What is Jenkins

The current trend in the educational arena is to opt for degrees related to IT. Maybe, you have done the same, and today, you are in a satisfying career. Regardless, you would do well not to allow yourself to become stagnant. Look for ways to move ahead of your competitors. Allot time for expanding your knowledge and experience by going in for specialized certification courses. For instance, an internship, which is rapidly gaining in popularity, is Jenkins Certification.

 

Before Jenkins Arrived

Prior to Jenkins arriving on the IT landscape, companies handled development and operations manually. Towards this end, every establishment would have a team of software developers in place. However, despite being a team member, each developer would contribute raw data or code to the source code separately. Finally, someone would bring together all the codes or raw data. In turn, this would lead to building the entire source code for the particular application. Finally, when the software was ready, it became possible to deploy and test it on a test server.

Since the entire process was manual, the concerned company could not expect to see test results quickly. Then again, multiple bugs showed up in the test results at times. Locating these bugs would often turn out to be a time-consuming process. The team would have to browse through the complete source code if they wished to trace any. With all these delays, the team could never guarantee the quick delivery of the software program.

Similarly, no one could guarantee the quality of software either. This was because there was no feedback system in place. It was not possible to garner relevant information about test status, architectural issues, etc. Naturally, customer dissatisfaction continued to remain a real threat for companies.

Jenkins is a Boon

Sun Microsystems was responsible for presenting Jenkins to the IT world. However, since its inception in 2004, Jenkins has undergone several modifications.

Coming back to Jenkins, you may behold this open-source server/software tool in Java. Jenkins functions in an automated way, to set into motion a chain of actions. We refer to this as continuous integration (CI). Here, each member of the developers’ team has to commit any changes in code several times during the day. As each commit comes into play, Jenkins builds the source code and tests it. If the test is successful, then the automated tool tests the build for deployment.

In case the build reveals errors, the tool informs the developer team about the failure. However, there are no hassles with a successful build. It sails through to deployment. If the implementation is thriving too, the code can move towards production. We term this movement into production as continuous delivery/deployment (CD). In other words, the new software can function throughout its life cycle. Thus, build, test, and deploy follow every commit as a continuous process.

All the features mentioned above and functions contribute towards the formation of the Jenkins Pipeline. They come into the display as plugins. There are hundreds of them, each with its particular task. They help to streamline the continuous delivery process. To sum up, Jenkins is a user-friendly tool, which is compatible with several platforms. The magic lies in Java!

All about the Certification Course

All you need to do is to be interested in learning about Jenkins if you desire certification! However, if you have some experience as a software engineer, test engineer, software developer, system administrator, or technical lead, you will have an advantage. You will be able to link theoretical learning with your practical experience and understand better. At the same time, even if you were a fresher, it would not matter. You should be able to get through by working hard.

Prerequisites

In general, there are no prerequisites for signing up for a CI/CD Pipelines with Jenkins course. However, if you have an inkling of Git, Maven, Linux commands, or software development life cycle, it would be a bonus.

Classes

Fortunately, for you, you may learn all about Jenkins via the Internet. This means that you may attend blended learning classes online. Yes, they are live and interactive. Therefore, you may place forth your questions or doubts without any fear. Experienced experts will give appropriate answers. Similarly, you may take part in debates and discussions, too, since you are engaged in live sessions. In case you still miss certain things, you may take recourse to the video recordings of all the lectures.

This is not all. Whenever an establishment launches a course, it also offers 24 x 7 customer support. You may avail of this help via calls, forums, emails, or chat. Thus, you enjoy learning from excellent instructors, albeit at your own pace. Best of all, you even have personal mentors at your command.

Exam, Certification, and Career

The training will enable you to tackle CI or build with ease. You will even learn to bring about bonding between various testing and deployment tools, and Jenkins. Now, after you complete your training, you will have to appear for an exam. The exam is for finding out how much you have learned and grasped. There are no essay-type questions, only multiple-choice questions. You will have to go through 60 questions within a time of 90 minutes.

Be prepared to view questions on all manner of topics. For instance, the examiner may be curious about your knowledge regarding jobs. There could be queries regarding freelancing with Jenkins, organizing and promoting employment, etc. The technical questions, of course, cover concepts, installing and configuring, testing, security concerns, etc. Suffice to say. You may expect anything and everything! After all, Jenkins is an extremely narrow subject. The examiner would like to probe deep into the details. Therefore, ensure that you browse through your notes, guides, etc., diligently. A couple of hours of concentrated study every day should do the trick!

Since it is a professional certification, you must get through with a good score. You will need to gain around 80%. You will receive your certificate only if you do so. Once you have the certificate in your hand, you become a Certified Jenkins Engineer. The certification will add a great touch to your existing resume!

You need not worry about going higher up in your career or salary packages. Businesses will be keen to employ you for the dual advantages that you provide to them. You have theoretical knowledge. At the same time, your training has given you extensive practical experience too. Therefore, your knowledge, skills, and experience are most welcome to various companies. To conclude, certification in Jenkins is well worth the money you spend on your training.

Today, every business, big, medium, or small, is striving to use Jenkins for DevOps. It saves time and effort. Despite the number of plugins already in existence, the designers are keen to add more and more. Therefore, you may expect new changes in support for building, testing, deploying, etc.