Re: Job searching?

["Bryan J. Smith" <b.j.smith@ieee.org>]

On Sat, 2006-01-28 at 09:37 -0800, Derek Agar wrote:
> As for LPI cert, how many tests are there?
> What are they like?  (ie: written or lab, how long do you
> have?)  How much do they cost?  What material is covered?
> What books/training would you recommend?

Although it's now dated (almost 3 years), see my old article (re-posted
to my blog):  
  http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2003/05/linux-certification-comptia-lpi-and.html  

> My goal for 2006 is to pick up a cert.  I am not sure
> if it should be LPI, RHCE, or Novell's Linux cert.

Well, the certification industry is largely a combination of vendor's
pushing product or independent organizations making money on training.
It's rather sickening to see at times.

Now in the Linux world, at least there's a little more sanity.  Red Hat
really delivers some _good_ training, and they test in 100% lab
environments.  It's not perfect, but if you're going to have a vendor-
aligned exam, Red Hat definitely did something that was better than just
another cert.

And the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is really a saint in the
certification world.  It's not because they are just vendor neutral.
They do _not_ make money on training and licensing -- that's is totally
_unheard_of_ in the industry.  It means LPI has _no_ money for
marketing, and they aren't making a dime.  But they are self-sufficient,
because they are largely a volunteer organization, with only a few paid
employees (who are the essential administrative types).

With regards to Novell, I'm glad they took over (and retired) the former
[SuSE] Certified Linux Professional and replaced it with their own.  The
original SuSE exam was "rushed to market," and it was clearly lacking QA
(even before you quickly realized it wasn't originally developed in
English).  Novell has switched to it's typical practicum approaches, of
which they've had years to perfect.

Now I'm not going to lie, the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) is the
most marketable in most companies, at least those with HR departments
and management who are ignorant of Linux.  Ironically enough, it's
largely because 75% assume it's the equivalent of the Microsoft
Certified Systems Engineer (MSCE) out of pure name recognition.  Another
25% want it because of how the test is administered, lab-based, although
I don't totally agree with the overall format (but it's still better
than the majority of others).

If you do _not_ prepare for the newer RHCE format as of January 2003 (it
was much easier to pass pre-2003), you will get your assed kicked.  So
much to do in so little time (at least on one section, the other you
typically finish early).  That's why most people take the week-long
crash course with the exam on Friday.  I took the exam "cold turkey" on
Friday-only and I barely passed with a 96%, because I only scored 77% on
a compulsory sub-section (that required a 70% -- yes, a 93% can be
_failing_ if you miss one compulsory sub-section that requires 70% or
even 100% in many cases).

But for starters, the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is definitely a
good set.  You should find the 101 exam easily passable with some
experience, although the 102 should be attempted after a good 12-18
months of corporate experience.  That will net you LPI Certified Level 1
(LPIC-1).  LPI has a lot of respect outside of the US, and there are now
a lot of certified people (myself included) who are making LPI more and
more known.  And Novell recommends the LPIC-1 before attempting their
CLP.

-- Bryan

P.S.  I was 1 of 5 people paid by LPI to help finalize the current 101
and 102 LPIC-1 exams.

-- 
Bryan J. Smith   mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org
http://thebs413.blogspot.com
------------------------------------------
Some things (or athletes) money can't buy.
For everything else there's "ManningCard."



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