[kwlug-disc] Linux certs and employability

John Kerr johneddie.kerr at gmail.com
Mon Jul 29 21:45:53 EDT 2013


Hi everyone.

I would also pitch Linux to your employer. Find something that is being
done on Windows and pitch a Linux alternative. Learn on the fly, or your
employer may give you the financial or time resources to take the courses
that you need to know to get the job done.

Certification programs are fine but really, use it or lose it. Three years
can be an eternity in this business and if you are not using what you have
learnt within three years what you have paid big bucks for, may not be
valid even if you do remember most of it.

There are so many enterprise success stories out there that I do not
believe that pitching Linux to your employer would be as difficult now as
it use to be. Unless your employer / boss has msoft disease.

Best regards,

John




On Mon, Jul 29, 2013 at 8:41 PM, unsolicited <unsolicited at swiz.ca> wrote:

> Get a 2nd computer. Run Linux. Make it your main computer. None of the
> dual-booting nonsense. (Doesn't mean running a vm or wine on it doesn't
> have its place. PIMs come to mind.) Become VERY comfortable with the
> command line.
>
> I too would like to hear from people like John and Cedric. What's being
> used out there? Moreover, what's the larger segment of jobs - user support,
> or infrastructure support? Which do you (the 'employee') want to focus on?
>
> Not to start a flamewar (1), but my sense from this list is that linux on
> the desktop still isn't.
>
> Not to start a flamewar (2), but running at home vs in an enterprise, are
> vastly different beasties, particularly if your home desktop isn't the work
> desktop. (Home trouble tickets?)
>
> multi-premise management, RAID, disk arrays, blades, server farms,
> routing, firewalls, nic bonding, user maintenance (LDAP), server uptime,
> web (CMS?) & e-mail admin, backups, bootp, are all hard to live at home.
>
> I expect, largely, the principles are the same, regardless of the OS. Be
> comfortable at the keyboard, understand the principles underlying I.T.
> environments. If you understand the above at a Windows level, you're well
> on the way to doing so at a Linux level. Terminology and app specifics may
> change, but that's largely semantics.
>
> Don't mean to be a damper, but you rather have to live it than learn it.
> The OP's question is a good one - how to home prep oneself to get in the
> door to be able to live it?
>
>
>
> On 13-07-29 06:31 PM, CrankyOldBugger wrote:
>
>> I'm in the process of making the switch now.  I'm a Windows
>> MCSE/MCSA/MCITP/**MCwhoknowswhatelse, and I'm trying to learn Linux.
>>
>> I'm doing the CompTIA Linux+ route, because passing that cert will also
>> get
>> you your LPIC and Novell certs in one shot.  They're all Junior level
>> certs
>> but I think it's a good starting point.
>>
>> I agree that you should run Linux on your main desktop as part of the
>> learning experience, but I also agree that it's hard to stay there when
>> you
>> know you could do something much more quickly in Windows.  I'm guilty of
>> booting to Windows fairly regularly, I have to discipline myself more.
>>
>> On 29 July 2013 15:44, Digimer <lists at alteeve.ca> wrote:
>>
>>  On 29/07/13 15:23, Paul Nijjar wrote:
>>>
>>>  We got a request over the website feedback form from somebody who is
>>>> interested in getting into Linux administration. Here is part of the
>>>> email:
>>>>
>>>> ======
>>>> I am a Windows Admin but I always liked Linux and I really believe
>>>> that it is  time for me to do something about this.
>>>> Now, i would like you to tell me what courses I should take to become
>>>> a Linux Admin.
>>>> I use Linux on daily bases at home, I am pretty comfortable with it
>>>> but I would like to do more than using it at home. You know what I
>>>> mean.
>>>> ======
>>>>
>>>> I will write back to this person, but I am not sure what advice would
>>>> be helpful.
>>>>
>>>> Are there standard, good-quality certs that get people in the door?
>>>> People used to recommend the Red Hat certs. Is that still the case? Do
>>>> the LPI certs mean anything?
>>>>
>>>> Those who are in position to hire: what sorts of things are you
>>>> looking for in sysadmins? What path would help get this person from
>>>> where they are now (Windows admin, personal Linux experience) to a
>>>> place where you would consider hiring them as a Linux admin?
>>>>
>>>> - Paul
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I made the switch from Windows sysadmin to Linux sysadmin about ten years
>>> ago. The number one advice I give people is "switch your daily use
>>> laptop/desktop to Linux". Nothing teaches you faster than using something
>>> day in and day out.
>>>
>>> I had a couple false-starts when I tried dual-booting Windows/Linux
>>> because inevitably, I'd run into a learning curve annoyance and I'd just
>>> switch back to what I knew because I just wanted to get something done.
>>> Only after I went 100% Linux did the learning curve feel shallower than
>>> an
>>> OS install and I was finally able to get over those humps.
>>>
>>> As for how specifically to do this; That's a broader question. I don't
>>> have number, but I would guess that RHEL (and it's clones like CentOS)
>>> are
>>> the most common server distros out there, from a big-business
>>> perspective.
>>> Red Hat offers numerous certification options that are highly regarded in
>>> big business.
>>>
>>> I would not worry about jumping into certification on day 1 though. I
>>> would suggest installing and using Fedora (RHEL's "upstream") distro and
>>> just take time to play and get used to it. RHEL 7 will introduce a *LOT*
>>> of
>>> changes over previous RHEL releases, and it will be based on a Fedora
>>> 18/19
>>> hybrid, so it's a great place to start.
>>>
>>> After s/he's past the initial learning curve, then I would suggest
>>> looking
>>> at certification options. By that time, s/he will have a much better idea
>>> of what parts of Linux they find interesting. There are many, many
>>> different ways to be an admin and certifications are generally not super
>>> cheap. :)
>>>
>>> My $0.02
>>>
>>
>
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