[olug] Certifications - Linux

[Bill Brush]

olug-bounces at olug.org wrote on 06/22/2004 01:30:55 PM:

> On Tue, Jun 22, 2004 at 10:47:18AM -0500, Bill Brush wrote:
> >
> I agree in volumes.  I didn't mean to come off as sounding like I
> was trivializing Novell, in fact quite the opposite, they are my new
> favorite tech company ;).
>

I didn't think you came off as anti-Novell or anything, just wanted to
throw out my two farthings.  A lot of people seem to think that all certs
are worthless.  As I'm becoming an old fart I'm finding that pretty much
anything is worth about what you put into it.  I've even met good,
competent MCSE's, but the glut of minimally competent MCSE's out there have
devalued that cert to the point where a Mexican peso carries more weight.
(Apologies to you MS people on the list, but even our Windows admin here
doesn't give it much respect)

> That's good to hear, though.  Couple of the guys on a Novell-linux
> list I'm on claimed that the NCLE was just a big, evil, hard test.
> Personally I'd not even know where to start with it, I'm new to
> Novell and haven't even touched NNLS yet.
>

It's a practicum so it's aimed not only at knowing WHAT to do, but HOW to
do it.  A minor point, but a major difference.

> I'm working on the CNE right now, and after that I plan on moving to
> NCLE.  Any suggestions for good study material beyond just using
> NNLS in a lab?

I really couldn't say at this point.  So far the courseware has been pretty
good about walking me through the sections.  Stuff like the directory and
management tools are the same as on Netware, so there's not much of a jump
there.  The underlying pieces are completely different though so I have to
learn those. Strictly speaking you don't have to know the "how each piece
fits together and works" part for each module, but it helps your overall
understanding.

Bill