[Sussex] Linux job opportunities

[Geoffrey Teale]

Jon Fautley wrote:
> Chris Jones wrote:
> 
>>Hi
>>
>>On 10:26:09 pm 23/08/2005 Alan Delaney <hairy.one at virgin.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>regard or can anyone tell me how recognised are the LPI certs and
>>
>>
>>I'm job hunting at the moment and looking at Linux related jobs... I've yet
>>to see one ask for LPI. Almost none ask for any kind of Linux certification
>>- my guess is that it's just too new to be cared about as much as a bit of
>>experience.
> 
> 
> Have you considered the Red Hat certifications? When I was job-hunting,
> one of the things asked was if I had any Red Hat certification, such as
> RHCE (companies OTHER than my current employer asked this, too ;) )
> 
> Maybe worth having a look at?

OK.  My 2 cents as someone actively reading CV's and interviewing people 
for technical position using and administrating Linux systems.  This is 
not meant to cause anyone any offense, but here it is:

 From the point of view these qualifications are of very little 
interest.  We certainly don't look for them and have never asked our 
employees to go on such a course.

They probably are a good way to get some exposure to the ideas involved 
and to be able to demonstrate that you have done so on your CV.  As a 
raw recruit they would differentiate you, but time, exposure and actual 
demonstrable knowledge are worth ten times as much as one of these 
qualifications in our eyes.

 From long experience of people with certification from various vendors 
I (and many other senior technical staff) have formed the opinion that 
the ability to pass an exam is not the same thing at all as the ability 
to perform a task competently.  I also think that the over-confidence a 
lot of inexperienced but newly certified people demonstrate is at best 
annoying and at worst extremely dangerous.

If you do decide to take one of these qualifications I'd advise you to 
balance the following contradictory points:

  - Unless the company in question is actively running Red Hat, or 
Novell software then taking a qualification that is specific to that 
vendor is perhaps not the best idea.  (Even if the course isn't 
specific, the name makes people think it is)

-  LPI certification is not something many people have heard of 
generally, names Red Hat and/or Novell are known.

I'm sure Jon would vouch for the quality of the Red Hat course (bear in 
mind that Jon is a Red Hat employee however), but I think you'd be far 
better off taking _any_ sys-admin job and getting some experience rather 
than spending cash out on a course.

-- 
G.J. Teale
Development Team Leader

Cmed Group Ltd.
Holmwood, Broadlands Business Campus,
Langhurstwood Road, Horsham, RH12 4QP, United Kingdom

T +44(0)1403 755 071
F +44(0)1403 755 051
E gteale at cmedresearch.com  W www.cmedresearch.com