LPIC

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Hi,

I'm very much interested in studying for my LPIC. Has anyone completed this certification recently in a classroom? If so then which company did you use and what did you think of them?

There are so many out there that it's starting to get a little mind boggling.

Thanks

 

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hey mate, welcome to the forum!

a lot people seem to be preaching the benefits of self study. this does seem to be the way to go.

since linux distributions are free and can run on even older obsolete hardware, you should be able to set yourself up a test lab at home with minimum cost.

although i'm studying for MS exams at the mo', i have worked with solaris in the past and have enjoyed using unix. i;m thinking of doing the linux+ or maybe the LPIC sometime in the future.

i think a few companies have had linux installed as either standalone machines or as part of the domain as they recognise that there are certain places where linux can be both economically and technically viable. the problem still remains with support from vendors though.

there is a lot of potential work out there for linux profs as a lot isps, banks and datacenters still rely heavily on unix.

good luck with study!

 

I'll put my 2 cents worth in on this one.

I spent 2 1/2 years working on an MCSE, MCDBA, CCNA, and an A+. I have spent another 2+ years looking for jobs with no luck. Not a thing other than someone who wanted to use me to screw someone else over. The market is so glutted with MS certs and out of work MS techs that anyone trying to break into the field isn't competing on a level playing field.

During the 2+ years I spent looking for work I continued to work in my lab, but this time with Linux. When I finally had enough skills to start adding Linux to my resume I started getting responses. All the work I've gotten has been Linux related. I'm currently a system admin for a small web-based business. I administer an Apache web server hosting 7 domains, MySQL databases, a vsftpd ftp server, and am in charge of securing our network, an Exim4 email server serving all the domains we host and am soon going to start learning Zope/Plone. I also volunteer on a few non-profit sites, and just turned down an offer with a web hosting company to do what I'm now doing, and didn't apply when asked to at another.

I have no Linux certs. In the Open Source world certs really don't matter. It's what you can do, not what initials you have after your name, that matter. But then I don't believe my certs had much effect in my job search trying to utilize my MS skills.

I live in a small area, but even here Linux is growing by leaps and bounds. The vast majority of the hosting companies are running Linux and they have shown some interest in me when I've talked to them. You will find very few IIS servers in Eastern Washington. The LAMP stack pretty much rules the roost out here.

So, my advice, for whatever it's worth, is:

1. Build yourself a lab with 3 or 4 machines.
2. Build yourself a web server, a database server, a firewall
3. Stick to free distro's such as Debian or CentOS. Fedora has shorted their release cycle and now do not support an old release once a new one comes out, so all the hosting companies that used Fedora, that I have talked to, are moving to CentOS. No business can afford to be rebuilding servers every 6 months or so. My ISP just moved to a provider which uses Debian for its hosting services that it offers it's customers(It's a nation-wide ISP).
4. Buy books and study on your own. Don't eat the books, read them.
5. Use the mailing lists and support forums for whatever distro you use to get help when you get stuck.
6. Learn HTML, CSS, PHP, Python, Perl, Ruby, Bash, and all the text-based *nix tools you can, etc.... Those are the tools of the Open Source admin who works in web hosting.
7. Forget the certs. Skills count far more than certs.
8. Once you have skills go offer them as an intern to smaller companies as they are always short of funds and help. You may end up getting a job with them, as I did, but at the very least you will get real world experience to put on your resume.

It ain't easy but it can be done. I studied 12 - 16 hours a day for a few years, most of that hands-on study. I also have a library of well in excess of 100 books with another 8 currently on order. I've worked my butt off for a long time and it's finally starting to pay off. The company I'm currently working for hired me out of an internship with them rather than possibly lose me to another employer. I love what I do there, and they recognize my skills, my desire to work, and my willingness to learn anything that they set in front of me. They simply say, "This needs to be done" and walk away. If I need feedback on how something should be configured so it will work with existing technology I ask how they want it set up. Other than that, I'm on my own. I work the projects on my own from start to finish. If whatever I'm working on is new to me I dig until I figure things out.

 

As far as I can tell, the LPIC series of certifications are well respected in the general community. That said, the Linux community is unique in that it isn't particularly certification driven. If you have certifications relative to various Microsoft or Cisco products for example, they typically mean something to hiring managers and CTOs. In the Linux world, those people don't really depend on the certifications you have to establish what you know...they just want you to know your job.

I've worked in Linux shops and many times, the technicians and programmers not only don't have certifications, many of them don't even have uni degrees. A lot of "old school" Linux professionals learned what they learned by letting their curosity drive them to learn. Linux seems to be as much a calling and a passion as it is a technology.

If you feel a need or a drive to really understand Linux and FOSS (Free Open Source Software), I'd say put together the resources that Freddy has outlined for you and start "walking the walk". On the other hand, if you don't know a thing about Linux and just thought it would look good to put a Linux cert on your CV, it actually may not be for you. It really is a different breed of cat then Windows and you really have to get inside of Linux to learn it.

 

You're right, Trip. The difference I've seen between much of the Windows world and the Linux/Open Source world is the difference between working for a paycheck and the craftsmanship that comes from loving what you do. That's what Linux started from, and it hasn't drifted away from its roots.

Linus Torvalds started Linux as a project because A) he wanted to learn, B) it was a driving passion of his. People have always gotten involved in for the same reasons. Gates started MS to make money, and neither Linux nor MS have drifted away from those original motivations.

If you want to learn Linux because of possible monetary benefits you probably won't stick with it until you develop the skills necessary to profit from your efforts. That's not a knock on anyone. It's just the plain and simple truth. It's a long road and a lot of hard work, and the only people who stick it out are the ones that really love it and have a passion for it. A person simply has to be motivated by more than money because there are certainly easier ways to make money. Also, the depth of knowledge a person must have to succeed in the Linux world is much deeper than a person needs in the Windows world. So, if learning isn't your passion, you probably won't succeed because a great deal of the enjoyment that comes from Linux is the constant learning and the ability to learn as much as you want to. There are no artificial roadblocks in your way. Nobody says, you can't see this, or modify that. Your own abilities, drive, and curiosity are you're only limits.