Is Red hat certification important for becoming Kernel developer or System programmer
 

I am very much interested into operating system stuff, i am completing my graduation in computer science now.

Is RHCSA OR RHCE important if I want to get job in kernel development or as System programmer?

Or will it just be my + point in my resume?

No it is not.

They are good for system administration. Linus openly admits to being a terrible administrator of systems.

I heard in at least one talk the kernel devs said that if you submit five patches to the linux kernel (and they get accepted I assume) that you'll get offered a job. Basically just do it. Learning coding by academic means is just about the most boring way to learn it. Recalling my mainframe teacher saying, "if you ever have trouble sleeping", holds up the JCL book, "Just read this book".

Hi aniketxt1033 and welcome to LQ.

Unsure if you mean you are starting, or by saying "completing" that you are close to graduation.

I feel the points made by Shadow_7 are highly relevant. For me it is less about someone's resume and instead what they have done and can do. I fully understand a new college hire has less experience, however the thing which sticks out severely in my eyes when evaluating them are the ones who have done internship or projects within their field of study. And when I ask them about it, they go on very excitedly and can talk about it all day, and it is a technical subject they do know well. Because that is the real world, where you do things no matter what tools or information you've been given. The people who have this additional experience stick out in a very positive sense.

Therefore if you can, find a professor to give you a special project in operating systems, so you can do a technical project with one and be able to talk profusely about your experience.

"Cultivate people who will speak well of you." Personal references, college professors, and so on.

Throughout my college years – never-mind ;) how many years ago – I worked in the "Academic Computing" department. I got involved in a lot of interesting projects, including a study of spelling variations in printed Shakespearean Sonnets, being done by the Poet-in-Residence. :jawa: And, I built up a tidy list of "people who would speak well of me." I parleyed that into a three year stint working on the staff of that University, still under the auspices of Academic Computing as well as Administrative Computing.

(Hint: "personal computers" were still toys at that point in time.)

This also taught me the critical importance of a good work ethic. I found that "it really mattered to me." And it still does. My word is still my bond. "You trust me, and that means everything." It's not just a paycheck. Not to me.

Keep your eyes wide open and look for opportunities. Your professors probably can point you in interesting directions within the surrounding community. If you have shown yourself to be a disciplined and professional student, "they undoubtedly know of Doors that they can Open for you." And if it happens to be a staff position at your college ... take it. :)

While I was still in school I was also self-employed as a database consultant. You can always figure it out after you sign a contract. Some weeks I'd make 5,000.00USD. Once back then I made 6,000.00USD in 20 hours converting a database from the proprietary AIMS format that ran on a proprietary Wang system, to Microsoft Access.

I was a published shareware author while still in school. I had my own website. I could walk the walk. I've never had a problem getting the kind of job I wanted.

I have had RHCSA for quite a while & just finshed up my RHCE this past year, been working in "Information Systems Security" for over 10 years (2005-2006 after college), and I've been using the RedHat's for almost 20 years (started into Linux with RHL & Slackware 6.0 - though now since Oct2012 I prefer Arch Linux as my main non-server OS/distro)... and I say: "No it is not" required or needed as well. Nice to have on the resume (or to challenge yourself), but that's about it. The knowledge is good if you take courses or go through the/a prep-guide, so I can advise that. Go through the "Linux Bible" on your own as well. But while the knowledge is important (and it is), the most important thing in the IT, Computer Programming, Network or Systems Administration, and Information Systems Security fields -hands down- is EXPERIENCE. Get out there and do the work - even if you start on your own or for a small company @ entry-level. And don't be missing or skipping out on work... work hard; be a person of character, honesty, & integrity, etc. Start getting that experience, look for opportunities, and work your way up. ;)

+10,
+100 ...

If there's one piece of solid advice you should listen to, it is Cyberjackal's comments right there.

If you regard these programs as a source of continuing education – as they are, whether you formally seek a certificate or not – this is always a good thing. In fact, "continuing education" is one reason why I teach.

Red Hat (like the others) hires professional instructional designers and works with truly-experienced professionals "out there in the field" to produce materials that truly are(!) of the highest quality. And, to their credit, they also maintain a contractual guiding-hand over all aspects of the delivery of their content. The prices they charge seem to be consistent with the overhead costs (and, small profit) of doing so.

I don't think that the OP, a new college graduate, has need of these things at this time. But, "education is an investment that you make in yourself." (Whether you are "taking" it, or "giving," or both.)

After working with acquaintances in a class training for CompTIA I notice most of them do as little as they can so they can just pass the exam thinking that it'll somehow help them. If you go through your exams like that then it definitely wont help you, you have to read and understand ALL the material (every last bit). You may land a job because of the cert but I don't see how you can possibly keep that job as soon as they realize you have no clue what you're doing? That's just my 2c.

Thank you so much guys. I really appreciate all of your views. Thank you Shadow_7 and Cyberjackal for giving me references, I'll order those books.

And yes Shadow_7 submitting patches for linux kernel would get me job, that will be the best biggest goal I'll acheieve. I will start taking self-study on this.

I have a question, I am a fresher in technical world.

I don't see companies hiring fresher for kernel developers or system programmer, they need minimum 5-10 years of experience.

Internship in any company is good option but it is upto 6months.

Can someone please guide me, what I need to do or what you guys have done after your gradution to get a job in Kernel development or system programming as a fresher.

I'm really worried because my seniors have dreamt of something else in technical life and they landed on something different like java programmer or in testing or techical support.

This are the good branches in job, however, the kid or the man inside me doesn't get satisfied with this. I get excited, when anything related to operating system comes in front of me. I love trying different linux and unix systems, also minix and plan 9. I've a collection of 48 operating systems.

I have a dream to build my own operating system.

I thought of Red hat certification becasue I felt if I complete this RHCSA RHCE courses, any company would like to hire me considering the grip I have over linux.

So guys please suggest,what step I should take now to get a job in kernel dev or system programming once I complete my graduation in next 10 months.

Also, suggest me good tutorials or books to gain a grip on professional working process for kernel development or system programmer in current world.

1. Get a job. Do a good job at it. Be effective. Be smart/intelligent, and never get complacent. Work towards bettering yourself everyday.
2. Continue side study to attain your goals if your primary job is not the ideal direction you wish it to be. Investigate alternatives within your workplace, leading towards the career direction you wish to head.
3. Consider that you likely will not have the opportunity to start out in what you consider to be your dream job, day #1, and that instead it would be a direction you'll be working towards for some period of time. To whit, the amount of time you've spent with formal training and instruction for an eventual career, while you've been attending school.
4. Consider also my advice that whatever career directions you consider to be your top level at this point and whatever career directions you consider to be non-choices, you may flip-flop or invert these preferences, or entirely change careers over a potentially very long time of your time in the working world.

A few things to note. If you've been going to school for a few years, and are soon to graduate, however you have done little except attend classes, this goes back to what I said in post #4 about new graduates and their experiences with projects.

Not trying to be negative or mean here, you haven't told any of us what you have been working on. What you have said is that you are very much enamored with operating systems. Great! Glad to hear that. Next you've also indicated that you've worked towards Redhat Certification. Well, sorry but to me that does not tell me you are heading to be a kernel developer, but instead it tells me you are heading to be an IT or systems person who will take care of configuring and supporting systems. However, perhaps as part of that you gain some experience as to how to configure and rebuild kernels.

I'm reading a lot of enthusiasm, and that is great, as well as appropriate for someone in your situation, but I'm also sort of reading that you're asking for a magic wand which can guarantee that your very next move brings you to exactly where you wish to go and I'm saying that it rarely works exactly this way. So I'm citing the examples of the time you've taken with training and how far you've traveled over those years as you've progressed in academia and potentially some practical experience as well.

So with my first advice in this reply, I'm really saying "Find job options", if you can't find exactly the job you wish or want, then find one which is close and provides potential to lead you where you want to go. And then continue to work at things to shape your career where you wish to take it.

I'm also saying that if you metaphorically stand there saying the equivalent of, "But guys! If I take <this class>, won't that guarantee me a job?!?", and "Where can I find a job since all the jobs I want require me to have worked 10+ years?!?", that this doesn't resonate well.

What does, or would resonate well would be something like:

1. During my school I worked the following internships where I ...
2. During my school I took on projects with various professors and I did ...
3. During my school I contributed to kernel.org and got ## patches accepted, and here they are.

Now IF your academic time does not have these sorts of additional items that you can cite which may make you stand out to employers, then I recommend you at least consider the first process I suggested, which is to find "a job", one related to your degree of study, and then following that first list some more where you work towards you goals. There is another factor here, and that's where I cited Cyberjackal's comments about working hard and with integrity. It is very normal for someone in your stage of life to have great enthusiasm, and it is also very normal for that all to work out great. There are possible situations where it can also happen in the direction of, "Got a job! Yay! Charge!!!!", and then 3-6 months later, "I hate Mondays! I hate my job! They take advantage of us! They don't pay me enough for this!"

I tend to sometimes say harsh things and thus cause the other person to get their feathers up. Sometimes a great thing. In other words, if I'm dead wrong about your school and school progress, then tell me + us here. Say something attune to "Hey! I DID do stuff at school! I did ...", because I'm actually trying to see if you did, whereas you haven't cited much beyond having taken an extra course of instruction for RHCE. I'm not insulting that action, I am questioning how you feel it has helped you with your goal of becoming a kernel developer, and I'm also asking what else you have done towards this goal.

EDIT: To more directly answer your question, the process above is exactly what I did. I was actually a very poor student. The main difference which really mattered with me was that I attended Northeastern University in Boston, MA back in the 80s and Coop was, and I believe continues to be, a fully comprehensive part of the curriculum. So I worked for one company over the course of 4 years during my school and grew from the Manufacturing department, to the R&D department, and eventually joined that company where I became an eventual Senior Engineer. Meanwhile I have done numerous things in my career, various technologies, and oddly enough, while my concentration was Electrical Engineering, it hasn't been until my current position starting about 20 years post graduation where I really started using all the EE training from college. Up until that point I had been a software only person. Meanwhile my intentions and desires upon leaving school were to be an antenna and signal modulation person. That's my point about career directions and desires. I'm quite happy with my career as it has gone, but it clearly did not go the directions I envisioned.