The Value of a Red Hat Linux Certification

**willdafrog** · 07-20-2006, 10:17 PM

Hi Guys,

Thought you might be interested in this free e-seminar. For those of us who carry a Linux Cert this will be great to find out where things are going.

Willdafrog

Here is the link:

http://www.certmag.com/articles/temp...2152&zoneid=76

**Outlaw** · 07-20-2006, 10:39 PM

There's some things missing from the poll:
What's your salary without the cert
Do you feel that not having one is a hindrance
Do I give a **** about Linux certs

I have a fairly good feel for the Linux admin job market right now, and I'm finding that I won't be paid more for a cert. I will be paid more for my experience.

Why get a cert? It has its place in some instances, such as no production Linux experience and gunning for an entry level position. The other I can think of is if you're a consultant or field engineer who's employer or you yoursef need to market your talents. Some clients want to see that when a team is built or a consultant is brought on for a project.

Downside is maintaining the currency of the cert. But I say that once you get your foot in the door and get the experience, omit the certs so they will not hinder your ability to get the next gig, unless you enjoy maintaining them. Experience matters most at this point, with measurable results.

I'm humoring you, though

**willdafrog** · 07-20-2006, 11:13 PM

Hi Outlaw,

You make a lot of great points there. I do agree, but what about others that have no real-world experience yet. Do you think a Cert comes in handy in that situation?

**Outlaw** · 07-20-2006, 11:26 PM

Your poll is tailored to someone already in the field asking how much they make with their cert. However, I did address your question above, saying that is an instance where it may help. But my advice to anyone without the production experience, looking for a Linux admin job, is to also get involved in some Linux projects on your own that you can tack onto your existing resume. Something like: Set up a blog for myself or a friend based on drupal running on fedora core 5 and created some custom PHP modules. Or run a home network consisting of Linux based WAP with backend storage using Samba or NFS.