Pipeline & Architecture Certifications
I recently completed two entry-level certifications to strengthen my expertise in key areas I frequently work with. Both offered valuable perspectives for professional and personal projects.
The GitLab CI/CD Associate certification was crucial for understanding pipeline dependencies and resolving several Runner-related challenges.
While I typically rely on GitHub for private projects, exploring GitLab revealed its broader potential:
- Extensive automation via hooks and APIs
- Strong self-hosting capabilities
- High degree of configuration flexibility
GitLab truly lives up to its “Lab” reputation, offering possibilities that go far beyond GitHub’s scope. The certification was also required for a client engagement, but I was eager to take it regardless. The evaluation process was simple—I had unlimited time to build a pipeline according to the provided specifications. GitLab reviewed my submission for a week and then granted a pass without sharing a score. It did take some preparation and was more challenging than I anticipated, though.
The second certification was the iSAQB Foundation Level Architect, which I prepared for over a month using a Udemy course and the official reference book. I passed with a score of around 77%. The exam lasted 90 minutes and consisted of 42 rather tough multiple-choice questions.
This was an excellent introduction to software architecture fundamentals. My main takeaways:
- An architect must consider multiple views:
- Deployment
- Runtime
- Building Block
- Context
- Key design principles remain central:
- Loose coupling
- Strong cohesion
- While focusing on the fulfillment of functional and non-functional requirements, solutions must balance the needs of diverse stakeholders.
Although both certifications are beginner-level—essentially Pareto’s 80% for 20% effort—they provided insights I can directly apply to both client projects and private work. The structured learning helped me formalize knowledge I had partially acquired in practice and gave me a clearer architectural mindset going forward.