[TriLUG] Are Certifications worth it?

[Mark Freeze]

My take on this, and what I think the original post was asking between
the lines is this:  "Is it easier to get a job with a RHCE or with
LPI?"  The answer to me is the same as the older question of "Why do I
need a degree if I have been working in $industry for 10 years?"  If
someone is going to hire you just because you are a RCHE then they
must not know what they doing themselves. On the other hand, if you
have tons of experience but no RCHE I feel you should be interviewed
honestly, based on your experience. I once knew a personnel manager
that told me that they wouldn't even consider an applicant that didn't
have a MCSE.  When I asked them what an MCSE was... Surprise!  They
had no idea. They told me that it meant that the applicant 'knew a lot
about computers.'

Now before I get flamed on this let me explain my point.  I know that
everyone in this group is VERY technically minded, and some of you are
in positions to hire people.  But I would almost guarantee you that if
you gathered all of Raleigh's HR people from non-technical companies
together only about 2% would have ever heard of a RCHE, and then 1% of
that 2% might know what it means.

With that being said I think that the best answer I could give to this
question is this:  It depends on where you are trying to get a job,
and who is doing the hiring.  If you are applying to a company that is
using Red Hat, or has a very technical-based HR department then a RCHE
with some experience is a huge step up from other applicants.  If you
are applying at $large_co with a standard HR department you might
could skip the $3000 course and just tell them you have a ABCD
certification from the First Internet College of Linuxtry.  They
probably wouldn't know the difference. The question then changes to
"What certification will actually help me do my job?"  And we all know
the answer to that one.

I know probably 98% less Linux than most of you on this list and
before I posted this reply I asked myself how many of the people on
this list who have provided me with dead-on accurate answers to my
questions and consistently give brilliant advice to others have an
RCHE or LPI certification.  I could be mistaken but I'd probably guess
less than 30%.

Regards,
Mark.