Career Question

Walt

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I have decided to make a career change and after taking LFS101, I loved it and am going to become a Linux professional. My dilemma is whether to go to my local community college which offers a Linux associates program or get certifications thru Linux.org. I've weighed the pros and cons, but I was hoping to get input from people who have already been there and done that. I'm leaning toward Linux.org since I can learn much more and attain many more certs in 2 years time than I would with an Associates degree. Also with an Associates or a Bachelors if I decide to go further, involves having to take core requirements that don't pertain to my career choice. But I would still like to hear difference of opinion and possibly be made aware of something I'm not considering. Thanks in advance
 


I have decided to make a career change and after taking LFS101, I loved it and am going to become a Linux professional. My dilemma is whether to go to my local community college which offers a Linux associates program or get certifications thru Linux.org. I've weighed the pros and cons, but I was hoping to get input from people who have already been there and done that. I'm leaning toward Linux.org since I can learn much more and attain many more certs in 2 years time than I would with an Associates degree. Also with an Associates or a Bachelors if I decide to go further, involves having to take core requirements that don't pertain to my career choice. But I would still like to hear difference of opinion and possibly be made aware of something I'm not considering. Thanks in advance
Walt,
I'm sorry that I don't have any answers for you, but I wanted to say welcome to our merry band:). Feel free to check in any time and add your bits of wisdom to the mix. I'm fairly certain that there is someone here who can give you guidance.

Happy Trails,
Paul
 
Hi Walt, and welcome to the site! Your question is one that has come up many times before. There is no real answer to it, as you must make up your own mind in the end.... and decide where to spend your money for your education. Neither a degree nor a certification will get you a job. At best, it will get you an interview or an entrance exam for a job. And at that point, you'd better know your topic very well (Linux, or programming, or whatever) to convince a company to hire you.

I have some old, rather useless certifications. For example, I am a certified "Microsoft XP Desktop Support Technician." I know... in this day and age of Windows 10, that's pretty funny, right? In my other hand, I have an Associates degree in Electrical Engineering Technology (EET)... which I've had longer than the Microsoft certification. That degree did, in fact, open the door for an entrance exam (I passed) to a job from which I shall now soon retire. I'll bet you can guess which of these credentials is still on my résumé.

But other people do not share my life experience. Many people favor certifications, whereas I would favor a university degree. Of course, I'm sure some degree programs may fall out of use in the future too, just as my Microsoft XP cert did. Good crystal balls are hard to come by (just ask @wizardfromoz!)... but my guess is that the future is very bright for those with programming skills, especially. One can almost see the technologies of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics as being on the verge of replacing millions of workers... and it will be better to be capable of building, programming, and maintaining those technologies than it will be to be replaced by them.

Linux may help to open some of those doors for you. I'm not sure that it is an end unto itself, but maybe, depending on what your goals really are (besides just getting some education to change careers). But I would suggest that you do your best to look into the future, your future... what do you think will still be on your résumé 20 or 25 years from now?

Very best of luck to you!

Cheers
 
Hey there Walt - welcome to the site!

I agree with everything said thus far, and will offer my experience to it as well.

I don't have any formal education after high school - did some college but didn't earn any degrees. A few years later I started playing around with Linux and shoe-horned myself into a job at an ISP.

As I wanted to climb the ladder within the industry and didn't have money/time to go back to school I took the certificate route. Started with an RHCE from Red Hat and was able to put that on my resume which got me into some better paying jobs.

As the years go by I try to keep doing training and certs but have slowed down with it quite a bit since learning things on the job in the real world is much easier and cheaper than going to a training seminar. :)

I guess my suggestion is that if you have time/money to get an associates or something to build from, do that first.. then start building up some certifications to get your foot in the door.

Good luck!
Rob
 

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