Linux certifications

Nidz

I work as windows sys admin, and i am planning to study linux. which cert path should i choose?

BlackBeret

Linux+ is vendor neutral and entry level enough that it shouldn't be impossible, but not insanely easy. It also qualifies you for the LPIC 1 and Suse certifications. Most people take this path. There's also RHCSA, however that's going to be Red Hat specific. I see a lot more actual Linux admin jobs looking for RHCSA than Linux+.

If you want to learn Linux for your knowledge, I would study Linux+. If you want to get certified for a sys admin job, than I would switch gears to RHCSA for certification.

Remedymp

There is also Linux Foundation Certified System Admin and Linux Foundation Certified Engineer. Could be very beneficial with all the training available.

markulous

BlackBeret wrote: »

Linux+ is vendor neutral and entry level enough that it shouldn't be impossible, but not insanely easy. It also qualifies you for the LPIC 1 and Suse certifications. Most people take this path. There's also RHCSA, however that's going to be Red Hat specific. I see a lot more actual Linux admin jobs looking for RHCSA than Linux+.

If you want to learn Linux for your knowledge, I would study Linux+. If you want to get certified for a sys admin job, than I would switch gears to RHCSA for certification.

Agreed. My Linux+ is a decent cert and was by no means a cake walk, but RHCSA likely has a better ROI if you're needing it to get into a Linux work environment. Best way is to just look at sys admin or linux admin jobs around your area to be sure.

UnixGuy

RHCSA then RHCE. I wouldn't bother with anything else. They're challenging, well regarded, and you will learn a lot.

Nidz

Then RHCE will be my next goal, but it will be easy to work on other distros as well?

UnixGuy

Learn one distro (Red Hat is good, used a lot in production), get good at it, and then it's really easy to figure out the difference between other distros.

coffeeluvr

What @UnixGuy said is Spot On!

Chinook

@Nidz. There is nothing wrong with anything Red Hat, but you'll need their training & it's rather expensive. Yes, Red Hat certs appear on job boards more frequently but it's less about demand & more about who is advertising (namely enterprise sized corporations).

"Entry level" Linux jobs in a major corporation are very uncommon. An easier way in the door is to work at a web orientated company or a small cloud provider. They traditionally have used Debian products because of the free factor (yes, I know CentOS is free).

Learn Linux, Apache/Nginx and BASH scripting & write LPIC 1 & maybe 2 (2 puts focus on Apache) then go job hunting. When training do everything in command line and I mean everything. If you need to copy a folder in KDE, don't. Use the command line instead. And when you feel more comfortable, switch to a distro like Slackware where things aren't auto configured.

If you don't have them, pick up some VMware skills as well. Always a good plus. And so is anything Storage related.

VinnyCisco

Is Red Hat Training at a Red Hat certified provider a requirement before taking the exam? (Such as it is with VMware?) I have been working around Linux through the years, although I am a Windows admin. I am pretty much the go to guy when they need something on the Linux side when the usual Linux guy is not around. I am eventually moving into a strictly Linux Only role in the next 18 months. I would like to go straight for the RHCSA first, since I have skills that meet the Linux + objectives, already down.

Chinook

VinnyCisco wrote: »

Is Red Hat Training at a Red Hat certified provider a requirement before taking the exam? (Such as it is with VMware?)

Actually, in my post above I did a lousy job at communicating and said "you'll need their training". That's not the case. The kernel in my brain must need recompiling. What I had meant to say is that the exams are practical/hands on. You have to do actually tasks on a real network. And no internet or books are permitted. You pretty much need real world experience to get it.

VinnyCisco

Got it. Thanks. Would much rather go that route instead. Thanks for clarification.

nster

I'm likely going the MCSA, CCNA + VCP route to get a Systems Admin type job, would learning Linux open any doors for me? I've only messed around with it because of some classes in school but I don't really know much about Linux except knowing how to follow instructions from google lol

Verities

nster wrote: »

I'm likely going the MCSA, CCNA + VCP route to get a Systems Admin type job, would learning Linux open any doors for me? I've only messed around with it because of some classes in school but I don't really know much about Linux except knowing how to follow instructions from google lol

The more skills you know the more doors you can open in the IT field. With Linux jobs, its very common to see postings having a requirement for a programming language. It also helps to know open source versions of things like monitoring systems, server automation deployments, and SQL.