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Linux Certifications Can Pay Off BigDATE: 24-JUL-2004 The Linux business is growing fast, and the right Linux certification can help you grow with it.
Want to make money from technology? Linux might be just the technology you need to add to your skill portfolio and certification may be the way to prove to your customers you have those skills.Dice Inc., a company specializing in online recruiting services for technology professionals, said in its July report, "Job postings requesting Linux on Dice.com are up 190% since June of last year to 2,243."That's none too shabby. Better still, if you're someone with Linux skills, Dice's "Salary Survey reported earning an average salary of $67,000, which is 6% higher than the overall technology average."It's not just Dice showing that Linux pays well. According to Certification Magazine's 2003 Salary Survey, people with RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineers) certification, then perhaps the most widely recognized top Linux certification, pulled in over $71,000 a year. Even people with the low-end CompTIA's Linux+ brought home a gross salary of $52,380.So how do you make that kind of money? Or, find work that will let you pay your Linux staffers those kinds of salaries? One word: certification.There are currently five significant Linux certification programs: CompTIA's Linux+;
the vendor-neutral LPIC (Linux Professional Institute Certification);
Novell Inc.'s CLP (Certified Linux Professional) and CLE (Certified Linux Engineer);
Red Hat Inc.'s certifications; and
Sair Linux's LCP (Linux Certified Professional). Of course, by itself a certification doesn't say anything. Given a choice between experience and certification, most employers and companies looking for an integrator will take experience every time.That said, though, a certification can open doors, and that's exactly what you have to do to get any job. Linux+If you know anything about certifications, you know the CompTIA certifications. Any reseller or system integrator who touches hardware has had technicians with A+ certifications working on PCs and Network+ techs pulling cable. Linux+ fits nicely into this family of entry-level technician certifications. Unlike the other Linux certifications, the emphasis here is on basic, practical system maintenance, rather than network administration. In other words, the Linux+ certification is of a piece with the other + certifications that may be all that you or your technicians need.LPICThe LPIC is the best-known Linux certification. It has three levels. The first, the Junior Level Administration (LPIC1), indicates that its holder can run a stand-alone Linux system and perform such basic network administration jobs as adding a user to a Linux server. The LPIC1 is often regarded as the basic Linux certification.At its next level, someone with an Intermediate Level Administration (LPIC2) can run a small Linux-based network, which includes both Windows and Linux workstations. With the highest-level LPI certification, the Senior Level Administration (LPIC3), you should, once it comes out, the LPI says, be ready to run major sites and serve as a consultant. That's saying quite a lot for a certification, no matter how well-regarded.Next page: Novell, Red Hat and more.
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| Looking to grow IT's role in business? Looking to equip IT with the tools to make a difference? The time has come to for solution providers to increase the importance of IT. Opinion: Margins will drop quickly on managed services, and VARs need to stay two steps ahead to keep up. |
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