I’ve been working through the DevOps Engineer Learning Path and it’s great, but I’m wondering if it might make more sense to get an actual Linux certification first? I got through the basics of Linux already but is that enough?
I guess my question is wouldn’t I be more capable in a DevOps role if I had RHEL certification before I even look at things like Docker, Terraform etc? Is that level of certification overkill for a DevOps role? I appreciate anyones feedback and input!
It helps a lot to have solid understanding of how to use Linux, including being adept with its many command like tools - awk, sed, grep, find, tr, jq, etc.,etc. and to be fairly proficient with scripting in bash, plus a reasonable understanding of networking concepts which isn’t specifically Linux, although you should know the basic commands like ip, ifconfig and diagnostic tools like curl, telnet, nc, nslookup, dig etc.
Full on system administration (disks, logical volumes, user management, kernel patching, authentication providers etc.,etc.) is not so important, unless you want to be a SA.
Doing a SA course will introduce you to most of those things at a deeper level.
Hi @Matt-Kaye
As Alistair said: It helps a lot to have understanding of Linux. But you don’t necessary need 100% to get certifications like RHEL SA or the top ones that offers the Linux Foundation, like the System administrator or the engineer one. You can work in a DevOps job without the certifications. For example if you want to work with Kubernetes, you can find some jobs that doesn’t need to get the certifications that you are asking for Linux, because you need the Kubernetes specific ones, and show that you understand the tools needed for working in production systems (Like Helm for example). But it is obvious that if you are looking for some DevOps job, you need to know Linux, like Alistair saids, the more of Linux (Or Unix in general if you want to see it that way also) you know, it will help a lot in your future. Also understanding the basics of networkings is a must, if you don’t know so much, a level like CCNA1 in knowledge is more than enough to do many DevOps jobs in my opinion. There are many tutorials in internet to study CCNA1 contents if you want to study in a more guided way.
So to answer your question, In my opinion it deppends of what you want to do in the future and how in a hurry are you to get a job in the field. So if you have already some background in some DevOps tools that you think you can apply for a job, then go ahead if you like, but also keep in mind that studying linux is always good. But if your dream is only to become a Kuberntes guy, then maybe having a less value certification from the Linux Foundation (Not the certifications like sysadmin and engineer) to credit your general knowledge in Linux and some Courses from here, I think is more than enough. But if you have time, then go right ahead for the SysAdmin certification. If you want to become a sysAdmin for a large enterprise or corporation, in my oppinion then applying for the RHEL maybe is a good idea. But if that’s not your case, then you can go for the Linux Foundation one, it doesn’t value less than RHEL, because a lot of jobs doesn’t use RHEL distros for many reasons.
Hope this helps you
Have a nice day
Thanks for the feedback both of you! I just finished the LFCS course and I know a lot more now. I have been playing around with the KodeKloud Engineer platform too on the Linux learning path as a sysadmin. It’s fun, kinda like simple puzzle solving.
But what I’m finding is that it’s hard for me to understand how to use these skills. I’m a front-end web developer by trade so things like setting up file systems and configuring things like PAM are cool, but how are these used in the real world? I’ve never worked at a company where these things are even used. The Linux boxes I needed to deal with were just AWS instances that served static data from a Vue app.
I think the sheer number of directions I can take is overwhelming. Do I just have faith and take a few Linux certifications? I also feel like I’d have to find a junior role in this domain even though I had over a decade of solid programming experience. If sysadmin is the path I want to follow, how do I use it and prove to employers I know how?
I understand building websites as the end product is very tangible and I can point to it. This area of practice seems much fuzzier. Any next step suggestions? @Alistair_KodeKloud / @carlos140
Hi @Matt-Kaye
Hope this message still helps you. I’m been bussy and absent from the KoudKloud community this month.
Glad to know you finished your LFCS course. If you are a front-end developer, I guess you know there are apis that connect to the backend service. All the things you know by the LFCS are used to setup the infrastructure to deploy your backend services and also the frontend. There are a lot of things as you said , but to keep it simple, there are networking, database and infrastructure issues to be solve in every job in this field. So focusing in one by time is a good choice I guess. Also keep in mind that many of the config setups respond to hardening the systems (In networking, databas and infrastructure), this comes from the CISO chief. So in many jobs you are going to make what the CISO is telling, and if you work as a team then you can ask for help I guess. So keep in mind that many of this stuff is to prevent hacking also.
So if you like infrastructure go for Kuberentes for example, if you like to keep the database healthy then go and study databases (sql and nonsql), if you like networking then study networking. In every field you will learn a litte bit from the other ones, because there are interconnected in some way.
Hope this helps you. Have a nice week