HI
I m a newbie to linux and want to learn linux to get a job.
Actually i want to get a job in an isp,because in my city there are not much organizations that uses linux,as i belong to a developing area.Only isp's are using linux.
This is my moto. I have purchased redhat linux7.0 and am planning to install.
Plz guide me about what version and distrib of linux should i purchased and what kind of certifications will be suitable to get this kind of job.
Plz help me setting my carieer.
Thanx

I'm an experienced newbie, but anyway here's what I can tell you:
I think choosing the right distro is up to you, kind of like test driving a car; Except you can either buy the distro in boxed-set (which includes support, printed documentation, etc) or if you have the patience or the bandwidth you can download one from here
I suggest you read up on some of the how-tos first and get comfortable with the way linux works (also come here as often as you can to get help). Then I you can you can start learning to get a certification. A good place to start with certifications would be here.

Also to add, certs are nice to have, but experience is always a plus. don't expect to get a job right away just because you have a certification and passed a test.

Hi,
not sure exactly what kind of job you're after, but basically you want to get a general idea working with Linux. You don't have to pick an specific distro, unless you really want to. As long as you can see the whole picture you'll be fine working with RedHat, Mandrake, SuSE, etc...and don't forget, get your hands on the keyboard and start exploring Linux.
Good luck!

while i suggest that: ask yourself if you have this interest to learn linux, if yes, then you will make it someday. Good luck!

Man, this is an uplifting thread, reminds me why I love Linux

I would suggest taking a month where you don't use any other OS other than Linux. That way you are forced to learn the everyday things that pop up and how to fix them.

I ditched WinXP for Mandrake to learn Linux, and really learned a ton in a month. After all that time, I learned I wanted more power and knowledge... so I ditched Mandrake to look for other distros. I didn't take any classes, nor did I purchase any books. Hands on is the way to go (at least for me in a business environment). Now I run 2 linux servers, as well as my Linux workstation at home and couldn't be happier.

A new co-worker who is RHCE in several areas always asks me how to do certain things now when it comes to server maintenance and whatnot. Seems he knows the theory but lacks the experience. All the theory in the world won't help you if you never done the jobs first-hand.

P.S. I didn't even know this forum existed in my one-month learning spree. If I had known, it would have been a lot quicker to learn. I ended up doing everything by reading online manual pages. Ouch.

One month hey, so how many hours of each day does that equal. I'd feel like a zombie if stayed at a computer for than 5 hours each day straight for a month.

I started linuxing like 5 years ago, back than I used Caldera's distro, couldn't get the handle on this one and became a totally windows boy rarely booting into linux (back than I switched from Calderea to RH 6.x) now I am totally devoted to linux, no more windows at my home, only at work I am stuck behind Windows NT workstation to telnet into UNIX servers . I'll tell you that after all the years I spent behind linux box I gained a lot and still I am missing a lot. Now I want to get a job as a computer system security advisor or consultant, and guess what? I've learned that the best auditing, cracking, scanning, sniffing tools are only available on *NIX's. So go ahead and learn, honestly I think it'd be a bumpy learning curve, but once you got a handle on something it'd stick for a long time if you wouldn't take it for granted.

I found using Slackware, which is supposed to be the most unix-like distribution, to be a lot of help. Just because you have to configure most everything yourself you get to learn how unix or linux really works. I have learned more from Slackware in two weeks than from RedHat and Mandrake in almost one year. Try reading a lot, get some books and look for documentations. Before posting any messages try doing everything by yourself, look for how-tos and docs, and then when you really think you cant do anything else, post messages. People here are the best, everybody will be happy to help, and even thou I still consider myself a newbie, I try to help with what I can. And remember to play around with linux, only by experimenting you get to learn.