On Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 3:22 PM, Andrew Berg <bahamutzero8825 at gmail.com> wrote: > or connections for IT That's what this list, Brian's PenguinsUnbound events, and the various Ubuntu Minnesota communications channels are for. ;) > I do have some free time, so if anyone knows which > certification(s) would be especially useful (preferably something I can > learn without taking formal classes since those cost money and I'm sure > the Hennepin County library system has books on the subject), I would > love to know what they are. I can't think of any certifications that *require* taking formal classes. There are some where it is infinitely more useful than others, but that's all I can think of. The closest I can think of are the Cisco line of certifications, since you need to have access to Cisco hardware, preferably reasonably current, which means either picking up a bunch of bulky, dusty gear off Craigslist or going somewhere that already has them. I took one Cisco course through Hennepin Technical College, and the guy teaching that was actually pretty good. (My experiences with MNSCU more broadly are less than positive, but that particular course was a good one.) This is the guy who taught it: http://ccis.hennepintech.edu/instructors/owens/ Certifications that I see often on job listings: A+ Certified Computer Examiner (CCE) Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC-1, LPIC-2, LPIC-3) Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) Network+ RedHat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Security+ As a Linux guy reading through position descriptions, I can also tell you that at least for the next 5 years or so if you can manage some level of competence in AIX, HP-UX, and/or Solaris that will give you a boost in the kind of salaries available to you. The strong trend is toward proprietary Unices being replaced with Linux or (less frequently) one of the BSDs, but the kinds of businesses deploying those are slow to change, so they'll still be around for a bit. - Tony