As an engineer, should I consider getting a certification? What makes a certification valuable to me or my employer? How do I pick which one to get? Will these really help me build stateful applications on Kubernetes?   In this talk, we will discuss the relative value of certifying on different technologies, with a specific focus on CNCF certifications for administration of k8s and developing Kubernetes-native applications.    In this session we will discuss:   - The pros and cons of getting certified - Why your current and future employers might care about your certifications  - What are other things you can do to make yourself a more attractive candidate in this cloud-native landscape    And of course, since Keith is a long-time database geek, we'll talk about how these might help you (or not) build stateful applications on Kubernetes.

Keith McClellan is the Director of Partner Solutions Engineering at Cockroach Labs. He is responsible for building CockroachDB-based solutions with our largest technology partners, including Kubernetes and the broader open-source ecosystem. He spearheaded Cockroach Labs' Kubernetes operator project, acting as the technical lead on the project and being a primary contributor to making that the best way to run CockroachDB on Kubernetes. Prior to Cockroach Labs, Keith has held technical leadership positions in cloud-native and big data companies including DataStax, Mesosphere (now D2IQ), and Platfora.