I currently develop for the Lotus Notes platform, and have for several years. I've been stuck in a Windows world and want to get out. I've setup a Fedora Core 2 box at home and have started to learn my around Linux. I'd like to become more familiar with Linux, then learn how to develop in it with the idea of switching to Linux development and away from Notes in the future. Any ideas what the best learning path to accomplish this would be?

Thanks.

LPI 1 and 2, then take a security related cert.

Read, read more and then read more.. all along while messing with your Linux system

I'm lining my son up to do a
L+ course
and then probably
Novells Linux Tech course
followed by the Novell Linux Engineer

and a Red Hat course probably too

Then he can come around and fix up my network

The certified engineers courses are worth big bucks

live long and prosper
floppy

Certificates are not that important. What matters is what you know. Try writing something similat to the projects you have already done, but with different tools. It can result in a good tool and you beeing familiar with new environment.

I'd have to agree, experience and proof of knowledge is better than any certificate. I see certificates as just another way to prove to yourself of your knowledge, but feel most companies seeking potential employees rather go with real world experience over any certificate.

Well for akempo, what Trickykid and Mara say is probably true.

But for a 17 yr old, Employers are definately looking for certificates to the point where its getting ridiculous. I have a friend in the Local Chamber of Commerce who was having a conversation with an employment agency guy, who was telling him that he had to deal with employers looking for young people with drivers licences who were too young to own one. The employers are looking for 17 yr olds with all the certs in the world, at no expense to the employer, and with"20" years experience.

Trickykid said
I'd have to agree, experience and proof of knowledge is better than any certificate.

yes thats trueand I couldnt agree more, and many certificates arent worth the paper they are printed on. But this world is fast losing its mind and demanding certs for everything. I have another friend who teaches a certificate in cleaning for goodness sake. Holy cow batman - surely you can either clean or you cant, but no, employers are asking for certificate III in cleaning, which you provide at your own expense.

Trickykid said
but feel most companies seeking potential employees rather go with real world experience over any certificate.

All I can say is I hope thats true in your part of the world and for your childrens sake, stays that way. Cos it aint like that here.

Having said all that, akempo why dont you go talk to some employers in the field you're trying to break into and see what they actually want before you decide on a course of action.

live long and prosper everyone
floppy

what floppy said. You have to be pretty damn impressive if you have no certs, to get a job over the guy who has all the certs in the world, even if he knows nothing.

Agreed. Certs get you past HR, experience get's you past the people that work it.

My 2 cents: Your resume will get you the interview. Your technical knowledge gets you the job.

It's true that if you Email your resume to "hr @ company.com" and the HR people have instructions to screen out anyone without X, Y, or Z, you could be disqualified by someone who is only following direction. The heck with this - go over their heads. Just contact the company, find out who the head of Engineering/Info Systems/Network Admin/etc/etc, and send your resume to him/her.

OT side comment: if you are looking for a gig, keep in mind that your resume is the one and only aspect of the job hunting process that is entirely within your control. You can take as much time as you want composing the resume, proofreading it, editing it, etc, etc, and naturally there aren't any deadlines. You can work on it for 2 days or 2 weeks or 2 months, either way, when it's done, presumably it's perfect from your point of view. Therefore, when I get the resume, I treat it as an example of the very best work you are capable of doing. If it comes to me with spelling errors, coffee stains, scribbled comments, etc, etc, the only reaction I'll have is that you are lazy, a slob, and scatterbrained (respectively). Seeing resumes like this is a complete waste of my time as well as yours and will cause me to hurl your paper into the trashcan with extra enthusiasm.

Don't be this person. Instead, let your resume introduce you as a serious, forward thinking, professional. I think that certs can be helpful, but if you ask me, the most important thing in landing a gig is being able to confidently discuss your capabilities and interests to the company you are meeting with. If the company shares an equally positive view of you, I think it's safe you say that you've got the job. Good luck with it either way -- J.W.

Thank you all for your comments. I will likely study towards at least one certification, whether that's L+ or LPIC is still open, but I also plan on doing development on it on my own as well, more likely LAMP/Jython/Python at this point, although I see myself picking up C sometime down the road as well. As has been pointed out, a cert will make it more likely that I'll get past HR, and any experience I pick up will help me with the tech people. Since I do side work outside my 9-5, I'll be able to get some experience on the platform working for my clients and possibly developing a little freeware on the side. I just see where Notes/Domino is headed, and I don't think I want to go there, but I do want to go where Linux is going.

Thanks.

Only if the other people applying don't have a sheepskin.

I have a college degree also. I used the fact that I was going to college to help get my foot in the door at my first IT job 5+ years back.

Just a general solution as opposed to a specific one:

Certs are getting less and less important. They can help you get your first IT job (A+ did it for me). Since you seem to have some really great experience (Lotus Notes) you won't need any certificates. Make sure you do what you love. When you do what you love you tend to get very good (if not "elite") at it. When you are that good, there is generally a lot of cash waiting for you. Just make sure you don't do it for the money though and you'll be successful. It's a paradox, ain't it?