As Linux becomes more popular globally as an operating system of choice, certifications have also gained acclaim for ensuring that IT professionals can successfully manage Linux based servers. Most IT roles today require that applicants acquire certain certifications, including those on Linux. These certifications can give IT workers access to opportunities and better positions as systems and data administrators or DevOps engineers, among others. Linux may not be that common for use on desktops, but it surprisingly makes up a large market share of web servers: around 70 percent. It makes sense, then, that Linux certified professionals gain an edge in the job market as well as earn higher wages. Linux system administrators and engineers earn around Rs 5,00,000 yearly, but Linux professionals in more senior job roles can earn upwards of Rs 9,00,000 yearly. While many of the certifications they complete are vendor-specific and involve defined lesson plans revolving around Linux os management and potential use cases, others are vendor-neutral certification which is more focused on fundamental knowledge related to Linux. So below we will see a list of the top five Linux Admin Certifications.
Vendor Certification
- Red Hat Certified System Administrator
The most famous name in the industry is Red Hat due to the fact that it is one of the most famous Linux distros out there. Red Hat has been around since 1993 and they later converted over into Red Hat Enterprise Linux in about the year 2000. Red Hat Enterprise is the number one server company when it comes to Linux. It is also the main distribution that is running on servers out there in Linux environments. The Red Hat Certified System Administrator test is considered very hard. It will cost you about $ 400 to take. The test is about two and a half hours and it must be taken in person.
- SUSE Certified Administrator
The next certification that you can get is going to be the SUSE Certified Administrator. SUSE is a German Company that has been around since 1992 and one of their most famous products is open SUSE which is a popular Linux distro using SUSE today. The SUSE Certified Administrator test is going to cost you about $ 150 to take. This certification test is about 90 minutes for the test and you are given an option to take a remote proctor. So unlike the previous certification, this can be taken from the comfort of your home and this is especially helpful for people who live in tier 2 or tier 3 cities.
- Oracle Linux OCS/OCP
The last vendor certification that you can get is Oracle Linux OCA & OCP. OCA stands for Oracle Certified Associate and OCP stands for Oracle Certified Professional. Oracle is a tech giant which was founded in the year 1997. They are known for their versions of SQL, Java and OpenOfficeis also one of their famous products. The cost of this certification is about $ 250. These certification tests are about 150 minutes long. Unlike the previous certification test, it cannot be taken online, this test has to be taken in person.
Vendor-Neutral Certification
- CompTIA Linux+
So the first vendor neutral certification on this list is also the most popular one. It is Linux+ Certification by CompTIA. CompTIA ( Computing Technology Industry Association ) is a non-profit trade association based in America it was founded in 1982. They are really known for what they called a trinity of certification, which are the three certifications targeting different fields in the IT industry. The first certification that they offer is CompTIA A+, which is a certification for the foundational knowledge of the IT industry. Then we have CompTIA Network+, which as the name suggests is a certification for the people interested in networking. And the last certification is CompTIA Security+, which is a foundational course for security professionals in the IT industry. The fee of the certification test would depend on the bundle you choose. It would fall in the range of $ 200 to $ 750. The test is around 90 minutes long and it needs to be taken in person.
- The Linux Foundation Certified SYSADMIN
The last one on the list is the Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator. The Linux Foundation is also an American nonprofit organization whose work is focused in the areas related to Linux Kernel and mainly open-source software. It was founded in the year 2000 by a person named Linus Torvalds. The Linux Foundation System Admin certification is ideal for a beginner to gain a strong grip over the fundamentals of Linux Administration and proved his in the field. There are two ways in which a candidate can enrol for this certification. The first one is to directly take the exam which costs about $ 375. The second option is to take the preparatory course along with the exam. The course will teach all the information relevant to the test. This option would cost around $ 575 to a candidate. The test is two hours long and it can be taken online.
The majority of cloud servers and web servers run on Linux based environments. Linux web servers run around 96.3% of the top one million web servers. And with the ever-growing use of the internet in every sphere of life, the demand for this profession would keep rising.
