Ubuntu Certified Professional

[rennen01]

How many of are pursuing the UCP Certification?

[tgalati4]

UCP should be granted if you have grey hair and 2,000 beans.

Well, I've got grey hair.

Or: More than 4 distros on a single machine. (Windows may not be installed on the same machine.)

[steve.horsley]

UCP should be granted if you have grey hair and 2,000 beans.


Ooh. Where do I collect the certificate?

[netlogic]

I wouldn't bother Ubuntu for Linux certs. I doubt your HR department heard of it. It doesn't matter if you heard of it. Only the Linux community heard of Ubuntu.
Only LINUX certs that matters are Red Hat's Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT) and Certified Engineer (RHCE), Linux Professional Institute Certifie, and CompTIA's Linux+. Ubuntu or Debian aren't your server platform in IT. Trust me. Many ISPs will use Debian. Most corporations that use Linux tend to go with RedHat flavors.

[sadeeb]

I think Conical and we the Community should put our energy into pushing for acceptance of the distro in the coporate world for now.

[rennen01]

netlogic, I agree with you somewhat, except the UCP is an LPI Cert.

http://www.lpi.org/en/lpi/english/certification/ubuntu_certified_professional

IMO, one of the best ways to get more visibilty for Ubuntu in the enterprise is for more people to get the UCP.

[Brazen]

netlogic, I agree with you somewhat, except the UCP is an LPI Cert.

http://www.lpi.org/en/lpi/english/certification/ubuntu_certified_professional

IMO, one of the best ways to get more visibilty for Ubuntu in the enterprise is for more people to get the UCP.

I agree. Most of those certs mentioned mean nothing to HR. Just being certified in anything does more good than naught.

[dorath]

If I had the cash to spare I'd be much more likely to go for it.

[netlogic]

I am going to wait around until the demands are there. There are too many certs to purse these days due to a tough job market. Linux, Microsoft, Cisco, and Novell... Jesus... who has time to sleep these days. I will eventually get around to it one day.

[rennen01]

I agree there are too many certs available (trust me ,I have about 4 active right now, and plan on having 6 by the end of the year).

You may feel that the certs mean nothing to HR, but in certain job descriptions, specific certs are required.

How else do you prove that you have a specific skill set? A piece fo paper that shows you know something :) Thats another reason why I believe that technical interviews should be required.

[netlogic]

Not really. MS and Cisco are demanded, but I never saw an ad for UBUNTU certs. Have you? I think Ubuntu certs are mostly for pride and accomplishment. Most UNIX shops will drill you for 2hrs for all the technical stuff before they bring you on board. If you have seen Ubuntu cert ads, please scan it and post it here. I would love to see it. I am a consultant. I have to look at ads every few months. I scan for ads all the time. Never in my life I have seen one for Ubuntu. However, I saw four in the last year for RHCE. I like Ubuntu, but I am not a devotee fan. I am a believer of Linux for cost and stability.

[netlogic]

I got nothing against people perusing it, but if Ubuntu wants push certs, they are doing this a wrong way. If marketers research how Cisco and Ms certs went crazy in the late 90s, it would be more clear. You can wait around for people to get certs. It will not get any big. People will get certs when installation increases in the corporations, which means demand will increase for Ubuntu technicians. Currently, UBUNTU isn't your IT platform. Redhat certs are popular around Virgina area for govt contracts, because of the installations in the govt sectors. In order to be a server platform, they need to start working with big vendors. You don't want the cert to be known as a hobbyist cert. Certs have to have a branding recognition too.

[rennen01]

I agree with some of that but I doubt LPI certs are considered hobbyist or even be considered hobbyist anytime soon. I believe that LPI offering an Ubuntu cert is a big deal.

As far corporate use, there are several ways to get visibility out there for Ubuntu (after all, we are on an Ubuntu forum), one of them being more certified people out there. In San Diego, I see more Debian servers now than ever before. The fact that Ubuntu is Debian based and there is commercial support for it should definitely play a factor, at least locally here.

Good luck to Ubuntu is all I am saying :)

[neorou]

Ubuntu may not be the most popular server GNU/Linux distro, but companies that WILL BE looking for linux gurus will eventually WANT UCP folks, simply because it will be (and it rather already is) the GNU/Linux desktop distro of choice. Ubuntu is by far the easiest desktop distro to use, and the one that has the most documentation,available not just as text but also in audio/visual format.

If a non-linux MS/Mac enthusiast is thinking of switching over, it would be the easiest one to jump to.
As for weather it is worth getting the certification NOW, well, that would depend on the individual, I guess. I say, if you can get it, just get it....If you want to make it more worthwhile, push more people to use Ubuntu.

[OmegaBLK]

You can wait around for people to get certs. It will not get any big. People will get certs when installation increases in the corporations, which means demand will increase for Ubuntu technicians. Currently, UBUNTU isn't your IT platform. Redhat certs are popular around Virgina area for govt contracts, because of the installations in the govt sectors.


I very much agree with what is said here. Until there is an increasing presence of Ubuntu in the corporate world, the demand for the UCP will be minuscule and no amount of people getting the cert will increase its value if no employers are demanding it. RHCE has been in demand for awhile due to the increasing presence of Red Hat in the corporate world. Most Linux job descriptions I have seen have requirements for RHCEs or individuals with Red Hat experience. Red Hat certs--specifically the RHCE--has value not only because of the curriculum & hands-on testing, but because employers who run Red Hat systems demand it. I don't recall ever seeing a job ad asking for LPI or Linux+ certified individuals in the LA/Orange County area in SoCal. I have seen one Ubuntu position which was for some QA stuff, though.

[netlogic]

Every companies have a different hiring practice. Also, not everyone of us are people who are working towards Computer Science majors. The money plays a big factor in our lives. Hey, I hate Microsoft products. I get nightmares from them. The working technicians and engineers will seek certs based on improvement towards their salary increases. I love Debian, but If most of us are only using certain flavors of Linux at home, would that motivate us to seek the certs? My main desktop is FreeBSD, Debian/Ubuntu, RHEL/CentOS, and XP. That doesn't include 40 other VMs. I like Ubuntu for great hardware detection support. It is a hassle free. The installation is simple. FreeBSD is a lot of work to get certain hardwares to work. All of these distros are UNIX variants to me. Do you assume every working Sysadmins getting Ubuntu certs would change the demand for Ubuntu installations? The business decisions in the most IT are based made from the above. The big product decisions are made by CTO, CIO, and IT directors. They aren't made by IT managers. The upper management people heard of RedHat, because they work with big commercial vendors. They place ads on eWeek, Informationweek, and other IT business publications. How do you expect your average sysadmins, IT managers, and consultants to push Ubuntu? Most small to mid size ISPs run Debian a lot, because the product choices are made by technologists. However, the mid to large corporations that can make impacts of awareness aren't made by people like us. Most consultants and IT managers just write the game plans for the customers need. The final decisions are based around customers' views from the upper management. Unless you are applying for a position in a small shop, most Unix shops will ask million questions before bring in a technician on board. I am sure others had different experiences, but that's experiences I had.

[netlogic]

Maybe, UBUNTU marketing team can work on a game plan for more installation and share that knowledge with us. That's what Microsoft sales people do with the vendors. Microsoft has a department to push their platforms with their partner programs. Pushing certs will not get you anywhere.

[netlogic]

alright... i might change my mind now. you guys do listen.

http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2007/100907-canonical-chases-deal-to-ship.html
Canonical chases deal to ship Ubuntu server OS (http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2007/100907-canonical-chases-deal-to-ship.html)

good move, guys! very good move!

[Ripfox]

Sorry for my ignorance guys, but I was wondering what level of schooling a person would need to pursue this type of certification. I only have a high school education, and I have been messing with computers for like 10 years now. I feel like I would like to do something like this.

[rennen01]

Sorry for my ignorance guys, but I was wondering what level of schooling a person would need to pursue this type of certification. I only have a high school education, and I have been messing with computers for like 10 years now. I feel like I would like to do something like this.

There is no college degree required for the UCP. The only requirements that I see are the LPI 1 and 2 certifications.

Good luck :)

[dca]

There's a lot of variables here... I mean, is the business a tech firm (IC chip maker, telcom, etc) or is it non-tech (retailer, hospital, law firm, etc). In most cases CIOs are merely people in the mid forties to mid fifties that are basically chest thumping when it comes to decisions they make. In tech firms the bad news is there is always someone running around who knows more than you. This makes advancement kind of difficult. In non-tech firms that have an in-house IT dept, exec management is relying on you to keep the business running and not over extend your budget. Sure, RH is omnipresent in the US. It'll take a small miracle to even break off a teeny tiny chunk of market share that RH has. Perhaps in some small non-tech company somewhere a sys admin gets the ball rolling whether with a small samba/file sharing device or whatever.

Getting the certification is an absolute must if attempting to attain work at a non-tech firm because that's all the company has to go on. If it's a tech firm or even a non-tech firm that has a solid in-house IT staff be prepared (as stated before) to be grilled for five hours on the extent of your *nix knowledge...

[starscalling]

@dca
all is how it should be then ;)

[Tom Tiger]

I just finished LPI level 1 and I will take the LPI Ubuntu certification too.

It can't hurt :-)

[gtdaqua]

I wouldn't bother Ubuntu for Linux certs. I doubt your HR department heard of it. It doesn't matter if you heard of it. Only the Linux community heard of Ubuntu.
Only LINUX certs that matters are Red Hat's Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT) and Certified Engineer (RHCE), Linux Professional Institute Certifie, and CompTIA's Linux+. Ubuntu or Debian aren't your server platform in IT. Trust me. Many ISPs will use Debian. Most corporations that use Linux tend to go with RedHat flavors.

Thats why those things shud change. Redhat is simply not an essence of what linux is all about. Debian is strong and a bullet-proof OS. But certifications cannot be valued by their appearance. A trained and know-how IT boss would not necessarily choose Redhat over other linux flavours. Redhat just got selected in the past because there were only a handful people who were non-windows administrators and most happened to train or learn Redhat. But in today's fast changing world, you got to bet and test cutting/bleeding edge technology and confidently roll it out to stay ahead in competition. So, there goes out Windows and Redhat paving way for Debian, CentOS, Ubuntu and others.

[PilotJLR]

There are a lot of great reasons why RedHat is still popular today, not just legacy implementations like you suggest.

The one and only reason is... SUPPORT.

Unlike small business, an enterprise won't deploy a product unless it's supported in their environment. This means vendor and ISV support and accreditations and a solid HCL.
Even if, for example, Debian works great with a given set of hardware... if it's not vendor supported, then it's worthless.
People stake their careers and income on these decisions, so RedHat frequently wins. They have solid support and a solid reputation.