Where it all began in Myanmar.
Fundamental IT Engineer โ the first real foundation.
An Asia-wide IT exam, the same as Japan's ๅบๆฌๆ ๅ ฑๆ่ก่ : computers, networks and programming.
๐ฏ Why it mattersMy ticket to Japan. To work here as an engineer I needed FE plus at least JLPT N2.
The language that would open the door to Japan.
Japanese Language Proficiency Test. N5 is the easiest, N1 the hardest. N2 is business-level Japanese.
๐ฏ Why it mattersThe other half of my ticket to Japan. Most Japanese companies ask for N2 or higher to hire foreign engineers.
First cloud certification, plus AWS Academy Cloud Developing.
The entry-level exam for Amazon Web Services (AWS), which runs a huge part of the internet.
๐ฏ Why it mattersProves cloud basics for junior cloud and support roles. My first step toward AWS Solutions Architect.
Also Spring Core & Data, Microsoft 365 Copilot.
GitHub is where developers keep and share code: repositories, branches, pull requests.
๐ฏ Why it mattersAlmost every dev team works on GitHub. It shows I can collaborate on code from day one.
Crossed the sea. New country, new language every day, new career. The biggest branch on this tree.
I moved from Myanmar to Japan to work as an engineer.
๐ฏ Why it mattersA new chapter of my life, with far more opportunities to grow, in work and as a person. Everything above was built here.
Spring MVC, REST controllers, Node.js + Express APIs.
Spring Boot is a Java tool for building servers. REST APIs are how apps talk to each other.
๐ฏ Why it mattersJava is used widely in Japanese enterprise and banking systems, so this opens back-end developer work.
Developing back-end apps.
Node.js runs JavaScript on servers, and Express makes building web servers simple. A course by IBM.
๐ฏ Why it mattersBack-end and API development for web services and startups.
Sรญmbolo ยท Flutter and Laravel.
Flutter makes iPhone and Android apps from one code base. Laravel is a PHP tool for websites.
๐ฏ Why it mattersThe start of my mobile developer career. Before this, I was only a web developer.
Certified Kubernetes Administrator โ the first hands-on K8s exam.
Kubernetes runs apps across many servers automatically. The CKA is a 2-hour hands-on exam: you fix real systems.
๐ฏ Why it mattersKubestronaut 2 / 5. The most-asked Kubernetes certificate for infrastructure, SRE and platform engineer jobs.
Kubernetes & Cloud Native Associate. The Kubestronaut journey begins.
The entry exam for Kubernetes and cloud native technology.
๐ฏ Why it mattersKubestronaut 1 / 5. Proves the basics for DevOps and cloud infrastructure paths.
Turning point
A Singapore-based platform teaching cloud native, DevSecOps and automation in Burmese. It showed me what infrastructure is: Kubernetes, Grafana and many more technologies. Every Kubernetes leaf above grew from here.
A paid class that turned me from building apps to building infrastructure: the systems that keep apps running.
๐ฏ Why it mattersThe start of my infra career path. Every Kubernetes certificate above grew from here.
Kubernetes & Cloud Native Security Associate.
Kubernetes security basics: how to protect clusters and apps from attacks.
๐ฏ Why it mattersKubestronaut 4 / 5. Supports security-focused cloud and DevSecOps work.
Working toward a bachelor's degree while working.
A Japanese university that teaches fully online.
๐ฏ Why it mattersA bachelor's degree while working full-time. Some large companies and jobs abroad require one.
Certified Kubernetes Application Developer โ finished every question in time.
A hands-on exam about building and running apps on Kubernetes.
๐ฏ Why it mattersKubestronaut 3 / 5. For developers and DevOps engineers who ship apps to the cloud.
ๆฎ้็ฌฌไธ็จฎ้่ปขๅ ่จฑ (AT) โ driving in Japan.
Japan's regular car license, for automatic cars: written test plus driving test.
๐ฏ Why it mattersFreedom to travel anywhere in Japan, for life and for work.
The highest level. 109 / 180.
The highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test: near-native. The pass mark is 100 / 180.
๐ฏ Why it mattersOpens work done fully in Japanese: client meetings, documents, leading Japanese teams.
Designing real cloud architectures.
Designing systems on AWS that are secure, fast and don't break.
๐ฏ Why it mattersOne of the most-requested cloud certificates, for cloud engineer and solutions architect roles.
Three languages: Burmese, Japanese, English.
A standard English test. C2 is the top level on the international CEFR scale.
๐ฏ Why it mattersProves I can work in English: global teams, international companies, English documentation.
At a large company, building on everything below.
The platform team of a large company runs the cloud systems everything else depends on.
๐ฏ Why it mattersMy career goal, where every skill on this tree comes together.
All four skills, one grammar book at a time.
An international English test. Band 7 means a "good user", a strong level.
๐ฏ Why it mattersRecognized for study and work abroad, and by global companies.
Tokyo Online University.
My bachelor's degree starts in April 2027, studying online while working.
๐ฏ Why it mattersFills the one gap in my profile: a university degree.
The final boss. One exam away from all five.
Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist, the hardest of the five.
๐ฏ Why it mattersCompletes Kubestronaut, the CNCF title for passing all 5 Kubernetes exams. Plus the famous jacket.
Every leaf is a step I took. Every month the tree grows taller.