Re: [tlug] RHCE vs LPI

[Jonathan Byrne <jq@example.com>]

On Thu, Jul 01, 2004 at 07:35:39PM -0700, Gerald Naughton wrote:

>Wondering if I should put my head down & get one
>of those certs (for the fun of it ;-> )

I don't know your current background/experience level, so it's hard
to answer that question, but I'll plunge ahead anyway :-)

When I'm reviewing resumes, I don't much care whether people have
any certifications or not.  If you make it through triage and
get called for an interview, we'll figure out whether you know
what you're doing or not.  If you don't, you probably won't
even get past the initial phone interview.

However, at my company it's not unusual for HR to see your resume
only *after* the hiring decision has been made.  My boss and I
generally gather resumes on our own, schedule interviews, and make
the decision.  Then HR is involved to run a background check on the
candidate(s) and send out the offer letter and drug test
information.

Why, yes, it is paradise to work here :-)

On the other hand, there are a lot of companies (and most or all
larger ones are like this) where HR just goes down a checklist and
sees whether you have the right things on your resume or not. Look
back at the recent threads with Rena for more on that.  Brett's
tale of having just SQL on his resume is most enlightening.

If you have a strong professional background in IT, including a 
degree in CS or similar, something like an RHCE or LPI cert may
not matter so much.  It's also that case that in quarters where
a cert matters, MCSE still matters a great deal more than RHCE
or LPI does, or will over the course of the next 2 or 3 years.
In *nix circles, I think Sun certifications still carry far more
weight than RHCE or LPI, also.  But again, being a highly
experienced Solaris admin carries far more weight than what
Sun certs you may have.

In summary, no experience plus an MCSE will get you an entry level
job (maybe).  No experience plus an RHCE or LPI might get you
an entry level job, but you'll lose out to MCSE holders in most
cases.

Now, if it really is just for fun, as you stated, and your primary
motivation is to increase "formal" knowledge, then sure, go for it.

If it were me, I'd would prefer LPI or RHCE.  That isn't to say that
RHCE is bad in any way; it's one of the toughest - and therefore
more worthwhile - certs offered by a software vendor.  However,
it is specific to Red Hat.  LPI is a broader-based certification,
and if I placed enough value on a certfication for it to make
a difference in who got called for an interview, I'd prefer 
LPI over RHCE.

HTH,

Jonathan
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