Linux Foundation Cloud Engineer Bootcamp Review 2024: Start Your New Career Today
Become a Cloud Engineer
In this Linux Foundation Cloud Engineer Bootcamp review, you will have an idea of how this program will prepare an absolute beginner to learn the most in-demand cloud computing skills in as little as 6 months.
Save $200 until 29 July: SYSADMINDAY200
My motivation to enroll in Linux Foundation’s Cloud Engineer Bootcamp
My name is Eric Mugerwa from Kampala, Uganda. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering and have worked in the Telecom industry for the past 15 years mainly focusing on IT infrastructure and networking.
In 2017, I joined a Telecom greenfield operator whose goal was to launch a mobile virtual network enabler/operator in Uganda using mainly cloud technology as well as sell cloud Infrastructure as a service in Uganda. Unfortunately, this did not work out, but the following year I partnered with a Dutch gentleman to launch a local cloud service provider in Uganda and as the technical lead I had to become competent in cloud computing technologies in the shortest time possible to help our clients with cloud migrations.
I started looking for affordable training and certification in cloud computing and came across Coursera which offered several Google Cloud courses. Later on, I discovered Cloud Guru and also Linux academy which I used to gain certification in Amazon Web Services.
Along the way, Kubernete’s popularity exploded and my partner sent me a link to Linux Foundation training suggesting that training in Kubernetes would broaden my skills and when Linux Foundation advertised a highly discounted bundled Advanced Cloud Engineer Bootcamp it was impossible to resist. I promptly enrolled in this course which covered key areas of interest and offered a free certification exam.
My main motivation for starting and finishing this course was to broaden my skills and enable me to support our clients in their cloud migration journeys. I found the training to be very good and covered both theoretical and practical aspects of Kubernetes though I supplemented it with some training on Udemy and A cloud Guru. It also covered some technologies like Fluentd that can’t be found elsewhere.
My thoughts on course pricing
Now come to the pricing of this Linux Foundation Cloud Engineer Bootcamp review.
The bundled offer was at a reasonable amount ($1000 if I recall correctly) but for developing countries and in particular, Uganda where a typical IT engineer earns somewhere between 300 and 1000 USD equivalent a month, this can be quite high and one has to save for a few months amidst competing priorities for this kind of training.
For training, I usually look out for yearly subscription plans that offer huge discounts Coursera (Coursera plus – $399), ACloudGuru ($299). I also buy Udemy courses when they are on promotion (10 – 13 USD). Once in a while when I need a specialty course that I can splurge on one just as in the case of the Linux Foundation Advanced Cloud Engineer.
My thoughts on course timeline
Course time was very generous, actually too generous which made me relax and pursue other certifications and wait till the end to complete the course. In the year I did this course, I got 5 AWS certifications (2 associate level and 2 professional levels), TOEFL, VMware, Huawei (HCIA). I prioritized the others courses, always thinking I had enough time to complete the Linux Foundation Cloud Engineer Bootcamp course. I almost ran out of time.
Can I get a job with Linux Foundation?
This did not cross my mind or I was not aware that support actually exists. My focus at the moment is upskilling. Job hunting can be a whole job on its own and after all this training I still have impostor syndrome. So my current focus is to practice what I have learned, build a portfolio, and maybe next year I will start job hunting.
My thoughts on the syllabus: Linux Foundation Cloud Engineer Bootcamp review
Let’s talk about the syllabus of this Linux Foundation Cloud Engineer Bootcamp review.
The syllabus was quite complete. It covered all the main areas of interest – containers, container orchestration (Kubernetes), monitoring, logging, networking, and package management. It was wholesome and the labs I found to be very engaging and challenged me enough to learn.
Most of all I learned how to use containers to build microservices and also Kubernetes to do container orchestration. I am now building 3 applications using the knowledge I learned from this course, a Fintech App to offer Micro Loans, Property Management App, and Fresh Foods Export App.
WEEK 1-4; Essentials of Linux System Administration (LFS201)
This was not included.
WEEK 5-9; Linux Networking and Administration (LFS211)
This was not included.
WEEK 10; Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator Exam (LFCS)
This was not included.
WEEK 11-14; Containers Fundamentals (LFS253)
This course gave me a strong foundation on containers and helped me understand how they work and how to use them.
WEEK 15-18; DevOps and SRE Fundamentals (LFS261)
This was not included.
WEEK 19-23; Kubernetes Fundamentals (LFS258)
This course covered Kubernetes giving a good introduction to its setup and usage. The labs were hands-on allowing you to apply knowledge learned in the course and I found it quite sufficient for passing the CKA exam.
WEEK 24; Certified Kubernetes Administrator Exam (CKA)
I could easily say it was one of the best exam experiences I have ever had. I have done over 10 online proctored exams in the last year or so. I Liked the exam format, proctoring experience, and the interface was fluid. I did not encounter any problems. I think the exam tested my knowledge adequately and the pass mark was fair.
Check this out -> Udacity Cloud DevOps Engineer Nanodegree Review
Specialization: Linux foundation
This course provided a good well-rounded introduction to containers and the container ecosystem and covered critical areas like orchestration, networking, monitoring and logging, and also image building. For application developers looking at building apps using microservices and container technology this course provides adequate introduction to this. Possible areas of improvement would be to include more security topics as well as CI/CD integrations for deploying containerized applications.
My project experience
The projects were challenging yet engaging. They were also well laid out giving you adequate guidance at the same time stretching you to fill in the blanks to make it work.
Thoughts on some Linux features like
Live chat with instructors
I did not get a chance to use this feature. I always try things out and do searches before I ask. I did not find the need to ask.
Discussion forums
A few times I looked through the discussion forums to see if someone had encountered the problem I was experiencing. I found them useful in this regard.
Projects
Projects richly complemented the training material and I found them sufficiently challenging to stretch my knowledge and make me understand the course better.
What I liked about Linux Foundation (Pros):
I liked the format, a few videos and more reading material. This works for us in countries where bandwidth is constrained. I now prefer these kinds of courses. I also find they are not as verbose as video courses. I also liked the labs and projects. They stretched me to understand the course material more.
What I didn’t liked about Linux Foundation(Cons):
I think the training material should be available indefinitely as a reference. Now and again it would be good to go back and reference the material or if it was made available as PDF slides. I usually repeat training several times to reinforce learning so not having access after course expiry affects my learning.
Conclusion: Do I recommend it to others?
I would highly recommend this course to most people as it covers all the areas of containers and microservices and includes a free exam with a retake. Even at the current price of 1200, I still consider it to be a good deal and would pay that since now I know what it contains but it may not be affordable for all.
I would also recommend that Linux Academy through its partners EDX start offering yearly subscriptions just like other training providers for their training. Exams can be paid for separately.
Eric Mugerwa
I am a multi-skilled IT / Electrical Engineer with experience in Telecommunication operations in the areas of IT Infrastructure (Servers, Storage, Networks, Virtualisation), Business support systems (Pre and Post Paid Billing, Business Intelligence, and Reporting, Customer Relationship Management, Contact Centre Technologies name it.
