Linux Certifications - Computers - Certification

Professional Computer Certification

Professional computer certification documents you completing the steps and acquired the knowledge to perform at a specified level as an IT professional. Certification proves to clients, co-workers and employers that your expertise is confirmed by a recognized industry organization. Today, virtually every technology professional can benefit from a well-chosen certification. Becoming certified can increase your salary, enhance your skills and make your job more satisfying.

There are several specific situations where I've found computer certification in general to be of benefit. By requiring you to study to pass an exam, even just a multiple choice test, a certification course provides better knowledge retention than the traditional corporate training course where one simply tries to stay awake for up to a week to get one's ticket punched. Another is where you have related experience and are moving (or were moved) into a new environment. In my case I was re-orged from a Unix-centric to a Windows-centric IT environment. Getting a Microsoft System Administrator cert definitely helped come review time. Finally, if you have a discrimination issue, such as the common one that as an older tech worker you're skills aren't up to date. If push comes to legal shove human relations people, lawyers, and judges do take evidence of continuing education very seriously.

Why a Linux certification?

The number of job ads calling for some knowledge of Linux has risen by nearly 100% over the last year. On the other hand the number of applicants choosing Linux certification hasnt risen proportionally. Part of the reason for this anomaly is that employers generally havent put much faith in Linux certifications and therefore there has been little demand for them. Also, many of the Linux jobs advertised are for more senior and technical roles such as programmers and developers skills that far outweigh the level that are tested on some Linux certification tracks. All that appears to be changing however, with Linux becoming ever more mainstream and people with Linux skills becoming more in demand.

Will Linux certification land me a job?

While actual work experience with Linux or any computer technology will always count for so much more than any piece of paper, gaining Linux certification certainly wont do your credentials any harm. The demand for credentials in everyfield, computer-related or not, is increasing and one has to keep up with the pack. Having that certification ticket punched may not make your resume stand out in a positive way, but not having it might make it stand out in a negative one.Large bureaucratic IT organizations take them more seriously than groovy startups if that's the environment you're looking to work for.

Which Linux certification?

There are several options to choose from and, given the amount of time and money that youll need to invest into gaining your Linux certification, youll want to be sure that you make the right certification track choice to begin with.

For those new to Linux then the entry-level, vendor-neutral certifications offered by CompTIA and LPI the best choice. However, these involve only multiple-choice tests and as a result have rather less credibility with technical managers.

If you are already working with Linux then one of the proprietary Linux certifications (Red Hat, Novell) would be better suited. Like the respected Cisco certifications these certs involve rigorous hands-on practical exercises under severe time constraints and have much more credibility with technical managers. They are also more expensive, especially if you have to retake the test, as almost 50% of Red Hat wannabes fail the first time around.

Given that there are numerous distributions of Linux available one problem of Linux certifications is that there is no central organization that can set the certification standards and ensure that the candidates meet those standards. What this meansis that you have quite a degree of freedom to choose which certification track is right for you, but you equally need to be sure that the one you choose will meet your end needs. As with any other certification track that you take, Linux certifications can be taken by way of instructor led courses or you can undertake a regime of self-study on your own. Dont get too bogged down on deciding which distribution is better or is more likely to result in a job at the end of the day. While there are obvious differences between the various Linux distributions a degree of competency in one flavour will set you up to transition to the others if need be at a later stage.

John Reece





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