified far exceeds any certification fee.
My Transformation Story
Now I balance both worlds. Side projects remain crucial – they build real skills. But certifications validate those skills to decision-makers.
My SRE focus areas:
- AWS/GCP/Azure cloud platforms
- Kubernetes ecosystem (CKA, CKAD)
- Monitoring and observability tools
Your Turn: What’s Holding You Back?
I’m curious – what’s your biggest barrier to getting certified? Is it the cost? Time constraints? Impostor syndrome?
Share in the comments. I’ve probably faced the same obstacle and can offer some perspective.
The Truth About Our Industry
We work in a field where HR departments filter resumes with keyword searches. Where hiring managers need quick validation methods. Where automated systems decide who gets interviews.
You can fight the system or work within it. Fighting is noble but ineffective. Working within it gets results.
Build skills through hands-on projects. Prove those skills through certifications. This combination is unbeatable.
Here’s What Changes When You Get Certified
The external validation shifts everything:
- Conversations with senior engineers become peer discussions
- Salary negotiations start from higher baselines
- Career opportunities multiply exponentially
- Confidence permeates every technical interaction
That $400 investment doesn’t just buy a certificate. It purchases career transformation.
My Final Thoughts (And a Challenge for You)
I started this journey believing skills trumped credentials. I was half right – skills matter enormously. But credentials amplify those skills in ways I never anticipated.
Don’t make my mistake. Don’t let pride or cost concerns slow your career progression. The boost from strategic certifications will surprise you.
Here’s my challenge: Pick one certification relevant to your career goals. Budget for it this month. Schedule the exam within 90 days.
Your future self will thank you for taking action today instead of waiting for the “perfect moment” that never comes.
What certification will you tackle first? Drop your choice in the comments.
Thanks for reading!
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Yoshik Karnawat