[CentOS] Job opportunities for Linux. [OT] -- certifications

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Sun, 2005-08-21 at 23:23 -0700, Steven Vishoot wrote:
> Ok now i have another question for all wise people out
> there. Would it be adviseable/worthwhile for me to get
> a certification in Red Hat. Maybe as a RHCT would love
> to get RHCE, but i am thinking realistic. :-)
> 1. would spending this money help me get a job any
> faster or a better chance of a job.
> 2. i know i have the knowledge of linux, or going this
> approach wont matter in getting a job and i would just
> be wasting money.
> All opinions will be greatly appreciated. 

I loathe most of the certification industry.  It's either a money making
or product-selling scheme in most cases.

With that said, I have to say Red Hat at least does hands-on testing,
and it's fairly good.  LPI at least is a non-profit and they don't make
money on training at all, which is how most other "vendor-neutral"
programs do.  So both approaches are fairly ethical and good IMHO.

The "job" aspect of certification isn't really a matter of proving your
worth to prospective bosses.  It's really an issue of the administrative
BS of the (at least US) business world now.

If you're looking for a job, the HR departments put your resume in the
trash unless you have those little letters they use as a filter.  If you
can find a job based on personal reference, it helps the "HR filter"
game.  So if you're good, then you can often by-pass the certification
non-sense.  In fact, I'd argue you want to work for a company that
doesn't hire people on credentials.

But as a consultant, I quickly found that no matter what, I had to have
the letters.  Apparently an engineering degree and the highest
professional recommendations were not enough for procurement/contracts
departments at companies (especially larger ones).  In that case, I
rippled off about 40 exams over two sets of 3 months -- not something I
recommend anyone else do for pure cost considerations (over $7,000 in
just exam fees -- not including travel in a few cases, any reference
books to get the "vendor answer", etc...), let alone the re-
certification requirements (which is killing me right now).

So it really matters what kind of job you want.  If it's just a
permanent job, and you can get passed the HR department (or maybe they
are small enough they don't have one), then it doesn't matter.  But if
you're into contracts and other things, especially with larger firms, I
found I couldn't avoid it.

As far as LPI v. Red Hat, I honestly recommend both unless you know a
company is going to be a Red Hat shop for sure, then the latter.  Of
course there is also Novell, but Novell highlights the LPI as a
"recommendation", so it can often sell to Novell shops as well.


-- 
Bryan J. Smith     b.j.smith at ieee.org     http://thebs413.blogspot.com
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The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if
you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman