[plug] Linux and employment

[Darrell Horrocks]

Hi All

Having been using various forms of Linux, predominantly RedHat based,
for a while I have been thinking about changing my career (not
significantly), and am wondering about how useful these Linux skills
are?

Given that there are no accreditation courses on offer on a month by
month basis here in Perth (of course there are the odd ones ;-) ) is it
worth really pursuing a Linux accreditation?  Does anyone know of a
Linux certification exam that one can take without a course?  There are
of course places like http://www.brainbench.com, but how much worth do
they have here in West AU??

This really is the crux because if I want to go on and pursue a career
in this area, I need to gain some industry qualifications.  Currently I
am thinking about doing the MCSE exams and getting that (can also do
that without a course) purely to give me an certification acceptable to
employers.

SO! to sum up.....

1) Does anyone know a company in WA that offers Linux certification by
exam only?

2) How transferable is Linux certification and skills into other Unix
(Solaris?) skills in practicality and in the minds of employers?

3) How much in demand are Linux skills?  I have yet to see a job in the
paper requiring them at a high level.

4) What skills in particular are going to make you attractive to
employers?  I am thinking along the lines of Sendmail, Apache, Perl etc.

5) Is there a better way to get into the Linux arena in WA without
getting these skills/certificates?

Maybe the answers to this can get included into the FAQ?  I can even do
the writing ;-)

Regards

Darrell