question for some of you about IT.

[SPURSX3]

Is it possible to get basic certification in IT core skills (A+, N+, Linux+) by buying learning material online for certification?  I have come across two web sites that offer the learning material for purchase and I was wondering if it is possible to get the basic certifications down without signing up for training through some vendor.  I want to get my foot in the door by joining Rackspace here in SA but I need to get some certifications down to help get me in.  My thing is I either look at the 4k to 10k to sign up for IT training courses which I would learn at MY pace BUT would have acces to online material and labs as well as trainers for my questions - and could continue to learn more then just the "basic" IT core information, OR i could study on my own for say A+, then try to pass certification, and then look at something else like N+ and so on and the expenses out of pocket would basically be for books additional cd's for lab work and of course the cert test fees.  It would still be at my pace but I would not have the additional help to fall back on.  Is it possible to get certification this way and realistically how hard would it be?  My plan is to get the basic certs on my own and if/when I get into rackspace I can look into taking advantage of "rackspace U" to learn more skills on the company dime from there.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Derek Bodner]

I got my LPI certification with the sole purchase being a $40 book.  If you have previous experience in the field, the comptia certifications should be doable.

[SPURSX3]

That's very encouraging D, the A+ essentials book is 70.00 and the second half of the teast is another 70.00 for whichever direction I decide to test in.  It's good to know that it is something worth looking into.

[westkoast]

You don't have to pay for training courses to take the test.  In fact when I was at Frys yesterday they had a package with a couple of books and a few CDROMs with example tests on it for like 100 bucks.  Like DB said though, you can buy one book and be good if you have some experience.  All the books ive seen do come with cdroms now that give you a taste of the type of questions you would be asked.  Also, you can goto comptia.org and if you give them your email addy they will give you access to various sample 'tests' made up of 10 general questions.

Linux+ may take more then one book because if you are use to Windows it's a lot of readjusting the way you think about how to approach...well everything heh.  I'd suggest running linux for a little bit while reading about it to really get the most out of it.

DB do you have your MSCE?  The test for that seems like a doozy based on a book I just picked up.

[Derek Bodner]

Yeah.  I had quite a bit of Linux experience before I got my LPI, so it would be a good idea to install a test server with centos or debian and play around.  Or, at the very least, install something in vmware.

All 3 of the comptia tends to go for competence moreso than administration certification, so you may not need it.  I myself haven't gotten any of those 3 listed exams (although at one point I was studying for the Network+, I just never got around to finishing it).   Whether or not you need a class really depends on how comfortable you feel.  I picked up a Net+ Exam Prep book for like $30.  Read the book twice, take a few practice exams, and see if you feel comfortable.

wk: nah, I haven't really gotten any certs outside of my LPI (lpi.org).  Right now I'm kinda swamped with work, but my next goals are my mysql dba (which shouldn't take more than a month, I have a book and feel I pretty much know everything, so I just need a refresher), then RHCE (redhat), then I want to start going for my net+ and ccna.  I think I can get my mysql dba and rhce this year, the ccna is more of a long term goal.

[Laker Fan]

Wish I could help you X3, but all my certs are for Novell, because the companies I worked for were rabidly paranoid about security and at that time Neither Microsoft or Redhat had anything even remotely as secure as Novell's IRF. I got into Microsoft when people with paper certs were the laughingstock of the computer universe, what you knew was waaay more important than an MCSE, A+, or any DBAdmin cert you had, consequently I never got a single MS cert and have never really worked with Linux much so don't know what is required there.

[westkoast]

Wish I could help you X3, but all my certs are for Novell, because the companies I worked for were rabidly paranoid about security and at that time Neither Microsoft or Redhat had anything even remotely as secure as Novell's IRF. I got into Microsoft when people with paper certs were the laughingstock of the computer universe, what you knew was waaay more important than an MCSE, A+, or any DBAdmin cert you had, consequently I never got a single MS cert and have never really worked with Linux much so don't know what is required there.

It's weird how for years paper certs didn't mean much.  You showed what you could do and you were good.  Now it looks as if they are coming back.  A lot of places I've looked for jobs for have had A+ as a requirement even though I have over 5 years experience in IT.  I want to tell them 'someone who just got their A+ maybe able to tell you plenty but can they do plenty in a real world situation?'

Funny how MS straight jacked the whole concept of AD from Novell and pretty much put them into the ground because of it.

[Laker Fan]

It's weird how for years paper certs didn't mean much.  You showed what you could do and you were good.  Now it looks as if they are coming back.  A lot of places I've looked for jobs for have had A+ as a requirement even though I have over 5 years experience in IT.  I want to tell them 'someone who just got their A+ maybe able to tell you plenty but can they do plenty in a real world situation?'

Funny how MS straight jacked the whole concept of AD from Novell and pretty much put them into the ground because of it.

You almost have to partly blame Novell for part of that, they were (rightly so) very proud of the Inherited Rights Filter and their excellent interface with MS work station and the way the managed the server environment and internal and external security, for a while there it was unhackable as anything you could imagine and the IRF is still as secure as anythin out there if not more so. But with that pride came an arrogance that allowed the evil genius (Bill Gates) and company to basically pull the same stunt they did with IBM, steal enough technology to integrate with their systems and than use the world wide reach of MS to cripple Novell.

Novell also was never interested in developing a consumer or work station OS or GUI that anyone but Novell geeks like me understood and by limiting themselve to server administration OS's they killed their general marketability, only companies really, really, serious about internal security look to Novell for a server OS anymore.

[Derek Bodner]

Funny how MS straight jacked the whole concept of AD from Novell and pretty much put them into the ground because of it.

Novell NDS and MS AD are both X.500 directory services, which Novell didn't exactly create either. 

[Laker Fan]

Funny how MS straight jacked the whole concept of AD from Novell and pretty much put them into the ground because of it.

Novell NDS and MS AD are both X.500 directory services, which Novell didn't exactly create either. 

I understand what you're saying about Netware Directory Services Derek, but I was talking about Netware's IRF specifically and Novell's lack of interest in expanding beyond Server software and work station interface and security. No matter how you slice it we live in a a Microsoft world and their (IMO) unfair business practices that have dominated the industry, preventing open sources like Redhat and well written OS's like Novell from competing in the open market have hurt us all, more's the pity.