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UNIX certification

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by m.i.t

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I posted a discussion a couple of days ago about whether it was worth to get a bachelors in IT and I appreciate all the advice given. Now I?d like to ask a different question. As I mentioned before I recently got an AA in network administration and the institution That attended was very good about teaching me different server Operating Systems from Microsoft?s to Novell, UNIX and Linux Red Hat. Now I?m definitely going to get my bachelors in IT or MIS, but in the meantime I need to get certified. I know that MCSE is a must, even though some may argue that is not worth it anymore, I consider it important, since I?m new to the field and need to at least land an interview. But I became familiar with UNIX and Linux Red Hat to a certain level since it we practice them so much. Now my question is, is it a good idea to get certified in Sun Solaris or Linux? If it is, do I have to have experience before I take the certs?
The reason why I?m asking is because the Sun Solaris web site is saying that certs are only for Sys/admins who are currently administrating their O/S.
Any feedback on this will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you again.

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by timwalsh

Any vendor offering a certification specific to their product will take your moneyif you want to try their certification tests.

What Sun is really saying is that their certifications are DESIGNED for those Sys/admins that have current experience administering their product. They are not saying that you CAN'T get certified if you aren't a current Sys/admin.

NOTE: There are some certifications out there (CISSP comes immediately to mind) that do require you to have documented experience in specific areas of knowledge before you can attempt a certifications test. Most vendor-specific certifications don't fall into this category.

I have several opinions on certifications themselves:
1. They are of value in certain situations: as a selling tool if you are looking for a job (but usually only if you have the experience to back up the certification); as an employer requirement to prove that an employee has achieved a certain level of knowledge.
2. Some people collect certifications. Sometimes it just a matter of personal pride (can they actually do it). Often certifications are used for bragging rights ("See how smart I am! Look at all my certifications!)
3. I maintain that acquiring a certification without the actual work experience to back up the certification is doing nothing more than saying "Look how smart I am! Look at all the answers I managed to memorize!" Acquiring a certain body of knowledge, and actually being able to put that knowledge to practical use, tend to be two very different things.
4. Having a vendor-specific certification usually means absolutely nothing to a prospective or present employer unless the employer is using that vendors products.

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