What is RHCA? Is the RHCA Certification worth getting?

The kind of contribution displayed by Red Hat to the open- source community is one that is immeasurable. Red Hat is an American multinational software company and is most widely known for its RHEL or Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution as well as its open- source software solutions. Also, its presence has been found in over 90 percent of the total Fortune 500 companies across the globe.

Just like it offers various open- source products for the companies to make use of, it also provides a humongous range of certification programs for the betterment of the professionals who wish to prove their skills and professionalism in the field. If you are one of those who think that they need to enhance the growth graph of their career, then you should look into the Red Hat world too.

However, if you are already certified with the initial certifications offered by Red Hat and you are still looking for more because, let’s be honest, the more, the merrier is definitely the case with Red Hat, then this is the best piece of blog you could have asked for. With this blog, we will explore the answer to the question that what is RHCA and also get ahead with the question that is the RHCA certification worth getting.

There are plethora of things we can get into a discussion about when it comes to Red Hat but covering them all at once is simply too much information to comprehend. Thus, we will take things in the simplest of manner, starting out with what is RHCA.

What is RHCA – Red Hat Certified Architect?

With a RHCA or Red Hat Certified Architect course, a Linux System Administrator gets hands-on and in- depth training to be able to deploy and manage a large number of systems in humongous enterprise environments.

A RHCA certification is basically a capstone certification to Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) as well as Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE). It is referred to as the most mature and the most highly acclaimed certification in the world of Linux.

A RHCA is someone who has either of the following – RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer), RHCCD (Red Hat Certified Cloud- native Developer) or RHCEMD (Red Hat Certified Enterprise Microservices Developer) certification priorly. Someone who has passed as well as currently holds five additional certifications picked from the developer and the system administrator list is the one who can go on to appear for this exam.

Red Hat offers professionals the opportunity to get to learn more about two varied types of Red Hat Certified Architect certifications. It is a candidate’s choice to pick which one or both to go for. The two types are Red Hat Certified Architect in Enterprise Applications and Red Hat Certified Architect in Infrastructure.

Are you one of the most Suitable RHCA Candidates?

One of the first things that comes to any aspiring individuals mind is whether the intended course is one for them or not. the same questions must be twirling inside of your mind too, especially after having already invested so much of your energy, time and money into an array of Red Hat certifications.

If you wish to check whether you are making it on to the list of the most suitable RHCA candidate or not, here is a check list you can read –

• If you are a senior Red Hat Enterprise Linux System administrator currently possessing the RHCE certification, then you are eligible to take the exam.
• If you are an IT architect with the aim of demonstrating wide field of Red Hat centred knowledge and skills, then RHCA is the course for you.
• Those who possess the RHCE certification and are on the outlook for greater breadth and depth of skills and knowledge in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, along across all other Red Hat products too.

Do you clear the Prerequisites list?

While there is not a long list of prerequisites, here is what you definitely need –

• RHCE - Red Hat Certified Engineer
• RHCJD - Red Hat Certified JBoss Developer

What Exam Options are Available?

There are quite a few Red Hat exams which you can appear for and clear in order to make the count of five which is needed to take the RHCA course. However, all these five must be currently active.

• EX236K - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Hybrid Cloud Storage Exam IES
• EX236 - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Hybrid Cloud Storage Exam
• EX401K - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Enterprise Deployment and Systems Management Exam IES
• EX401 - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Enterprise Deployment and Systems Management Exam
• EX318 - Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Administrator Exam
• EX413K - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Server Hardening Exam IES
• EX413 - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Server Hardening Exam
• EX436K - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in High Availability Clustering Exam IES
• EX436 - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in High Availability Clustering Exam
• EX248 - Red Hat Certified JBoss Administration Exam IES (RHCJA)
• EX280K - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Platform-as-a-service IES
• EX442K - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Performance Tuning Exam IES
• EX442 - Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Performance Tuning Exam
• EX210K – Red Hat Certified System Administrator in Red Hat OpenStack Exam IES
• EX210 – Red Hat Certified System Administrator in Red Hat OpenStack Exam

Where does one go after RHCA Certification?

After completing your RHCA certification, if you still wish to move ahead and get more certifications in Red Hat, then there are yet more which the company offers. Here are two paths you can take up and are most suited –

• Red Hat Certified Architect in Enterprise Applications
• Red Hat Certified Architect in Infrastructure

Is there an Option for Recertification?

Before we get on to the option of recertification, it is essential to know that it is definitely better to maintain your RHCA.

How can that be done? Simply by maintaining five certifications at all times. This can be done by either re-appearing and re-passing any of the current certifications or getting one before another one expires.

Also, if you earn more than five eligible credentials, you can earn a level higher than RHCA too!

Now, as for recertification, it is possible to do so. In case your current certifications ever drop below five, you will lose your RHCA but you can get it back by either re-passing your past exams or choosing a new one from the list we have given you above (at least no new changes are made or until new certifications are not added).

Is the RHCA Certification Worth Getting?

RHCA is the ‘golden certification’ that can open up a wide array of opportunities for you in the tech world. It is one of the top line certifications to be ever offered by Red Hat and that is saying something considering the large number of certifications this company offers.

If you have plans of moving to a senior technical position in a company that deals directly with Red Hat technologies, then a RHCA certification can render you with many more opportunities than you would have initially thought of. With RHCA certification, you have the chance to work with some of the biggest companies across the globe and even with Red Hat itself.

One of the biggest pros is that with this certification you will be able to get work anywhere. Thus, no matter where you go and which part of the world you choose to move to, you will have equally rewarding job opportunities to become a part of.

The job or the job title you pick will be rewarding monetarily. Hence, your future will be secure and with this Red Hat Certified Architect certification, you can ensure that you never have to think about money problems again.

Conclusion

When it comes to making big decisions, it comes as no surprise that people turn towards the internet to help them make those decisions. In this case too, it is a good choice to have taken the aid of the internet in trying to determine whether RHCA is worth the hype of not.

In our journey to help you find an answer to that question, we have hopefully given you more details about things that will prove to be beneficial in leading you to your final decision. The answer to what is RHCA can be found at a lot of places but to know all the other related things under a single link is a hefty task, which we aimed to help you overcome.

Your professional journey does not begin or end at Red Hat Certified Architect but this one name is certainly a big part of this journey. So, if you think you want to take your career prospects a notch higher, then you need to read this blog and you will understand why getting ahead with Red Hat Certified Architect is a great choice for today and more importantly for the future.