Everyone in the job world says that experience is the most important thing. The problem with this is that a great deal of knowledge is gained outside of work. For example, I know people that have two years experience with Linux and then other people, like myself, who have none. I have a 1,000 times more knowledge in the area of Linux than the person who has two years experience. I've been asked many times how much experience I have. My gripe with this is that the question does never considers competence. How do you reconcile this type of discrepancy when applying and interviewing for jobs?

Count the time you spent invested into using and learning Linux as "experience."

If only that was possible. Then the company people would ask for documentation . Hard to make your own experience letter (slary slips etc).
Honestly, there is no workaround for this. Somehow get a toehold in _any_ company that deals with software and that possible can be misrepresented as _real_ work done

I agree with honeybadger, take any position that offer IT experience. Maybe even volunteer time to some charity organization, church, etc... There are things you'll learn at work that you will not at home. Of course that could be turned around also.

Keep trying and you'll get where you want to be. It may take longer than you would like, but you'll get there.

Flaming family ,ember for not supporting you choice ofsofware youuse is also detrimental as i know from a post from a few years back on this forum

huh???!!!

I think that given a broad band (band width) of competence, people would certainly prefer more experienced persons.,

Also it's got to do with the nature of the job.

What do you need Linux theory if you are going to work programming a front end - for example.

OK

Unfortunately this is something you cannot work around, a working environment is different from an educational environment.

I've been trying for over 5 years to get an IT job, even something like an entry level help desk job. It seems company's always want a minimum of 3 years experience. How do you get experience if no one will give you a chance? I have degrees in networking and information security, have worked independently, and a volunteered with Free Geek in Portland, OR in technical support, and still not even so much as an interview. I would think it was my resume, but I have gotten a lot of help with it. The IT field seems to have a ridiculously high barrier to entry. I'm to the point of just giving up and saying to hell with it.

I wonder about thaat too..

Experience is important, but also knowledge .

I'd take the person that has a little bit of both.

Knowledge for them to have an idea what to do in different situations, and experience so that they have seen more stuff that they don't teach in school.

"Book knowledge" is no comparison to "hands on" experience. Yes people with book knowledge may have more answers BUT can they work under pressure and can they achieve the same result as quickly as someone who has done it all before many times. The answer of course is no they can't.

I'm a mechanic by trade and last year my previous employer hired a mechanical engineer who on paper was absolutely brilliant with cars and machinery. He wasn't much younger than me, mid to late 30s I think, yet he could not do anything without alot of help because while he had plenty of subject knowledge he had no real experience. Even draining the engine oil seemed like a marathon effort for him.

I cordially invite several of the posters here, including the OP, to "stop belly-aching and start acting like a salesman."
If you are finding that people are rebuffing you because you have no experience, perhaps you should withdraw to a quiet place and consider just how you are coming across in the sales situation: To say that such a statement comes across as both supremely arrogant and supremely ignorant would be "most kind." You won't get anywhere trying to sell anything by insisting that the person who's doing the buying is ignorant and stupid for not instantly recognizing why he or she should buy it. It may never even occur to you that you are mocking the buyer and insulting him. Is it any wonder why they show you the door?

Instead, you have to take very careful stock of what it is you are selling, both its strengths and its inevitable deficiencies, and then look diligently for a situation where you might make the sale.

When asked about your experience, a reasonable response might be:

"Well, of course I am seeking an entry-level position because this would be the first job of my career in this, my chosen field." (The interviewer nods internally ... everybody on this planet can understand that. Plus, you've also suggested that you see it as an opportunity, as, of course, you should.) "Nevertheless, I have been working with Linux on my own time for more than two years, and I have in that manner acquired a good working knowledge of, for example, how to install and upgrade software on the Red Hat distro, how to configure a MySQL server, and how to set up virtual-hosts on Apache by direct editing of the configuration files." (Many people have done exactly the same. Therefore, you have your interviewer "on board" with you twice in a row.)

In this way, you have dealt with the sales objection, first by openly acknowledging it, then by using this to press a favorable counter-point. You are demonstrating why you feel that it would be an excellent business decision for him or her to buy your product.

My first job consisted of tearing paper off a line-printer and shoving it through a slot. (The only "personal computers" at that time were made by Altair, IMSAI, and SwTPC.) I did not care: I was inside the computer center. I was not very good at keeping my mouth shut, alas, but I did know enough to scrupulously ask permission to read every manual in the place, which I proceeded to do. Even though I might be staring directly at a keyboard at the time, I never knew what a single super-duper password was. In that manner I tried to earn the trust and the respect of people who, sure enough, became my co-workers for many years.

There are many excellent books on selling, and many of them are small, such as: The Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness. Or, the inevitable follow-up book: Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money. When you are trying to get a job, you are, fundamentally, selling. It's actually great fun, but first you have to learn how to do it.