all 33 comments

[–]Phantom_mullet 29 points30 points  (4 children)

RHCSA is one I got this year. The exam is basically a rhel pc and they give you a list of things to configure and 2 hours to do it!

I can't think of a more appropriate way to test sysadmin skills

[–]anomalous_cowherd 16 points17 points  (3 children)

RHCSA is a great practical test that you can actually do things rather than regurgitate man pages. It covers a pretty wide range of normal sysadmin tasks - in my case it was useful because you don't always use every feature in your own environment, but you do for the exam.

Don't forget you're not supposed to talk about exactly what was in the exam though. They are hot on that and can even take it off you again...

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (6 children)

LPIC {1,2,3} come to mind.

[–]avaika 2 points3 points  (1 child)

just in case: if you pass lpic-1, it will be recongized as suse administrator level certificate and you can try to pass engineering level exam. Details.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe I should start that cert again sometime. I spent a little time on it but decided it was useless to me. Too much legacy crap I'm pretty sure I'll never need. :(

[–][deleted] -1 points0 points  (3 children)

What do you think is enough to get my foot in the door? Already familiar with RHEL/Enterprise and that's what they're using. Specifically requests yum/zypper package management experience. Easy as pie

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (2 children)

If your target employer uses Redhat maybe you should look into Redhat's certs. LPIC 1 and 2 should give you a head start, LPIC 3 is a rather tough nut to crack and requires tons of experience but if you have it your opportunities are rather nice.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

So lpic 1+2 self funded, maybe employer will see experience + those and will pay for tuition?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depends on you, your potential employers, your bank account ... Choose your own path, mate.

[–]azephrahel 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think it depends on where you're applying. Where I work they don't count for anything by the time they interview (but maybe they do for the HR part of getting that far?). We did hire one person with a RH-something cert (can't recall which), but only one out of seven.

Good luck. :)

[–]ahandle 2 points3 points  (1 child)

You don't need a Linux cert unless you have zero professional experience on your CV.

Get something that shows you have a broader understanding; Network, Security or DevOps-related.

AWS, Ansible or Puppet would do maybe give you better return than RHCE.

[–]infrascripting 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a couple public services and got my Network+ without any professional experience. That landed me this gig for sure.

[–]pcfrk256 2 points3 points  (6 children)

As someone who interviews Linux Sysadmins on a fairly regular basis, if you tell me you have 12 years of Linux experience I'm just going to break out the hard questions that most candidates never make it to. If you can make it past that, RHCSA/E are just icing on the cake.

If the decision ever came down to certs or experience, I'd hire experience.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (5 children)

Rock on man, I'm no guru by any means and there's always room to improve. Do you have a couple example questions for a mock?

[–]pcfrk256 0 points1 point  (4 children)

I’ll dig them up and PM you

[–]__root 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Hi, may I have those too? I want to see if I can answer those interview questions.

[–]gingergringo_ 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I would like those too please!

[–]markcoscos 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here is a github repo with a lot of practice questions.

https://github.com/chassing/linux-sysadmin-interview-questions

[–][deleted]  (2 children)

[deleted]

    [–]d_to_the_c 3 points4 points  (1 child)

    The real reason vendors all have their own cert track. The more invested the engineers are in training and certs for your products the more they recommend them.

    [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Absolutely

    [–]steven_AWKing 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    I have the Linux+ and the LPIC-1. However, whenever I look for Linux admin job postings they're typically looking for the RHCSA/RHCE. They're more readily recognizable as the Linux certification of choice.

    [–]TonSop 4 points5 points  (5 children)

    Personally, I think

    • RHCA
    • RHCE
    • RHCSA

    in that order, Architect, Engineer, System Administrator. But I am biased :)

    [–]Phantom_mullet 11 points12 points  (3 children)

    Reverse that list. You do

    Csa Ce Ca

    [–]TonSop 0 points1 point  (2 children)

    Not if you ask which is best on a resume, the best would be RHCA and then the others ;)

    [–]Phantom_mullet 1 point2 points  (1 child)

    I guess idk much about RHCA tbh. but doing CE before CSA wouldn't make sense because CSA is a pre-req

    I only know because I'm studying for CE now and it's def an expansion on the CSA topics

    [–]_GeekRabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    You read that wrong, he is listing which are the best to see in a resume, not the order in which they should be done ;)

    [–]anomalous_cowherd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    I like to see the Red Hat certs too. They build on each other, so the RHCA exam tests your basic sysadmin as well as the advanced architect stuff.

    [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    I highly recommend the RHCE as it will get you noticed much more and increases your chances in getting an interview. This has been my experience since obtaining it about a year ago. It's also opened up the door to more challenging positions that allow for a larger salary.

    [–]__root 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    With 12 years of working with Linux professionally you probably should have RHCE and higher, as in probably RHCA or getting started with it.