Passed Linux+...now what?
 

hi guys,

i know very well your attitudes towards certifications (discussed it with you in another thread)...this isnt the point...i did linux+ course material and passed the exams...really enjoyed it...and although i am still very green feel that i have definitely learned something useful...at the moment im busy playing with my systems and setting things up while i decide what to do next...again i know your views on certs...for me its just nice to reward myself and test myself on the knowledge...anyway...

im thinking about doing RHCE next...but i know it costs big bucks!!! i came across an interesting article that talked about Linux Foundations LFCS or LFCE certification program...they were saying it was good training for free...and that the exams were very reasonable too...

has anybody done this? or does anybody know about it? would it be very similar to lpic1 / linux+ am i better off doing something else instead?

any info appreciated

Hi...

I wasn't in on that conversation but I don't see anything wrong with certifications, I wouldn't mind having a couple myself, including the one you just received. :)

But you work in the industry though...do you?

Would be nice to have your own goal to reach.....

Yes, I'm a repair technician and can build systems (although I don't know everything.) I don't work on Macs though. ;)

Regards...

Do you work with linux everyday ardvark71??? or are you mostly windows based?

Only on the forums. :p

Although I have Lubuntu installed on my laptop (Vista on my Desktop,) almost all my work with my clients involves some version of Windows, usually XP or 7, sometimes Vista and 8. On very rare occasions, I do install a distribution of Linux for a customer, when Linux can fit their needs and/or Windows is unaffordable. :)

Regards...

I'm also not sure what you mean by "attitude towards certifications."

Mine is this: the presence of a cert proves that someone has knowledge and has put in some effort to learn, but the absence of a cert proves nothing--the most accomplished Linux user I know personally has no certs because he has learned by doing for over 30 years (Unix, then Linux).

I've known Linux users who have no certifications and can run rings about some persons who do have certifications, but certifications can be very valuable if you are looking for employment involving Linux. If you are looking to embellish a resume, the RHCE is easily the most valuable cert in the eyes of potential employers.

Congratulations on the Linux+, by the way.

Just to clarify what I wrote you (have your own goal): I have never had any certificate, just a few one-day-long courses, a clearcase admin and a sun troubleshooting certificate. Even, I did not learn programming in secondary school and in university at all, just by myself and I have still no paper about any related <three and/or four letter courses>.
But I work for 20 years now with different OSs like windows, HP-UX, SUN but nowadays mainly linux: debian, suse and others. I used to use a few languages like perl, python, c, c++, java, sql and others.... (remember, without certificates).
The only thing what was needed is: I was trying to solve every problem I got. And I learnt more than the others next to me and now usually they ask me to help...
So again, the goal is not to have certificates, but do what you really want to do - and do it better than the others. As far as I see you have no idea how to continue. That means (at least for me) you have no goal to reach and therefore you can have no success.

i agree with you...im really in the pursuit of knowledge...certs are secondary to me...but its hard to know exactly what to do with a linux server if your not in the working environment...i have a centos box which im learning amongst other things how to setup apache and host pages as well as SAMBA and a lot of other services...but you will never understand how powerful linux can be in a real production environment...without being there...thats why i hope one day my certs can help get my foot in the door...eventually

When, many years ago, I walked out with a college degree, that degree was already basically useless. However, I was also working at the college computer center, and continued to do so for several more years. That showed me an entirely-different, pragmatic perspective: the nuts-and-bolts realities of the systems that did registration, processed grades, dealt with parking-tickets, and ... the academic research concerns of various faculty members. (Including one most-interesting scholar who was studying spelling variations in printed Shakespearean sonnets!)

It also inspired an interest in teaching at community colleges, which I also did for quite a number of years.

"Getting a piece of paper," by itself, means nothing ... but it is a professionally-designed learning experience of which you can now "make of it what y-o-u will." It's significant that you decided to pursue it at all, and if y-o-u went to the effort to make it a profitable-to-you learning experience, that's what it will be.

On the other hand, if, having done it, you just say, "now what?" ... why did you do it at all?

A couple of suggestions

1: Answer questions on the forum. It will improve your problem solving skills even if the actual problem the OP is having isn't something you'll deal with in the commercial world.

2: Sundialsvcs is correct, what you see in a book and what you deal with on the shop floor are two different worlds so get a job where you work with this stuff routinely. You don't say where you are located but in most places there are job postings going up every day for Linux Admins. Look for entry level or near entry level work, read the job req carefully and brush up on anything mentioned, find out who you're interviewing with, what their company does, what products they support or deploy, do some homework on that technology and impress them in the interview. People are looking for administrators who are eager to learn, since every environment is unique, nobody knows the job prior to coming through the door.

3: Red Hat certifications are nice but they only mean you've studied enough to pass a test. That said, since red-hat is commonly used, following a red hat study guide, especially for a new person who doesn't have a lot of experience in the different distributions, can be very handy. Red Hat certified interviewers tend to pelt you with Red Hat exam questions when they interview you and they expect you to answer with what's in the book, not what works.

Good luck, getting started can be a bit of a pain, but it's a good career for a guy who is interested in continually learning.

Congratulations on your achievement!!!

Regarding attitude towards certifications I will align my views with frankbell - If certification comes with knowledge when I say knowledge I mean real knowledge not the one which is good enough to clear the exam. I have seen people bragging about their scores in certification examination but when you ask them a very basic question they are off.

It is good that you are interested in certification just make sure that you back it up with your knowledge (no mugging).

RHCE ofcourse has got a good value in the market. Yes they are expensive but if you will put in your effort then both your knowledge and certification will pay off in the end. I haven't heard of LFCS or LFCE, it will be good if you could share the link.

I am aware of LPI examination which are distribution independent. I have read it somewhere that if you clear LPIC 1 then you are also eligible to get NCLA certification (Novell Certified Linux Administrator).

If you want to pursue your career as Linux professional I would say master yourself with either RPM based distributions or with DEB based distribution. If you can do both it will be very good. Most of the companies either go with RPM based / proprietary ones like Red Hat / SuSE, non proprietary RPM based like CentOS, or they will go with DEB based like Debian or Ubuntu. Good thing about open source (non proprietary) is that you can customize it according to your needs.

I am not at all saying that you shouldn't be playing around with other distributions. It is always good to have fun with other Linux distribution but first make a selection, master it and then move on.

You said you have got CentOS on your machine, if that machine is powerful you can go with setting up virtual machines on top of that for practicing topics like clustering, satellite (use spacewalk), setting up your own website etc.

All the best with your studies!!!

thanks all...its difficult on your own when you dont work in the environment...im just trying to get the right things under my belt to have the best shot...the journey continues :-)

Not sure if it helps, but maybe try offer yourself under the usual pay to a company using linux. Manager like cheap people.