Readers sound off on Linux certifications

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: PHIL HOCHMUTH ON LINUX
10/24/05
Today's focus: Readers sound off on Linux certifications

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Did Linux certifications help you land your dream job?
* Links related to Linux
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: Readers sound off on Linux certifications

By Phil Hochmuth

Many readers responded to last week's newsletters
<http://www.networkworld.com/nllinux9327> about Red Hat's new
security certification. At the end of the piece, I asked if
Linux certifications are valid or bogus in the current IT
industry. Readers seemed to be in favor of certifications, as
more employers are looking for a tangible way - whether valid or
not - to measure the competency of Linux professionals.

"Before 2001," one reader wrote, "I used to think my traditional
engineering degree and over a decade of engineering and
technology experience would land me any client or position. But
after getting laid off twice in the downsizing of 2001, I found
that having experience wasn't enough. With a glutton of
technology workers seeking employment, those little letters
quickly became 'filters' to trash resumes or ways for recruiters
to reduce the number candidates they look at."

Another reader - someone with an inside look the Linux
certification process - is more skeptical of vendor-sponsored
certifications: "IT is one of the remaining fields left in which
certification is primarily seen as a way to sell training and
doesn't serve the public interest," wrote Evan Leibovitch,
former president of the Linux Professional Institute, which
offers vendor-neutral Linux certifications. "Compare the state
of IT certification to that in the fields of law, medicine,
engineering or other fields. Does your drivers' license come
from Ford?"

According to others, any little bit of credentials helps in a
tight market. "I work as a freelancer and [certification] does
get me more appreciation from colleagues. It might well have
been one of the reasons to prolong my contract with another
year, giving me job security until end 2006," one reader wrote.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. School traps infected PCs in its web
<http://www.networkworld.com/nllinux9351>
2. Cartoon of the Week <http://www.networkworld.com/nllinux9352>

3. Cisco bets a billion dollars on India
<http://www.networkworld.com/nllinux9328>
4. Cisco finally brings security push to LAN
<http://www.networkworld.com/nllinux9181>
5. WiMAX just around the corner
<http://www.networkworld.com/nllinux9185>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Phil Hochmuth

Phil Hochmuth is a Network World Senior Editor and a former
systems integrator. You can reach him at
<mailto:phochmut@nww.com>.
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ARCHIVE LINKS

Breaking Linux news from Network World and around the 'Net,
updated daily: http://www.networkworld.com/topics/linux.html
Archive of the Linux newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/linux/index.html
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