EH-Net

Interesting little post from Justin Kerr at MaximumPC:


Original article with links:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/demand_linux_skills_rise_along_wages

Don

Thanks for the article Don! I wish the author would of wrote more but it's definitely nice to see Linux jobs rising.

I've seen about 3-4 articles this month about Linux jobs on the rise and how companies are saying its hard to find qualified talent.

Talking with a local recruiter (in the Detroit area), who said they're having problems finding "qualified" Linux people in the area, but I know tons of linux admins in the area.

So it looks like  case of they're paying more, they're being overly picky on what they are looking for.

In a general sense, what do you think a "qualified" person would have on their resume...

7+ years of experience?
certs?
degrees?

More info about Linux being in demand.

http://www.linuxfoundation.org/sites/main/files/dice_lf_linux_jobs_report_2012.pdf

This makes me wonder if the LPIC-1 would be worthwhile to pick up.

Hmm....

Get on Dice (and other job sites) and see what the jobs are listing as requirements and desired credentials. Traditionally, *nix positions have relied a lot more on experience and hands-on skills than on the letters behind your name. This might be changing, but the best way to keep current is by observing what's being requested by potential employers. That said, certs aren't going to hurt you, and it's always nice to have a goal to work towards.

I look at indeed, simply hired, and dice about every 2 or 3 days looking up "linux", "unix", "linux admin", "linux engineer".. I've seen an increase in companie asking for the RHCE and RHCSA..but mostly the RHCE. I RARELY see a company asking for the Linux+/LPIC-1...but I still think it's a quality exam. Some of the material from the Linux+ exam is also on the RHCSA exam, so that's a positive. PLUS..if you have pass the Linux +, you automaticaly get 3 other certs LPIC-1, Novell CLA, and Novell Data Center Technical Specialist (you have to register with the individual companies though). Also, if you pass the RHCE you can pass a pretty simple exam with Novell to get the Novell CLP. So for passing 3 exams, you can get 7 certs..that's pretty damn nice.

With all that being said, experience is still KING but certs will definitely help. By the time I pass the Red Hat certs I should have 1 year under my belt of Linux technical support..so I'm hoping companies see my experience along with the certs..and put me in a bracket with someone who has 3-6 years of Linux experience.

I was thinking of getting the Linux+ as a primer to the RHCSA/RHCE since I don't actually work with linux professionally. There are a lot of Network Engineer jobs in my area that want Unix/Linux knowledge. After CCNP:S in a couple of months I might pick up Linux+/LPIC-1 for fun along with CWNA/CWSP (which not very many people have in my neck of the woods). We will see. I might just hold off and go towards RHCSA/RHCE. Linux+ is pretty expensive.

The Red Hat exams are expensive too..$400 each.

Yea but at least they are expensive AND well known :)

Very true lol

Thanks Don

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but for what it's worth, I got my RHCSA for RHEL6 earlier this year.  I'd have taken the RHCE, but my company was only paying for the RHCSA.  In any case, the exam was hard but fair.  I don't know if I'd even bother with the Linux+ exam on my way to RHCSA.  And now RHCSA is required for RHCE too, so in either case you're stuck with it.

The exam is 100% hands on, which means that you have to know your stuff (I passed with a 100% score, so I've got it covered).  I'm obviously bound by NDA, but I'll say that if you are planning to take the exam, you need to prepare by learning what is and isn't in the man pages on a default RHEL6 build.  Memorize what isn't and know where to find everything else.  Also, knowing how to get a broken system to the point where you can actually use a man page is probably a good idea....

My new job, which is in wireless, is 85% Linux. The CWNA was a requirement but the interviews had a BUNCH of linux questions. You didn't need a cert but you absolutely had to know a lot about grep, ps, log files, cut, sed, etc.

Not even 6 months later, DICE.com is posting an article that Linux Admin jobs are "endangered/obsolete". Oh how quickly they changed their minds  ::).

http://news.dice.com/2012/08/08/it-roles-becoming-obsolete/

From the article:
N.B. Emphasis mine...

I could be going out on a limb here but; if you can't script, at least to a basic level you're not a sysadmin?

As for the rest of the article:

• 'Sys admins are being outsourced' - to who? Someone still doing the work
• Web design:'DIY tools eliminating need for experts' - really? (although this does explain a lot of the cruft....
• Datacenter specialists: This is my bread and butter, no let-up in demand here from the trenches
• repair technicians - True from an end user device perspective, but lets see you replace a blade-centre/SAN/etc. for less than the repair costs...

who writes this junk?

No wonder people have a hard time picking a career. One day their profession is the "hot" job, 6 months later...it's obsolete. Laughable at best  :D

It's very simple. Here's how it goes in IT:

Something is hot in IT and word go out to the sales people of IT consultancy firms that they can't find XYZ profile.

In India, 100.000 of people study for that XYZ profile because that's what the customers of the Indian IT people are asking.

6 months later everything is OK and the world is overbid on the XYZ profile and India is waiting what the customer wants next.

@sternone,

Ahh I can't agree with you on that one.

Why ?

I think It moves so quickly you have to alway work on your skills. I think there are areas that require more skill than other so pay more and are in greater demand.

Linux
Windows
Cisco
Programming
Security

are all skills that are good to have if you gain skill in these area and adapt with the technology I dont think you will ever be out of work.