In this blog, I will share my Golden Kubestronaut journey, how I became the first and youngest Golden Kubestronaut from Nepal, what motivated me to pursue this path, and what it actually takes to earn the title.

Golden Kubestronaut: Basic anatomy of this program

Golden Kubestronaut is the highest honor in the Kubestronaut program, awarded by the Linux Foundation and CNCF to those who complete all 16 CNCF certifications.

Kubestronaut journey: A bit of history

I started my Kubestronaut journey during my college days in 2024. At the time, I was looking for an internship and initially planned to take the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam. After thinking it over, I asked myself: what if I went for the CKA instead? The CKA is a performance-based exam and carries real value in the market. I decided to pursue the CKA.

I attended KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India 2024 in Delhi, where I saw many Kubestronauts. That experience inspired me to aim for the Kubestronaut title myself. You can read more about my previous Kubestronaut journey.

I received my Kubestronaut jacket at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India 2025 in Hyderabad. Wearing that jacket and walking around the event was a genuinely special feeling.

Figure 1: Anish Bista with Kubestronaut jacket

From Kubestronaut to Golden Kubestronaut

After becoming a Kubestronaut, I never imagined I would go for Golden Kubestronaut. At that time, I felt I wouldn’t pursue many more certifications in the near future.

Fast forward to 2026: I attended KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India that happened at Mumbai. My CKA was set to expire on November 15, which meant I would lose my Kubestronaut title. That fear motivated me to aim for Golden Kubestronaut.

Using the 60% off coupon I received as an attendee, I purchased the Kubestronaut to Golden Kubestronaut bundle.

The journey began on July 11 and finished on August 30 – 50 days in total. It was genuinely challenging because I was juggling several other responsibilities at the same time:

My full-time job
LFX mentorship with KubeVela
Maintaining the KubeVirtBMC project

I am grateful for the strength to handle all of this simultaneously. I still didn’t get a chance to receive an exclusive backpack with the Golden Kubestronaut logo and Golden Kubestronaut beanie. I will try to receive it at the upcoming KubeCon + CloudNativeCon events.

You can view my certifications and find my profile on the CNCF Golden Kubestronaut Map.

Why I decided to pursue Golden Kubestronaut

Personal recognition and representation: To represent Nepal in this space, as awareness of CNCF and open source is still limited in my country.
Community recognition: Visibility at events like KubeCon + CloudNativeCon and KCDs, along with the cool jacket, bag, and other benefits.
Learning: Most importantly, the certifications gave me exposure to a wide range of tools. True expertise, however, comes from hands-on work, not just passing exams.

What comes next

The certification grind stops here. There is nothing left in the catalogue that would meaningfully change what I know, and collecting badges for their own sake does not interest me. What comes next is contribution, maintaining the projects I work on, continuing the work I started through mentorship, and helping more people from underrepresented parts of the community make the same climb.

To anyone reading this from a place with a small cloud-native community: it is realistic. I did this from Nepal, on a normal schedule, alongside a full-time job. I hope the number on the map grows next year, and I would like some of that growth to come from home.

If you are working toward Kubestronaut or Golden Kubestronaut and want help, feel free to reach out. I will always make time for it.

Learn more at cncf.io/training/kubestronaut.